Psychology and Public Policy
Danny Oppenheimer
Course Description: Many policies attempt to change human behavior (e.g. reducing drug use,
terrorism, or racial bias; encouraging saving for retirement, recycling, or educational
achievement). To do that, policy makers need to understand the causes of human behaviors, and
what types of interventions lead to attitude and behavioral changes. This course covers basic
concepts and findings from psychology and their application in policy development. Topics
include bounded rationality, group dynamics, memory, judgment and decision making biases,
behavioral economics, public opinion, social determinants of behavior, attitudes, psychological
assessment, and incentive structures, all of which have implications for the design of policies that
affect individual citizens as well as for the functioning of organizations that determine policy.
Course Structure: Each week, half of class will be a lecture/discussion on psychological theory
with important implications for a broad range of policy making. The other half of class will focus
on applications in a particular policy domain to discuss the implications/applications of
psychology to a specific policy issue.
Readings:
Students are expected to keep up with the readings. Readings have been chosen to complement
class discussion. They will not all be discussed in detail, but will instead inform discussion and
help students in the development of their final papers.
The bulk of the readings come from the book “Behavioral Foundations of Public Policy” (listed
as BFPP in the reading list) by Eldar Shafir. Supplementary readings will be posted online or
handed out in class.
Assignments and Grading:
Throughout the course there will be five short assignments (one every two weeks). Assignments
are designed to give students practice in applying the concepts learned in class to concrete policy
questions. Assignments should not exceed two pages in length.
Final group projects will either outline a psychological intervention, or evaluate currently existing
policy in light of psychological theory, and make a concrete recommendation. Groups will be
assigned in the first week of class, and each member of the learning team will receive the same
score on the final project. Papers should not exceed 10 pages in length. Each paper should be
accompanied by a one page briefing memo which will summarize the paper as a whole.
Each learning team will also give a 10 minute presentation of its final project to the rest of the
class on the last day of the course.
Final Group Project: 25%
Oral Presentation: 15%
Short Assignments: 50% (10% each)
Class Participation 10%
Topics and Readings
Week 1:
Basic Topic: Introduction to Psychology for Policy Analysis
Applied Topic: Legal Policy
BFPP Chapter 10
BFPP Chapter 25
Johnson, E. J. & Goldstein, D. (2003). Do defaults save lives? Science, 302, 1338-1339.
Week 2:
Basic Topic: The Power of the Situation
Applied Topic: Poverty Policy
BFPP Chapter 16
Ross, L. & Nisbett, R. (1991). The person and the situation, Chapter 1 (pp. 1-26). New York:
McGraw-Hill.
Week 3:
Basic Topic: Bounded Rationality and Limits to Cognition
Applied Topic: Medical Policy
Kahneman, D. (2003). A perspective on judgment and choice: Mapping bounded rationality.
American Psychologist, 58, 697-720.
Dawes, R. M., Faust, D., & Meehl, P. E. (1989). Clinical versus actuarial judgment. Science, 243,
1668-1674.
BFPP Chapter 18
Week 4:
Basic Topic: Social Influence, Attitudes, and Persuasion
Applied Topic: Race Relations Policy
Cialdini, R. B. (2009). Influence: Science and practice (5th edition), Chapter 3 & Chapters 5-8.
Boston: Allyn & Bacon
BFPP Chapter 2
Week 5:
Basic Topic: Judgment and Decision Making
Applied Topic: Finance Policy
BFPP Chapter 14
Dawes, R. M., Faust, D., & Meehl, P. E. (1989). Clinical versus actuarial judgment. Science, 243,
1668-1674.
Thaler, R. (1999). Mental accounting matters. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 12, 183206.
Tversky, A. & Kahneman, D. (1974). Judgment under uncertainty: Heuristics and biases. Science,
185, 1124-1131.
Week 6:
Basic Topic: Behavior Change
Applied Topic: Environmental Policy
BFPP Chapter 22
Wilson, T. D. (2006). The Power of Social Psychological Interventions. Science, 313, 1251-1252.
Prentice, D. A. (in press). The Psychology of Social Norms and the Promotion of Human Rights.
To appear in R. Goodman, D. Jinks, & A. K. Woods (Eds.), Understanding social action,
promoting human rights. New York: Oxford University Press.
Week 7:
Basic Topic: Groups Dynamics and Group Relations
Applied Topic: Conflict Resolution
BFPP Chapter 6
Sunstein, C. R. & Hastie R. (April 2008). Four failures of deliberating groups. University of
Chicago, Public Law Working Paper No. 215.
Week 8:
Basic Topic: Motivation and Incentive Structures
Applied Topic: Nonprofits and Charitable Giving
Kerr, S. (1995). On the folly of rewarding A while hoping for B. Academy of Management
Executive, 9, 7-14.
Ferraro, F., Pfeffer, J., & Sutton, R. I. (2005). Economics language and assumptions: How
theories can become self-fulfilling. Academy of Management Review, 30, 8-24.
Cryder, C. & Loewenstein, G. (2010). The critical link between tangibility and generosity. In D.
Oppenheimer & C. Olivola (Eds.) The Science of Charity: Experimental Approaches to the Study
of Donation Behavior, New York, NY: Taylor and Francis.
Week 9:
Basic Topic: Psychometrics and Assessment
Applied Topic: Education Policy
BFPP Chapter 19
Kaplan & Sacuzzo (2013). Psychological testing: principles, applications, and issues. Pp 1-23.
Week 10:
Basic topic: Ethics, Caveats and Wrap up
Applied topic: Group Presentations
BFPP Chapter 30
Campbell, D. T. (1969). Reforms as experiments. American Psychologist, 24, 409-429.