Like ripples on a pond: behavioral spillovers and their implications for research and policy

By Paul Dolan, Matteo M. Galizzi. 2015

292 citations recorded by the source corpus.

No behavior sits in a vacuum, and one behavior can greatly affect what happens next. We propose a conceptual frame within which a broad range of behavioral spillovers can be accounted for when applying behavioral science to policy challenges. We consider behaviors which take place sequentially and are linked, at a conscious or unconscious level, by some underlying motive. The first behavior leads to another behavior which can either work in the same direction as the first (promoting spillover), or push back against it (permitting or purging spillover). Looking through this conceptual lens at the existing evidence, we find pervasive evidence for all kinds of spillover effects across a variety of fields and domains. As a result, behavioral scientists, especially those seeking to inform policy, should try to capture all the ripples from one behavior to the next when a pebble of intervention is thrown in the pond, and not just at the immediate behavioral splash it makes.

Subfields: Economics and Econometrics, General Decision Sciences, Safety Research

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/8200622d8df376021fdf480b7b2a5a899cd7bbf0

How researchers see this paper

The researchers whose trusted networks rank it highest, strongest advocate first. Every researcher gets a different order.

In Economics and Econometrics

1. Eugenia Polizzi di Sorrentino
2. Andreas Nilsson
3. Ralph Hertwig
4. Eva Woelbert
5. Serenella Sala

In General Decision Sciences

1. H. B. Truelove
2. Ralph Hertwig
3. K. Raimi
4. A. Carrico
5. Wesley Schultz
6. Gerd Gigerenzer
7. John Antonakis

In Safety Research

1. H. B. Truelove
2. Ralph Hertwig
3. Wesley Schultz
4. John Antonakis

Citations in the corpus

• When to consider boosting: some rules for policy-makers (2017, background): “…and undesired consequences of a nudging or boosting intervention, then consider the respective alternative The risk of unintended and undesirable behavioural consequences (‘behavioural spillovers’; Dolan & Galizzi, 2015) is an insufficiently explored dimension of some forms of nudging.”
• Spillover effects in environmental behaviors, across time and context: a review and research agenda (2017, background): “…on this definition, differentiating three types of spillovers, the present review adds to past reviews discussing positive and negative spillover effects within pro-environmental behavior (Dolan and Galizzi 2015; Truelove et al. 2014) by providing an framework of three types of spillover effects.”
• From plastic bottle recycling to policy support: An experimental test of pro-environmental spillover (2016, background): “…to increase (i.e., positive spillover) or decrease (i.e., negative spillover) the likelihood of performance of additional behaviors in that domain (Dolan & Galizzi, 2015; Susewind & Hoelzl, 2014; Thøgersen, 1999; Truelove, M AN US CR IP T AC CE PT ED ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT SPILLOVER 4 Carrico,…”
• Consumers and their behavior: state of the art in behavioral science supporting use phase modeling in LCA and ecodesign (2016, background): “Demand changes can not only result from changes in money or time budgets but have also been described in the behavioral literature as a result of interventions (Truelove et al. 2014; Dolan and Galizzi 2015).”