The Evolution of Behavioural Science in Public Policy

Abstract

Interventions are to the social sciences what inventions are to the physical sciences—an application of science as technology. Behavioural science has emerged as a powerful toolkit for developing policy interventions and public programs for changing behaviour. Such behavioural change intervention can support societies in creating a better world together. However, the translation from principles to practice is often moderated by contextual factors—such as culture—that thwart attempts to generalize past successes. Here we discuss cultural evolution as a framework for addressing this contextual gap. We describe the history of behavioural science in public organisations and the role that cultural evolution plays as a natural next step. We review research that may be considered cultural evolutionary behavioural science in public policy, illustrating concrete applications in fields such as public health, corruption, and sustainable development. We synthesize the promises and challenges for designing cultural evolution informed interventions and assess their impact. Finally, we discuss the value of applied research as a crucial test of basic science: if theories, lab, and field experiments don’t work in the real world, they don’t work at all.