Open AccessComputational mechanisms for context-based behavioral interventions: A large-scale analysis
Author(s) -
Wenjia Zhao,
Aoife Coady,
Sudeep Bhatia
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.011
H-Index - 771
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.2114914119
Subject(s) - psychological intervention , context (archaeology) , intervention (counseling) , psychology , cognitive psychology , scale (ratio) , context effect , computer science , management science , data science , engineering , psychiatry , paleontology , linguistics , philosophy , physics , quantum mechanics , word (group theory) , biology
Significance A large body of research in the social and behavioral sciences studies the impact of behavioral interventions (or “nudges”) on decisions. Although this work has been extremely influential, we currently lack an overarching theoretical framework for behavioral interventions that provides a systematic account of their behavioral consequences, cognitive and neurobiological mechanisms, and statistical interpretations. In this paper, we propose such a theoretical framework using the diffusion decision model, a quantitative theory of decision-making whose parameters offer a theoretically compelling characterization of choice underpinnings. Our results not only reveal insights about how context-based interventions alter behavior but also offer practitioners a model-based method for choosing between behavioral interventions based on different goals.