USC Behavioral Science &
Policy Initiative

Bringing together USC expertise in behavioral science and related fields to inform policy on well-being, health, finances, climate change, and security.

Who We Are

The Behavioral Science and Policy Initiative is part of the USC Schaeffer Institute for Public Policy & Government Service.

What We Do

We conduct behavioral science research to inform policies on climate change, health, food insecurity, and other key policy topics, through direct interaction with policymakers. We also co-host events that bring together behavioral scientists, behavioral economists, behavioral decision researchers, and psychologists from across USC. Additionally, we support the Behavioral Science Society for undergraduate students, graduate students and postdocs.

What is Behavioral Science?

Behavioral Science is a growing interdisciplinary field that combines insights from psychology, economics, and other social sciences to understand how people perceive risks, how they process information about risks, and what motivates attitude and behavior change.

Academic Council

Events

Students and
Post Docs

Director

Wändi Bruine de Bruin

Wändi Bruine de Bruin

Contact Us

Email Wändi Bruine de Bruin to sign up for our mailing list to receive more information and invitations to our events, or to receive more information on co-hosting events and collaborating.

Andreas Aristidou

Email id: [email protected]

School: Dornsife Department of Economics, Dornsife Center for Economic and Social Research

Role: Alumni from Ph.D. in Economics program and former Research Assistant at CESR

Research Description: Persuasion, Incentives, financial decision making, and life satisfaction

Website Link: aristidouandreas.com

Applied Research to Topics: Personal health, well-being, healthcare, Behavior change interventions, and nudging

Research Application Interests: Personal health, well-being, healthcare, Personal consumption and finances, financial distress, poverty, Behavior change interventions, and nudging

Elizabeth Hannan

Bio: Elizabeth Hannan is a rising senior at the University of Southern California pursuing a B.A. in Neuroscience and a minor in Business Finance. At present, Elizabeth aims to pursue work, involvement and leadership activities that combine her passions for medicine, finance and advancing female leaders in business. She serves as Chief Executive Officer of Marshall Women’s Leadership Board, an organization comprised of aspiring female leaders in business at USC, as the Finance Director of OWN IT at USC, a women’s leadership summit and as the Student Board Member on the National Board of Order of Omega, an international academic honor society of Greek leaders. Previously, Elizabeth conducted research at the USC Schaeffer Center for Healthy Policy and Economics at USC and served as the Chapter President of the Epsilon Chapter of Alpha Chi Omega and as President of the Omega Phi Chapter of Order of Omega at USC. In her free time, she is an avid reader, practices ashtanga yoga and enjoys listening to the Michelle Obama and Freakonomics podcast series. After graduation, Elizabeth looks forward to working at Pfizer Inc. as a Finance Associate.

Wändi Bruine de Bruin

Bio: Wändi Bruine de Bruin is a Provost Professor of Public Policy, Psychology, and Behavioral Science. She has published more than 125 peer-reviewed publications on the psychology of risk perception and communication, as applied to personal health, sustainability and climate change, as well as household finances. Across USC, she holds affiliations with the Sol Price School of Public Policy, the Department of Psychology, the Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics, the Center for Economic and Social Research, and the Center for Sustainability Solutions, and the National Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events (CREATE). She is a member of the editorial boards of the Journal of Experimental Psychology:Applied, the Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, Decision, Medical Decision Making, the Journal of Risk Research, and Psychology and Aging. Her research on age differences in decision making was recently covered by Psychology Today and the BBC World’s Why Factor. She currently serves on the National Academy of Sciences committee on mask use and respiratory health. She has served on expert panels for the National Academy of Sciences on Communicating Science Effectively and for the Council of the Canadian Academies on Health Product Risk Communication. With colleagues in the Center for Economic and Social Research, she is running a national longitudinal survey to track symptoms, risk perceptions, protective behaviors, food insecurity, and political polarization during the COVID-19 pandemic in the US. She is also studying how people’s expectations of others’ behaviors can improve predictions of election outcomes and vaccination behavior.

Katherine Winn

Bio: Katherine Winn is a senior studying Business Administration with a minor in Communication Policy and Law. She is on the pre-law track and plans to go into the Data Privacy field in her future career. As a part of the USC Marshall Honors Program, she wrote an undergraduate thesis “‘Do Not Sell my Personal Information’ or ‘Accept Cookies?’ Effects of Cookie Banners on Consumer Perceptions and Decisions” in order to study how recent data privacy legislation and new regulations have affected consumer decisions. At USC she is involved in Marshall Women’s Leadership Board, the Marshall International Case Competition, and her Greek organization.

Patrycja Sleboda

Bio: Patrycja Sleboda, PhD, is a Postdoctoral Scientist at Cedars-Sinai, Cancer Research Center for Health Equity and a visiting scholar at the Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics at the University of Southern California. Patrycja’s main expertise is in behavioral science and decision-making psychology. Her research focuses on consumer behavior, health and sustainability and examines the role of risk perception and individual differences in effective communication and interventions.

MaryAnn Samson

Bio: MaryAnn Samson is an MSW student at USC, class of 2021. She completed her undergraduate degree at Endicott College in Psychology. She is passionate about behavioral science and particularly enjoys the topic through both a psychological and social justice lens. She is starting her Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology at Washington State University in Fall 2021 where she will be studying health behavior change. 

Nikolaos Flemotomos

Bio: Nikolaos (Nikos) Flemotomos is a PhD student in Electrical Engineering, member of the Signal Analysis and Interpretation Laboratory at the University of Southern California. His research focuses on computational models of behavioral patterns. He is utilizing machine learning algorithms with applications in speech and language processing to extract and analyze human behaviors manifested within conversational interactions and mainly within psychotherapy. Nikos holds an undergraduate degree from the National Technical University of Athens (Greece) and an MSc from USC, both in Electrical Engineering, and has worked as a research intern at the Czech Technical University in Prague and at Microsoft Research. He enjoys spending his free time cycling and hiking.

Andrew Dawson

Bio: Andrew Dawson is a doctoral student in the Mind and Society Center working with Dr. Daphna Oyserman. His work focuses on identity and culture, specifically how identity and culture affect information processing and judgement. Previously, he worked in Silicon Valley at Google and Guardant Health.

Stephan Steve Carney

Bio: Stephan (Steve) Carney joined the USC Marshall School of Business as a PhD student in Marketing in Fall 2021. Steve researches the social consumer. Consumption decisions do not happen in a social vacuum; Steve is interested in how others impact our judgements and decisions for ourselves and in the marketplace. 

 

Previously, Steve served as the lab manager of the Center for Behavioral and Decision Research at Carnegie Mellon University. Prior to academics, Steve worked in public accounting and technology consulting and holds a BS and MS in Marketing.

 

Jose Scott

Email id: [email protected]

School: Sol Price School of Public Policy, Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Department: Sol Price School of Public Policy, Center for Economic and Social Research

Role: Graduate student

Research Description: My research interests are broadly centered around social and economic inequality, and specifically the role of behavioral public policy in the institutionalization of poverty in the United States.

Website Link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jose-scott/

Applied Research to Topics: Personal health, well-being, healthcare, Personal consumption and finances, financial distress, poverty, Diversity, equity and inclusion, Behavior change interventions and nudging.

Research Application Interests: Personal health, well-being, healthcare, COVID-19, Personal consumption and finances, financial distress, poverty, Climate change, environment, and sustainability, Diversity, equity and inclusion, Law and security, Aging, Behavior change interventions and nudging.

Milad Kassaie

Email id: [email protected]

School: Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Department: Psychology

Role: Graduate student

Applied Research to Topics: Personal health, well-being, healthcare, Personal consumption and finances, financial distress, poverty, Behavior change interventions and nudging.

Research Application Interests: Personal health, well-being, healthcare, Personal consumption and finances, financial distress, poverty, Climate change, environment, and sustainability, Aging, Behavior change interventions and nudging.

Stephan (Steve) Carney

Email id: [email protected]

School: Marshall School of Business

Department: Marketing

Role: Graduate student

Research Description: Steve’s research focuses on the psychological underpinnings of consumer decision making and the factors that undermine consumers’ ability to make the best decisions for themselves and others.

Website Link: https://www.stephancarney.com/

Applied Research to Topics: Personal health, well-being, healthcare, Personal consumption and finances, financial distress, poverty, Behavior change interventions and nudging.

Research Application Interests: Personal health, well-being, healthcare, Personal consumption and finances, financial distress, poverty, Behavior change interventions and nudging.

Ellen Herschel

Email id: [email protected]

School: Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Department: Psychology Department, Brain and Creativity Institute

Role: Graduate student

Research Description: Areas of interest include embodied cognition, creative improvisation, rhythm, synchrony, and music as they relate to neuroplasticity and cognition in childhood development, older adults, and disease populations.

Applied Research to Topics: Personal health, well-being, healthcare, Diversity, equity and inclusion, Aging.

Research Application Interests: Personal health, well-being, healthcare, Diversity, equity and inclusion, Aging.

Asaf Mazar

Email id: [email protected]

School: Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Department: Psychology

Role: Graduate student

Research Description: I study habits and behavior change.

Website Link: https://www.asafmazar.com/

Applied Research to Topics: Personal health, well-being, healthcare, Climate change, environment, and sustainability, Behavior change interventions and nudging.

Research Application Interests: Personal health, well-being, healthcare, COVID-19, Climate change, environment, and sustainability, Behavior change interventions and nudging.

Silvia R da Costa

School: USC School of Pharmacy

Department: Office of Research

Role: Staff

Website Link: https://research.usc.edu/

Applied Research to Topics: Diversity, equity and inclusion.

Research Application Interests: Diversity, equity and inclusion.

James Finley

Email id: [email protected]

School: Viterbi School of Engineering

Department: Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Neuroscience Graduate Program

Role: Faculty

Research Description: My work seeks to understand how aging and neurological impairments such as stroke and Parkinson’s disease influence risk-sensitive decision-making during walking.

Website Link: http://lcl.usc.edu/

Applied Research to Topics: Personal health, well-being, healthcare, Aging.

Research Application Interests: Personal health, well-being, healthcare, Aging, Behavior change interventions and nudging.

Rosalie Liccardo Pacula

School: Sol Price School of Public Policy

Department: Department of Health Policy & Management

Role: Faculty

Research Description: I study health behaviors related to intoxicating substances as well as the policies that influence their supply, use, treatment, and harm reduction.

Website Link: https://priceschool.usc.edu/people/rosalie-pacula/

Applied Research to Topics: Personal health, well-being, healthcare, Personal consumption and finances, financial distress, poverty, Law and security.

Research Application Interests: Personal health, well-being, healthcare, COVID-19, Personal consumption and finances, financial distress, poverty, Law and security, Aging, Behavior change interventions and nudging.

Maja Mataric

Email id: [email protected]

School: Viterbi School of Engineering

Department: Computer Science, Robotics and Autonomous Systems Center (RASC)

Role: Interim VP of Research

Research Description: Technology-supported behavior change, focusing on socially assistive robotics; experience with interventions in autism, anxiety, stroke, Alzheimer’s, and obesity, as well as healthy elderly and other user populations.

Website Link: http://robotics.usc.edu/~maja

Applied Research to Topics: Personal health, well-being, healthcare, Aging, Behavior change interventions and nudging.

Research Application Interests: Personal health, well-being, healthcare, COVID-19, Personal consumption and finances, financial distress, poverty, Climate change, environment, and sustainability, Diversity, equity and inclusion, Aging, Behavior change interventions and nudging, behavior economics / nudge insights to our USC operations, around COVID-19, student wellness, and more, and welcome ideas.

Elizabeth Nell Hannan

Email id:  [email protected]

School: Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, Marshall School of Business

Department: Department of Neuroscience Department in Dornsife and Department of Finance and Business Economics in Marshall

Role: Undergraduate student

Applied Research to Topics: COVID-19

Research Application Interests: Personal health, well-being, healthcare, COVID-19, Personal consumption and finances, financial distress, poverty, Climate change, environment, and sustainability, Diversity, equity and inclusion, Law and security, Aging, Behavior change interventions and nudging.

Thomas D. Lyon

Email id: [email protected]

School: Gould School of Law

Role: Faculty

Research Description: My goal is to identify the most productive means of questioning children about abuse and violence.

Website Link: https://uscchildinterviewinglab.com/

Applied Research to Topics: Personal health, well-being, healthcare

Research Application Interests: COVID-19

Arianna Uhalde

Email id: [email protected]

School: Marshall School of Business

Department: Marketing department, USC Athletics

Role: Faculty, Director of Research and Impact, USC Athletics

Website Link: https://www.marshall.usc.edu/personnel/arianna-uhalde

Applied Research to Topics: Personal health, well-being, healthcare, Diversity, equity and inclusion, Performance and identity.

Research Application Interests: Personal health, well-being, healthcare, Personal consumption and finances, financial distress, poverty, Diversity, equity and inclusion, Behavior change interventions and nudging.

MaryAnn Samson

Email id: [email protected]

School: Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work

Department: Adulthood Mental Health and Wellness (AMHW) concentration

Role: Graduate student

Research Description: I am currently researching with Dr. Wingert on working memory and problem solving, but I am also fascinated with health decisions and the protective factor of social relationships.

Website Link: maryannsamson.com

Applied Research to Topics: Working memory studies, therapeutic alliance in the doctor-physician relationship.

Research Application Interests: Personal health, well-being, healthcare, Diversity, equity and inclusion, Behavior change interventions and nudging.

Joe Árvai

Email id: [email protected]

School: Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Department: Department of Psychology, Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies

Role: Faculty

Research Description: My research focuses on improving the critical thinking, judgment, and decision-making capabilities of people (working individually or in groups).

Website Link: https://thejdmlab.com

Applied Research to Topics: COVID-19, Personal consumption and finances, financial distress, poverty, Climate change, environment, and sustainability, Diversity, equity and inclusion, Behavior change interventions and nudging, Business and Policy.

Research Application Interests: COVID-19, Personal consumption and finances, financial distress, poverty, Climate change, environment, and sustainability, Diversity, equity and inclusion, Law and security, Behavior change interventions and nudging, Business and Policy.

Alex Segrè Cohen

Email id: [email protected]

School: Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Department: Psychology

Role: Graduate student

Research Description: Communications around emerging technologies and hazards, and how to improve the quality of decision-making within these contexts.

Applied Research to Topics: COVID-19, Climate change, environment, and sustainability, Behavior change interventions, and nudging.

Research Application Interests: COVID-19, Climate change, environment, and sustainability, Diversity, equity and inclusion, Behavior change interventions, and nudging.

Julie Zissimopoulos

Email id: [email protected]

School: Sol Price School of Public Policy

Department: Department of Health Policy and Management, Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics

Role: Faculty

Research Description: Individual and policy opportunities for healthy aging

Website Link:  https://healthpolicy.usc.edu/author/julie-zissimopoulos-ph-d/

Applied Research to Topics: Personal health, well-being, healthcare, Personal consumption and finances, financial distress, poverty, Diversity, equity and inclusion, Aging.

Research Application Interests: COVID-19, Behavior change interventions and nudging.

Joanne Yoong 

  Role: Member

  [email protected] 

Wendy Wood 

Email id: [email protected]

School: Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, Marshall School of Business.

Department: Social Psychology

Role: Faculty

Research Description: What are habits, and why do people find it so difficult to change them?

Website Link: https://dornsife.usc.edu/wendywood

Applied Research to Topics: Behavior change interventions and nudging.

Research Application Interests: Behavior change interventions and nudging.

Detlof von Winterfeldt 

  Role: Member

  [email protected] 

Ofir Turel 

School: Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Department: Psychology

Role: Scholar in Residence

Research Description: Technology, the brain, and society

Website Link: https://oturel1.wixsite.com/ofirturel

Applied Research to Topics: Personal health, well-being, healthcare, Personal consumption and finances, financial distress, poverty, Diversity, equity and inclusion, Law and security, Behavior change interventions and nudging.

Research Application Interests: Personal health, well-being, healthcare, COVID-19, Personal consumption and finances, financial distress, poverty, Climate change, environment, and sustainability, Diversity, equity and inclusion, Law and security, Aging, Behavior change interventions and nudging.

Neeraj Sood

  Role: Member

  [email protected] 

Norbert Schwarz

Email id: [email protected]

School: Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, Marshall School of Business

Department: USC Dornsife – Psychology, Mind & Society Center, USC Marshall – Marketing

Role: Faculty

Research Description: I study the interplay of feeling and thinking in judgment and decision making, including public opinion, consumer behavior, and well-being.

Website Link: https://dornsife.usc.edu/norbert-schwarz/

Applied Research to Topics: Personal health, well-being, healthcare, Personal consumption and finances, financial distress, poverty, Climate change, environment, and sustainability, Diversity, equity and inclusion, Behavior change interventions and nudging, Political preferences

Research Application Interests: Personal health, well-being, healthcare, COVID-19, Personal consumption and finances, financial distress, poverty, Climate change, environment, and sustainability, Behavior change interventions and nudging.

Stephen Read

  Role: Member

  [email protected] 

David Pynadath 

  Role: Member

  [email protected] 

Daphna Oyserman 

  Role: Member

  [email protected] 

Shri Narayanan 

  Role: Member

  [email protected] 

John Monterosso

  Role: Member

  [email protected] 

Daniella Meeker

  Role: Member

  [email protected] 

Mara Mather 

School: Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, Viterbi School of Engineering, Davis School of Gerontology.

Department: Leonard Davis School of Gerontology-Department of Psychology

Role: Faculty

Research Description: Affective neuroscience and aging.

Website Link: https://gero.usc.edu/labs/matherlab/

Applied Research to Topics: Personal health, well-being, healthcare, Aging.

Research Application Interests: Personal health, well-being, healthcare, Aging, Behavior change interventions and nudging.

Dan Klerman 

  Role: Member

  [email protected] 

Richard John 

  Role: Member

  [email protected] 

Andrea Hollingshead 

  Role: Member

  [email protected] 

Duke Han

  Role: Member

  [email protected] 

Linda Hagen

  Role: Member

  [email protected] 

Leor Hackel 

  Role: Member

  [email protected] 

Jonathan Gratch 

  Role: Member

  [email protected] 

Cary Frydman 

  Role: Member

  [email protected] 

Kristin Diehl 

Email id: [email protected]

School: Marshall School of Business

Department: Marketing

Role: Faculty

Research Description: I am interested in: 1) how consumers search for and use information when search costs are low, assortments are large, and recommendation tools may be available. 2) how people anticipate, experience, and remember events that unfold over time and during which technologies (e.g., camera phones) play a role.

Website Link: https://www.kristindiehl.org/

Applied Research to Topics: Personal health, well-being, healthcare.

Research Application Interests: Personal health, well-being, healthcare, Behavior change interventions, and nudging.

Kayla De la Haye 

Email id: [email protected]

School: Keck School of Medicine

Department: Department of Preventive Medicine

Role: Faculty

Research Description: Promote health and preventing disease by applying social network analysis and systems science to key public health issues.

Website Link: https://www.kayladelahaye.net/

Applied Research to Topics: Personal health, well-being, healthcare, COVID-19, Diversity, equity and inclusion, Behavior change interventions and nudging.

Research Application Interests: Personal health, well-being, healthcare, COVID-19, Climate change, environment, and sustainability, Diversity, equity and inclusion, Behavior change interventions and nudging.

Morteza Dehghany 

  Role: Member

  [email protected] 

Giorgio Coricelli

  Role: Member

  [email protected] 

Tom Y. Chang 

Email id: [email protected]

School: Marshall School of Business

Department: Finance and Business Economics

Role: Faculty

Research Description: Behavioral Finance and Economics

Website Link: https://www.tomychang.com/

Applied Research to Topics: Personal health, well-being, healthcare, COVID-19, Personal consumption and finances, financial distress, poverty, Climate change, environment, and sustainability, Behavior change interventions and nudging.

Research Application Interests: Personal health, well-being, healthcare, Personal consumption and finances, financial distress, poverty, Behavior change interventions and nudging.

Leandro Carvalho 

  Role: Member

  [email protected]

Peter Carnevale 

  Role: Member

  [email protected] 

Juan Carillo 

  Role: Member

  [email protected] 

Jeremy Burke 

  Role: Member

  [email protected] 

Eva Büchel 

Email id: [email protected]

School: Marshall School of Business

Department: Marketing

Role: Faculty

Research Description: I focus on the psychological processes that shape consumer judgments, decisions and behaviors.

Website Link: https://www.marshall.usc.edu/personnel/eva-buechel

Applied Research to Topics: Personal health, well-being, healthcare.

Research Application Interests: Personal consumption and finances, financial distress, poverty, Behavior change interventions and nudging.

Isabella Brocas 

  Role: Member

  [email protected] 

Dan Benjamin

  Role: Member

  [email protected] 

Antoine Bechara 

  Role: Member

  [email protected] 

Silvia Barcellos

  Role: Member

  [email protected]

Emma Aguila 

Email id: [email protected]

School: Sol Price School of Public Policy

Department: Schaeffer Center

Role: Faculty

Website Link: https://priceschool.usc.edu/people/emma-aguila/

Applied Research to Topics: Personal health, well-being, healthcare, Personal consumption and finances, financial distress, poverty, Diversity, equity and inclusion, Aging, health disparities.

Research Application Interests: Behavior change interventions and nudging.

Ali Abbas 

  Role: Member

  [email protected] 

Gülden Űlkümen 

Email id: [email protected]

School: Marshall School of Business

Department: Marketing

Role: Faculty

Research Description: Gulden Ulkumen’s research interests include the impact of uncertainty on decision making, and consumer financial decision making, specifically budgeting and savings decisions.

Website Link: https://www.marshall.usc.edu/personnel/gulden-ulkumen

Applied Research to Topics: Personal consumption and finances, financial distress, poverty, Behavior change interventions, and nudging.

Research Application Interests: Personal health, well-being, healthcare, COVID-19, Personal consumption and finances, financial distress, poverty, Climate change, environment, and sustainability, Diversity, equity and inclusion, Behavior change interventions and nudging.

Dan Simon 

  Role: Co-PI

  [email protected] 

Arie Kapteyn

  Role: Co-PI

  [email protected] 

Jason Doctor

  Role: Co-PI

  [email protected] 

Wändi Bruine de Bruin

  Role: PI

  [email protected]