In 1974 an article appeared in Science magazine with the dry-sounding title “Judgment Under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases” by a pair of psychologists who were not well known outside their discipline of decision theory. In it Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman introduced the world to Prospect Theory, which mapped out how humans actually behave when faced with decisions about gains and losses, in contrast to how economists assumed that people behave. Prospect Theory turned Economics on its head by demonstrating through a series of ingenious experiments that people are much more concerned with losses than they are with gains, and that framing a choice from one perspective or the other will result in decisions that are exactly the opposite of each other, even if the outcomes are monetarily the same. Prospect Theory led cognitive psychology in a new direction that began to uncover other human biases in thinking that are probably not learned but are part of our brain’s wiring.

Thinking fast and slow.

NUDGE: IMPROVING DECISIONS ABOUT HEALTH, WEALTH, AND HAPPINESS by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein Penguin Books, 2009, 312 pp, ISBN 978-0-14-311526-7This book is best described formally as a general explanation of and advocacy for libertarian paternalism, a term coined by the authors in earlier publications. Informally, it is about how leaders, systems, organizations, and governments can nudge people to do the things the nudgers want and need done for the betterment of the nudgees, or of society. It is paternalism in the sense that "it is legitimate for choice architects to try to influence people's behavior in order to make their lives longer, healthier, and better", (p. 5) It is libertarian in that "people should be free to do what they like - and to opt out of undesirable arrangements if they want to do so", (p. 5) The built-in possibility of opting out or making a different choice preserves freedom of choice even though people's behavior has been influenced by the nature of the presentation of the information or by the structure of the decisionmaking system. I had never heard of libertarian paternalism before reading this book, and I now find it fascinating.Written for a general audience, this book contains mostly social and behavioral science theory and models, but there is considerable discussion of structure and process that has roots in mathematical and quantitative modeling. One of the main applications of this social system is economic choice in investing, selecting and purchasing products and services, systems of taxes, banking (mortgages, borrowing, savings), and retirement systems. Other quantitative social choice systems discussed include environmental effects, health care plans, gambling, and organ donations. Softer issues that are also subject to a nudge-based approach are marriage, education, eating, drinking, smoking, influence, spread of information, and politics. There is something in this book for everyone.The basis for this libertarian paternalism concept is in the social theory called "science of choice", the study of the design and implementation of influence systems on various kinds of people. The terms Econs and Humans, are used to refer to people with either considerable or little rational decision-making talent, respectively. The various libertarian paternalism concepts and systems presented are tested and compared in light of these two types of people. Two foundational issues that this book has in common with another book, Network of Echoes: Imitation, Innovation and Invisible Leaders, that was also reviewed for this issue of the Journal are that 1 ) there are two modes of thinking (or components of the brain) - an automatic (intuitive) process and a reflective (rational) process and 2) the need for conformity and the desire for imitation are powerful forces in human behavior. …

Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness

The Construction of Homosexuality

https://physicstoday.scitation.org/doi/pdf/10.1063/PT.3.1721

Reinventing Discovery: The New Era of Networked Science

Fascinating and provocative, Ariely's The Truth About Dishonesty is an insightful and brilliantly researched take on cheating, deception and willpower. Internationally bestselling author Ariely pulls no punches when it comes to home truths. Previous titles PREDICTABLY IRRATIONAL and THE UPSIDE OF IRRATIONALITY have becomes classics in their field, revealing unexpected and astonishing traits that run through modern humankind. Now acclaimed behavioural economist Dan Ariely delves deeper into the dark and murky recesses of contemporary psychology, daring to ask the big questions: What makes us cheat? How and why do we rationalise deception of ourselves and other people, and make ourselves 'wishfully blind' to the blindingly obvious? What affects our infuriatingly intangible willpower and how can we 'catch' the cheating bug from other bad apples? If you've ever wondered how a whole company can turn a blind eye to evident misdemeanours within their ranks, whether people are born dishonest and whether you can really be successful by being totally, brutally honest, then Dan has the answers, and many more.

The (honest) truth about dishonesty : how we lie to everyone--especially ourselves

Fostering Integrity in Research

Of the many interventions that might be used to improve the responsible conduct of research, educational interventions are among the most frequently employed. However, educational interventions come in many forms and have proven of varying effectiveness. Recognition of this point has led to calls for the systematic evaluation of responsible conduct of research educational programs. In the present effort, the basic principles underlying evaluation of educational programs are discussed. Subsequently, the application of these principles in the evaluation of responsible conduct of research educational programs is described. It is concluded that systematic evaluation of educational programs not only allow for the appraisal of instructional effectiveness but also allows for progressive refinement of educational initiatives. Ethics in the sciences and engineering is of concern not only because of its impact on progress in the research enterprise but also because the work of scientists and engineers impacts the lives of many people. Recognition of this point has led to a number of initiatives intended to improve the ethical conduct of investigators (National Academy of Engineering, 2009; National Institute of Medicine, 2002; National Academy of Sciences, 1992). Although a number of interventions have been proposed as a basis for improving ethical conduct, for example development of ethical guidelines, open data access, and better mentoring, perhaps the most widely applied approach has been ethics education (Council of Graduate Schools, 2012)—an intervention often referred to as training in the responsible conduct of research (RCR). When one examines the available literature on RCR training, it is apparent that a wide variety of approaches have been employed. Some RCR courses are based on a self-paced, online, instructional framework (e.g. Braunschweiger and Goodman, 2007). Other RCR courses involve face-to-face instruction over longer periods of time using realistic exercises and cases (e.g. Kligyte, Marcy, Waples, Sevier, Godfrey, Mumford, and Hougen, 2008). Some RCR courses 1 As the committee launched this study, members realized that questions related to the effectiveness of Responsible Conduct of Research education programs and how they might be improved were an essential part of the study task. A significant amount of work has been done to explore these topics. This work has yielded important insights, but additional research is needed to strengthen the evidence base relevant to several key policy questions. The committee asked one of the leading researchers in this field, Michael D. Mumford, to prepare a review characterizing the current state of knowledge and describing future priorities and pathways for assessing and improving RCR education programs. The resulting review constitutes important source material for Chapter 10 of the report. The committee also believes that the review adds value to this report a as a standalone document, and is including it as an appendix.

ProTon Europe

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Fostering Integrity in Research

Fostering Integrity in Research