Behavioral Science: Past, Present, and Future

Why do we keep scrolling when we meant to stop, promise to save next month, or hire the candidate who reminds us of ourselves? This film traces behavioral science from ancient ideas about habit and Adam Smith's reflections on loss, through the laboratory experiments of the twentieth century and the work of Kahneman, Tversky and Thaler, to nudges, if–then plans, boosts, sludge audits, the replication crisis, and what AI and behavioral digital twins may bring next. Three everyday decisions run through it: saving for the future, choosing what to eat, and deciding whom to hire. Every figure on screen is drawn from the published research listed below. CHAPTERS 0:00 Why we do what we do 0:51 Part I · The past: the oldest questions 1:41 Adam Smith and the pain of losing 2:10 Pleasure, pain and the rational model 2:46 Psychology becomes a science 3:13 Pavlov, Thorndike and Skinner 4:40 The cognitive revolution and Herbert Simon 5:47 Bandura, Asch, Milgram, Festinger 6:56 Kahneman and Tversky: heuristics 7:38 Prospect theory and framing 9:12 Richard Thaler and present bias 10:32 Cialdini and persuasion 11:00 Part II · The present: nudges and defaults 12:31 Nudge units around the world 13:21 Save More Tomorrow 14:07 If–then plans 14:48 Self-monitoring and feedback 15:30 At work: hiring and noise 16:51 Dark patterns and sludge 19:05 Boosts 20:21 Individuals and systems 20:37 The replication reckoning 21:42 Raising the bar 22:24 Part III · The future: AI meets behavioral science 23:27 Behavioral digital twins 24:37 Beyond averages, beyond WEIRD 25:19 Ethics at the center 25:43 Closing KEY SOURCES Argyle et al. (2023); Arnett (2008); Asch (1956); Ashraf et al. (2005); Bandura (1977); Bandura et al. (1961); Bentham (1789); Bernoulli (1738); Bhargava & Manoli (2015); Bohnet (2016); Brignull (2010); Brown et al. (2024); Bryan et al. (2021); Chater & Loewenstein (2023); Chomsky (1959); Cialdini (1984); DellaVigna & Linos (2022); Department for Work and Pensions (2020); Dietvorst et al. (2015); Ferster & Skinner (1957); Festinger (1957); Gigerenzer & Hoffrage (1995); Gigerenzer et al. (2007); Gollwitzer & Sheeran (2006); Gollwitzer (1999); Hallsworth et al. (2017); Harkin et al. (2016); Henrich et al. (2010); Herd & Moynihan (2018); Hertwig & Grüne-Yanoff (2017); Hoffrage et al. (2000); Hume (1739); James (1890); Johnson & Goldstein (2003); Kahneman & Tversky (1979); Kahneman (2011); Kahneman et al. (1990); Kahneman et al. (2016); Kahneman et al. (2021); Kluger & DeNisi (1996); Laibson (1997); Logg et al. (2019); Madrian & Shea (2001); Mathur et al. (2019); Milgram (1963); Milkman et al. (2021); Miller (2003); Newell & Simon (1956); Nosek et al. (2018); O'Donoghue & Rabin (1999); OECD (2024); Open Science Collaboration (2015); Park et al. (2024); Pavlov (1927); Persky (1995); Rawls (1971); Read & van Leeuwen (1998); Sackett et al. (2022); Santurkar et al. (2023); Savage (1954); Shu et al. (2012); Simon (1955); Simon (1956); Skinner (1938); Smith (1759); Sunstein (2016); Sunstein (2019); Sunstein (2022); Thaler & Benartzi (2004); Thaler & Sunstein (2008); Thaler (1980); Thaler (1999); Thaler (2018); Thorndike (1898); Tversky & Kahneman (1974); Tversky & Kahneman (1981); von Neumann & Morgenstern (1944); Watson (1913). Full reference list with journals, volumes and pages: see the pinned comment. A film by the Center for Behavioral Decisions. Narration: synthetic voice. Music: original score. ——— 📚 Look up any term in the free 1001 Behavioral Science Dictionary: https://becisions.com/dictionary 🧠 Try our free behavioral tools: https://becisions.com/tools 📬 One behavioral idea a week, free: https://becisions.com/newsletter 🤝 Work with us: https://becisions.com/capabilities Center for Behavioral Decisions — Changing Behaviors for Good. ✉️ hello@becisions.com #BehavioralScience #CognitiveBias #DecisionMaking