Behavioral Insights Research Center

Latest Research

Fear-Mongering or Fact-Driven? How Emotion Plays a Role in Attitudes Toward Health Epidemics

This blog post, provided by the IPR Behavioral Insights Research Center and written by Dr. Terry Flynn and Tim Li, is based on a research paper by Celine Klemm, Tilo Hartmann, & Enny Das. Key Fi ... more

How Do Social Media Comments and Likes Impact an Organization’s Reputation During a Crisis?

This blog post, written by Dr. Terry Flynn and Tim Li, is based on a research paper by Seoyeon Hong, Ph.D., Webster University, and Glen Cameron, University of Missouri-Columbia. Key findings Percep ... more

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words: Using Behavioural Insights In Visual Communication

This paper is a part of the IPR Behavioral Insights Research Center. From the time of prehistoric cave paintings, people have been using images to share ideas and information with each other. Commun ... more

What Effect Does the Number of Counterarguments Have on Reducing Misperceptions?

This blog post, written by Dr. Terry Flynn and Tim Li, is based on a research paper by Ullrich K. H. Ecker, Ph.D., University of Western Australia; Stephan Lewandowsky, University of Bristol; Key Fi ... more

Prior Exposure to Misinformation Increases its Perceived Accuracy

This blog post, written by Dr. Terry Flynn and Tim Li, is based on a research paper by Gordon Pennycook, Assistant Professor at the University of Regina; Tyrone Cannon, Professor of Psychiatry at Yale ... more

What You Need to Know About Incorporating Behavioural Science into Public Relations: A Primer

This research primer is provided by the IPR Behavioral Insights Research Center. Download the Full Research Primer here: What You Need to Know About Incorporating Behavioural Science into Public Rel ... more

Reminders and Repetition of Misinformation: Do They Help or Hinder Understanding?

This blog post, written by Dr. Terry Flynn and Tim Li, is based on a research paper by Ullrich K. H. Ecker, Ph.D., University of Western Australia; Joshua L. Hogan, University of Western Australia; an ... more

How Effective is Refuting Facts in Short or Long Form when Countering Misinformation?

This blog post, written by Dr. Terry Flynn and Tim Li, is based on a research paper by Ullrich K. H. Ecker, Ph.D., Ziggy O’Reilly, Jesse S. Reid, Ee Pin Chang, of University of Western Australia ... more

In Government Organizations, Refuting Rumors with Facts is Typically More Effective than Responding Emotionally

This blog post, written by Dr. Terry Flynn and Tim Li, is based on a research paper by Joon Soo Lim, Ph.D., Associate Professor at Syracuse University. Key Findings When a crisis strikes a gover ... more

The Elusive Backfire Effect: Does correcting misinformation strengthen people’s beliefs in false claims?

This blog post, written by Dr. Terry Flynn and Tim Li, is based on a research paper by Thomas Wood, Ph.D., Assistant Professor at Ohio State University; and Ethan Porter, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of ... more

When People Engage in “Cognitive Laziness,” They are More Likely to Accept Misinformation as Truth

This blog post, written by Dr. Terry Flynn and Tim Li, is based on a research paper by Gordon Pennycook, Assistant Professor at the University of Regina; and David G. Rand, Associate Professor of Mana ... more

Is Earned Media More Credible than Advertising?

Most of us in public relations have heard the claim that publicity, or earned media, has greater credibility than a paid advertisement. Consider what the author (Wynne) of a 2014 Forbes article titled ... more

10 Ways to Combat Misinformation: A Behavioral Insights Approach

Download PDF: 10 Ways to Combat Misinformation: A Behavioral Insights Approach This study is presented by the IPR Behavioral Insights Research Center. In a soon-to-be-released Institute for ... more

How Anxiety Leads to Suboptimal Decisions Under Risky Choice Situations

Author(s), Title and Publication Yang, Z., Saini, R., & Freling, T. (2015). How anxiety leads to suboptimal decisions under risky choice situations. Risk Analysis, 35(10), 1789-1800. Summary Decis ... more

It’s Simple and I Know It!: Abstract Construals Reduce Causal Uncertainty

Author(s), Title and Publication Namkoong, J. E., & Henderson, M. D. (2014). It’s simple and I know it!: Abstract construals reduce causal uncertainty. Social Psychological and Personality Scien ... more

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