Category
Behavioral Public Policy & Welfare
Browse 20 free mental model guides in Behavioral Public Policy & Welfare.
5 guides
Cognitive Biases in Policy
Anchoring in Choice Design
Learn how the first piece of information you see unconsciously influences subsequent decisions and choices.
Read guideBehavioral Foundations for Policy
Policy designs informed by how people actually think and behave, not just how they should behave.
Read guideScarcity, Bandwidth, and Welfare
How scarcity taxes mental bandwidth and what that means for welfare policy design.
Read guideSystem 1 and System 2 Thinking
How fast and slow thinking work together—and how to design decisions and policies that use each wisely.
Read guideThe Framing Effect
How the way information is presented, rather than the information itself, influences our decisions and judgments.
Read guide4 guides
Ethics of Nudging
Ethical Nudging vs Manipulation
How to tell when guiding choices is a helpful nudge and when it crosses into unethical manipulation.
Read guideEthics and Governance of Nudging
The moral frameworks and oversight systems that guide when and how behavioral nudges can be used ethically in policy and design.
Read guideLibertarian Paternalism
An approach to influencing choices while preserving freedom of choice, using behavioral science insights to design decision environments that help people achieve their own goals.
Read guideReactance, Crowd-Out & Backfire Risks
When attempts to influence people produce the opposite effect—undermining autonomy, crowding out intrinsic motivation, and triggering resistance that leads to worse outcomes.
Read guide3 guides
Evidence-Based Policy & Experimentation
Behavioral Cost-Benefit Analysis
A systematic approach that combines behavioral science insights with cost-benefit analysis to predict how people actually respond to policies, not just how they should respond.
Read guideBehavioral Welfare Measurement
A framework for evaluating whether policies actually improve people's well-being when human decision-making is systematically biased.
Read guideTesting & Evaluation in Behavioral Policy
How to test behavioral interventions end-to-end: diagnose the behavior, run fair comparisons, measure what matters, and decide whether to scale.
Read guide2 guides
Incentives in Policy Design
Incentives vs Nudges
Choosing between rewards that change costs (incentives) and subtle environment design (nudges) to guide decisions.
Read guideLoss Aversion & Reference Dependence
Losses loom larger than equivalent gains, shaping decisions around a reference point rather than absolute outcomes.
Read guide1 guide
Nudging & Choice Architecture (Public Policy)
3 guides
Simplicity & Sludge Reduction
Identifying and Removing Sludge
A systematic method for finding and eliminating friction, unnecessary complexity, and time-wasting steps in processes to improve outcomes.
Read guideMandated Disclosure & Inattention
Rules require firms to disclose info, but people often miss it. Research shows salience and timing matter more than length or legal detail.
Read guideSludge Audits
A systematic process for identifying and removing unnecessary friction that prevents people from accessing opportunities, services, or rights they're entitled to.
Read guide1 guide
Social Norms (Policy & Welfare)
1 guide