Mariel Beasley is the Co-Director of the Common Cents Lab at the Center for Advanced Hindsight at Duke University. She works on applications of behavioral research, primarily in the financial services sector and public policy arena. She holds a Master of Public Policy degree from Duke University and her previous work experience includes a variety of nonprofits and charitable foundations.
As the leader of Common Cents Lab, she often develops partnerships with financial institutions to put behavioral science to good use through improving products, services and experiences for low-to-moderate households.
We talked to Mariel about their work with low-to-middle-income households and the way the crisis is impacting them in ways that are not making headlines. Specifically, short-term savings rates are changing because so many households were caught flat-footed by mass layoffs, furloughs, and pay reductions. We also talked about how behavioral science helps us all to see problems better and gives us the tools to make better changes.
We also discussed upward and downward social comparisons that occur when peeking into the homes of coworkers on video calls, and about expectations for productivity might change as a result of our massive work-from-home experience.
We hope you enjoy our conversation with Mariel.
© 2020 Behavioral Grooves
Connect with Kurt and Tim:
Kurt Nelson, PhD: @WhatMotivates e-mail: kurt@lanterngroup.com
Tim Houlihan: @THoulihan e-mail: tim@behavioralchemy.com
Lantern Group: http://lanterngroup.com/
BehaviorAlchemy: https://www.behavioralchemy.com/
Behavioral Grooves: https://behavioralgrooves.com/
Weekly Grooves: https://weeklygrooves.podbean.com/
Common Biases & Heuristics: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XHpBr0VFcaT8wIUpr-9zMIb79dFMgOVFRxIZRybiftI/edit#
Patreon Site for Behavioral Grooves: https://www.patreon.com/behavioralgrooves
General Coronavirus Info:
Daily Newsletter Summarizing data from Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security: http://www.centerforhealthsecurity.org/newsroom/newsletters/e-newsletter-sign-up.html
CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
Great videos on the science behind this by Dr. Peter Attia – this is the first in a series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNVhLyAlfA4
What is herd immunity?: https://www.technologyreview.com/s/615375/what-is-herd-immunity-and-can-it-stop-the-coronavirus/
A list curated by Liam.Delaney@UCD.ie
https://docs.google.com/document/d/11GLhX7hLf64Bxkdpv5hvYHqOjS1imlcMQFjJBJ-9oUM/edit
Coronavirus & Behavioral Science:
Selected Links: The Behavioral Sice of Coronavirus: https://behavioralscientist.org/selected-links-the-behavioral-science-of-the-coronavirus-covid-19/
Why no one is reading your coronavirus email: https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/13/opinions/coronavirus-emails-effective-messaging-rogers/index.html
Handwashing can stop a virus, so why don’t we do it?: https://behavioralscientist.org/handwashing-can-stop-a-virus-so-why-dont-we-do-it-coronavirus-covid-19/
The behavioral science of handwashing: https://think.ing.com/articles/the-behavioural-science-of-hand-washing/
Ideas 42: The Behavioral Side of COVID-19 here: https://ideas42.org/covid19/
Greater Good: https://twitter.com/GreaterGoodSC
How We Can Cope During This Crisis:
Tip Sheet from HUMU: https://humu.com/remote-nudges/
Resources for learning at home: https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/commentary/resources-learning-home-during-covid-19-school-closures?utm_source=join1440&utm_medium=email&utm_placement=etcetera
General Behavioral Science Links:
Common Biases and Heuristics: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XHpBr0VFcaT8wIUpr-9zMIb79dFMgOVFRxIZRybiftI/edit#
Jonathan Haidt – 5 Moral Foundations: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_foundations_theory
Annie Duke’s “How To Decide”: https://www.amazon.com/How-Decide-Simple-Making-Choices/dp/0593084608
“16 Ways To Promote Hand Washing With Behavioral Science” article by Aline Holzwarth: https://www.forbes.com/sites/alineholzwarth/2020/03/25/handwashing-with-behavioral-science/#261b4b9f768d
Aline Holzwarth’s Playlist on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0H5fsQRrqslGdBhhx8d4Aw?si=0jra0rU1Qu2vQNtqjbRvZA
Deontological and Consequential Moralities: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-deontological/#DeoTheKan
Difference between descriptive and injunctive norms: https://psychology.stackexchange.com/questions/6193/whats-the-difference-between-injunctive-norms-and-descriptive-norms
Emotion Research from FinalMile: http://finalmile.in/research/
Pandemic Playbook from FinalMile: https://www.playbookforpandemic.com/
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How the Right Journal Can Help You Reach Your Goals in 2023
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Do One Small Thing Every Day That Scares You | Scott Simon
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Can You Unlearn History And Still Love Your Country? With Dolly Chugh
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How To Have A Conversation About Racism | Robert Livingston
Visualize A Horse...But What If You Actually Can’t? Aphantasia Explained With Dr Adam Zeman
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How Good People Fight Bias | Dolly Chugh [Republish]
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