Boosting

Using behavioral sciences to help people make better decisions by and for themselves

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What is boosting?

Boosting is a policy approach that targets people’s competences and thereby helps people make good, informed decisions by and for themselves.

A boost is an intervention that enlists human cognition, the environment, or both to foster people’s existing competences or develop new ones.

Recent boosting examples

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Evaluating scientific consensus on climate change

Evaluating scientific consensus on climate change

What is the boost? Simple communication about the scientific consensus that climate change is human-caused —for instance, “97% of climate scientists have concluded that human-caused climate change is happening”—increases public acceptance of the consensus, and in turn public support for climate action.

Mental contrasting with implementation intentions (MCII) to encourage pro-environmental consumer behavior

Mental contrasting with implementation intentions (MCII) to encourage pro-environmental consumer behavior

What is the boost? Mental contrasting with implementation intentions (MCII) is a four-step process: Define your goal. Identify possible outcomes of reaching your goal and imagine a positive future. Contrast the positive future with current reality and identify obstacles that could prevent you from reaching your goal.

Simple rules to reduce the climate impact of food

Simple rules to reduce the climate impact of food

What is the boost? Simple rules of thumb help people to understand how to effectively reduce the climate impact of consumer decisions. For example: “Replace red meat with white meat or plant-based proteins,” “Replace high-fat dairy products with plant-based alternatives,” or ”Buy seasonal.

Using commitment to promote recycling

Using commitment to promote recycling

What is the boost? Verbal or written commitment can help promote recycling. People agree either verbally or in writing to recycle more. Which challenges does the boost tackle? The waste people produce pollutes the environment.

Short lists of tips to assist in judging the trustworthiness of information online

Short lists of tips to assist in judging the trustworthiness of information online

This boost takes the form of a simple list of tips to assist users in judging the trustworthiness of information online (much like the fast-and-frugal decision trees also examined on this webpage).

Boosting Topics

How can we boost? What can we boost? Where can we boost?

Overview: The different types of boosts and application domains

Boosting people’s competences to deal with risks

Boosting citizens’ competences to deal with the online world

Creating citizen choice architects

Learn how to protect yourself from harmful misinformation on the internet with these powerful boosts

More on boosting

How can we tell whether a boost is effective?

Check out these key papers for more on boosting

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