Self-control ≠ temporal discounting.

This paper explores self-control beyond the framework of time discounting, as is conventional in economics and decision research. Contrary to the notion that self-control failures stem from hyperbolic time discounting or present bias, we argue that self-control problems represent conflicts between the motivational thrusts of affects - i.e.

Conversational technology and reactions to withheld information.

People frequently face decisions that require making inferences about withheld information. The advent of large language models coupled with conversational technology, e.g.

Using curiosity to counter health information avoidance.

Objective: Information that is beneficial for health decision-making is often ignored or actively avoided. Countering information avoidance can increase knowledge of disease risk factors and symptoms, aiding early diagnoses and reducing disease transmission. We examine whether curiosity can be a useful tool in increasing demand for, and engagement with, potentially aversive but useful health information.

Where next for behavioral public policy?

Our target article distinguishes between policy approaches that seek to address societal problems through intervention at the level of the individual (adopting the "i-frame") and those that seek to change the system within which those individuals live (adopting the "s-frame"). We stress also that a long-standing tactic of corporations opposing systemic change is to promote the i-frame perspective, presumably hoping that i-frame interventions will be largely ineffective and more importantly will be seen by the public and some policy makers as a genuine alternative to systemic change. We worry that the i-frame focus of much of behavioral science has inadvertently reinforced this unhelpful focus on the individual.

Create a culture of experiments in environmental programs.

Organizations need a better "learning by doing" approach.

Cognition: A Study in Mental Economy.

In this letter, we argue that an economic perspective on the mind has played-and should continue to play-a central role in the development of cognitive science. Viewing cognition as the productive application of mental resources puts cognitive science and economics on a common conceptual footing, paving the way for closer collaboration between the two disciplines. This will enable cognitive scientists to more readily repurpose economic concepts and analytical tools for the study of mental phenomena, while at the same time, enriching our understanding of the modern economy, which is increasingly driven by mental, rather than physical, production.

Crowdsourcing interventions to promote uptake of COVID-19 booster vaccines.

Background: COVID-19 booster vaccine uptake rates are behind the rate of primary vaccination in many countries. Governments and non-governmental institutions rely on a range of interventions aiming to increase booster uptake. Yet, little is known how experts and the general public evaluate these interventions.

The i-frame and the s-frame: How focusing on individual-level solutions has led behavioral public policy astray.

An influential line of thinking in behavioral science, to which the two authors have long subscribed, is that many of society's most pressing problems can be addressed cheaply and effectively at the level of the individual, without modifying the system in which the individual operates. We now believe this was a mistake, along with, we suspect, many colleagues in both the academic and policy communities. Results from such interventions have been disappointingly modest.

Loss aversion, the endowment effect, and gain-loss framing shape preferences for noninstrumental information.

We often talk about interacting with information as we would with a physical good (e.g., "consuming content") and describe our attachment to personal beliefs in the same way as our attachment to personal belongings (e.

Megastudies improve the impact of applied behavioural science.

Policy-makers are increasingly turning to behavioural science for insights about how to improve citizens' decisions and outcomes. Typically, different scientists test different intervention ideas in different samples using different outcomes over different time intervals. The lack of comparability of such individual investigations limits their potential to inform policy.

Effect of Financial Incentives for Process, Outcomes, or Both on Cholesterol Level Change: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Financial incentives may improve health behaviors. It is unknown whether incentives are more effective if they target a key process (eg, medication adherence), an outcome (eg, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol [LDL-C] levels), or both.

Objective: To determine whether financial incentives awarded daily for process (adherence to statins), awarded quarterly for outcomes (personalized LDL-C level targets), or awarded for process plus outcomes induce reductions in LDL-C levels compared with control.

The rise of affectivism.

Research over the past decades has demonstrated the explanatory power of emotions, feelings, motivations, moods, and other affective processes when trying to understand and predict how we think and behave. In this consensus article, we ask: has the increasingly recognized impact of affective phenomena ushered in a new era, the era of affectivism?

Information Avoidance and Information Seeking Among Parents of Children With ASD.

We estimated the effects of information avoidance and information seeking among parents of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) on age of diagnosis. An online survey was completed by 1,815 parents of children with ASD. Children of parents who self-reported that they had preferred "not to know," reported diagnoses around 3 months later than other children.

Clinical signs associated with earlier diagnosis of children with autism Spectrum disorder.

Background: The objective of this study is to gain new insights into the relationship between clinical signs and age at diagnosis.

Method: We utilize a new, large, online survey of 1743 parents of children diagnosed with ASD, and use multiple statistical approaches. These include regression analysis, factor analysis, and machine learning (regression tree).

Effect of Patient Financial Incentives on Statin Adherence and Lipid Control: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Financial incentives can improve medication adherence and cardiovascular disease risk, but the optimal design to promote sustained adherence after incentives are discontinued is unknown.

Objective: To determine whether 6-month interventions involving different financial incentives to encourage statin adherence reduce low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels from baseline to 12 months.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This 4-group, randomized clinical trial was conducted from August 2013 to July 2018 among several large US insurer or employer populations and the University of Pennsylvania Health System.

Primary caregiver decision-making in hematopoietic cell transplantation and gene therapy for sickle cell disease.

Background: Improved outcomes and the availability of clinical trials of hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) from alternate donors and genetically modified autologous hematopoietic progenitor cells have expanded the applicability of HCT for sickle cell disease (SCD). To understand the perspective of primary caregivers exploring HCT in the current milieu, we asked the research question "What motivates primary caregivers to decide to consider HCT and to seek, and to attend, an HCT consultation?"

Procedures: We conducted qualitative interviews with primary caregivers within one week after a consultation for HCT for SCD. Data were analyzed using open and axial coding stages of grounded theory methodology.

Information gaps for risk and ambiguity.

We apply a model of preferences about the presence and absence of information to the domain of decision making under risk and ambiguity. An uncertain prospect exposes an individual to 1 or more information gaps, specific unanswered questions that capture attention. Gambling makes these questions more important, attracting more attention to them.

Do physician incentives increase patient medication adherence?

Objective: To test the effectiveness of physician incentives for increasing patient medication adherence in three drug classes: diabetes medication, antihypertensives, and statins.

Data Sources: Pharmacy and medical claims from a large Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug Plan from January 2011 to December 2012.

Study Design: We conducted a randomized experiment (911 primary care practices and 8,935 nonadherent patients) to test the effect of paying physicians for increasing patient medication adherence in three drug classes: diabetes medication, antihypertensives, and statins.

Assessment of Patient and Caregiver Attitudes and Approaches to Decision-Making Regarding Bone Marrow Transplant for Sickle Cell Disease: A Qualitative Study.

Importance: Bone marrow transplant (BMT) is a potentially curative treatment for sickle cell disease (SCD). Patient and caregiver attitudes toward BMT for SCD and the willingness to accept risks of BMT vary, but these attitudes are not well understood.

Objective: To understand patient and caregiver perceptions of and attitudes toward BMT for SCD and decision-making about BMT.

Video-observed therapy and medication adherence for tuberculosis patients: randomised controlled trial in Moldova.

Introduction: The effectiveness of video-observed therapy (VOT) for treating tuberculosis (TB) has not been measured in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where >95% of TB cases and deaths occur. In this study, we analyse the effectiveness and patient cost-difference of VOT compared to clinic-based directly observed therapy (DOT) in improving medication adherence in Moldova, a LMIC in Eastern Europe.

Methods: The study was a two-arm individually randomised trial with 197 TB patients (n=99 DOT control group; n=98 VOT treatment group; multidrug-resistant TB cases were excluded).

Effect of Default Options in Advance Directives on Hospital-Free Days and Care Choices Among Seriously Ill Patients: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: There is limited evidence regarding how patients make choices in advance directives (ADs) or whether these choices influence subsequent care.

Objective: To examine whether default options in ADs influence care choices and clinical outcomes.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This randomized clinical trial included 515 patients who met criteria for having serious illness and agreed to participate.

Comparative Effectiveness of a Web-Based Patient Decision Aid for Therapeutic Options for Sickle Cell Disease: Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Hydroxyurea, chronic blood transfusions, and bone marrow transplantation are efficacious, disease-modifying therapies for sickle cell disease but involve complex risk-benefit trade-offs and decisional dilemma compounded by the lack of comparative studies. A patient decision aid can inform patients about their treatment options, the associated risks and benefits, help them clarify their values, and allow them to participate in medical decision making.

Objective: The objective of this study was to develop a literacy-sensitive Web-based patient decision aid based on the Ottawa decision support framework, and through a randomized clinical trial estimate the effectiveness of the patient decision aid in improving patient knowledge and their involvement in decision making.

Effect of revealing authors' conflicts of interests in peer review: randomized controlled trial.

Objective: To assess the effect of disclosing authors' conflict of interest declarations to peer reviewers at a medical journal.

Design: Randomized controlled trial.

Setting: Manuscript review process at the PARTICIPANTS: Reviewers (n=838) who reviewed manuscripts submitted between 2 June 2014 and 23 January 2018 inclusive (n=1480 manuscripts).