In a recent Opinion piece for the New York Times, columnist David Brooks argued for the value of behavioral studies and critiqued a bill working through Congress that would eliminate the National Science Foundation’s Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences.
As an example of the value of behavioral research, Brooks discussed a new book pending from Princeton professor Eldar Shafir and Harvard professor Sendhil Mullainathan. Brooks describes the book as an exploration of “how scarcity — whether of time, money or calories (while dieting) — affects your psychology. They are also studying how poor people’s self-perceptions shape behavior. Many people don’t sign up for the welfare benefits because they are intimidated by the forms.”
