Elina Halonen
Behavioural Scientist Nightmares - Halloween Special!
Inspired by a post I saw on LinkedIn, I put ChatGTP to the test... What happens if you ask it to create carved pumpkins that would be...
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Elina Halonen
- Oct 4
- 13 min
The Dark Side of Behavioural Science Stardom: Unpacking the Ariely & Gino Controversy
Recent controversies in BeSci highlight a pivotal moment: to champion genuine research over the seduction of counterintuitive narratives.
Elina Halonen
- Sep 21
- 2 min
New White Paper: A Guide to Operant Conditioning for Human-AI Interaction
Could we interact with AI as collaborative intellects rather than products to control? This is the core question of this guide I wrote with
Elina Halonen
- Aug 17
- 2 min
How Ivy League biases are shaping the future of BeSci - making it even more WEIRD
The evolving landscape of US academic expectations has profound implications for the world of behavioural science, influencing not just...
Elina Halonen
- Jul 24
- 8 min
Tales from the Puppy Trenches: raising a litter with science-backed techniques
This past spring, I decided to take a long-planned career break to fully immerse myself in an intensive yet rewarding project close to my...
Elina Halonen
- Dec 10, 2022
- 4 min
How should we teach applied behavioural science?
In the past couple of months I've been increasingly reflecting on the best way to train and upskill non-experts when it comes to...
Elina Halonen
- Nov 10, 2022
- 15 min
Much ado about the demise of nudging
I have been meaning to write about the nudge meta-analysis for several months, but since I had quite a few things to say, I kept putting...
Elina Halonen
- Nov 9, 2022
- 5 min
Applying BeSci in the Private Sector: a repository of case studies, learning resources & job specs
Need to find BeSci case studies, applications or learning resources? Wondering what skills might be required for different roles in applied
Elina Halonen
- Nov 9, 2022
- 1 min
Theory-informed or theory-inspired behaviour change?
I want to highlight a great article from Sarah Osman where she explains the reason why both broad AND deep knowledge of the BeSci theoretica
Elina Halonen
- Oct 29, 2022
- 1 min
Book recommendation: Between Us - How Cultures Create Emotions
This book is a must-read for anyone who is interested in human behaviour. I have lived most of my adult life outside of my home country...
Elina Halonen
- Oct 24, 2022
- 3 min
Does information change behaviour? Some evidence from food labelling studies
Behaviour change isn't just limited to "nudges" - providing information can change behaviour too. A new study using mock-ups of menus in...
Elina Halonen
- Oct 3, 2022
- 2 min
What a rental car taught me about behavioural design
I recently rented a car* and it gave me two great examples to questions I've faced many times in my career: what habits really are, and...
Elina Halonen
- Aug 30, 2022
- 2 min
When you accidentally train your customers to do something
Yesterday I came across a good example of how companies sometimes inadvertently "train" people to do something that they might later...
Elina Halonen
- May 12, 2022
- 6 min
Why representativeness and inclusivity in psychology matter
Earlier this week I posted an article about how the cultural background of psychologists may have led them to a part of inquiry in their...
Elina Halonen
- May 8, 2022
- 7 min
The success of "Nudge" is fundamentally WEIRD
Tim Harford’s article in the FT titled “What Nudge Got Wrong” covers a recent paper by two big names in behavioural economics Nick Chater...
Elina Halonen
- Nov 21, 2021
- 4 min
What do I actually do as a behavioural science practitioner?
Inspired by fellow behavioural science practitioners, I wanted to add my part to demystify what day-to-day roles in this...
Elina Halonen
- Sep 20, 2021
- 7 min
When you solve the wrong problem: the case of Netflix's Play Something feature
When it comes to behaviour change, there are few silver bullets – a good understanding of the science will go a long way, but the secret...
Elina Halonen
- Sep 20, 2021
- 4 min
My thoughts on the state of behavioural design in 2021
I had an opportunity to contribute to the Behavioral Design 2021 report - in this post I expand on my views!
Elina Halonen
- Sep 20, 2021
- 1 min
How language and culture impact behaviour - my interview with Human Risk podcast
I had the pleasure of joining Christian Hunt on his Human Risk podcast to chat about language, culture and behaviour.
Elina Halonen
- Sep 20, 2021
- 5 min
Behavioural Economics vs. Behaviour Change vs. Behavioural Science - what's the difference?
I've been working as a behavioural science practitioner for a decade now and I often come across misunderstandings about the difference...
Elina Halonen
- Sep 20, 2021
- 4 min
How to layer behavioural barriers in a decision making process
Grouping behavioural barriers into different stages of the decision can help with designing solutions - here's one way to do it.
Elina Halonen
- Sep 20, 2021
- 4 min
Mini-masterclass on sludging when offboarding customers
Cancelling a subscription turned into a sludging extravaganza so here's an example of how to NOT use behavioural science.
Elina Halonen
- Sep 20, 2021
- 7 min
If context is king, why has nudging ignored it so much?
The key idea of nudging is that our choices are influenced by context yet there has been little exploration of the choice environment.
Elina Halonen
- Sep 20, 2021
- 8 min
All that glitters is not gold - 8 ways behaviour change can fail
The behaviour change movement has focused on successes for the sake of credibility - yet we need to examine our failures to make progress.
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