RSF: Program on Behavioral Science and Decision Making in Context (US)

This program encourages perspectives from multiple disciplines, including economics, psychology, political science, sociology, law, public policy, and other social sciences, to further their understanding of economic, social, and political decision-making processes, attitudes, behaviors, and institutional practices in public and private contexts such as policing/criminal legal systems, employment, housing, politics, racial/ethnic relations, and immigration.

Topic Areas

• The kinds of topics and questions that are of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:
  • Biases and Misperceptions: An important contribution of behavioral science has been to analyze the extent to which biases (racial/ethnic, skin color, socioeconomic status, immigration status, political, gender, etc.) and misperceptions affect attitudes and behaviors, and to test interventions that might correct these biases and misperceptions. RSF is interested in research examining the extent to which implicit and explicit biases and misperceptions affect attitudes and behaviors in employment, criminal, judicial, political, educational, and other settings, and the consequences of these actions.
  • Institutions, Policies, Social Structures and Networks: Institutional actors may hold implicit and explicit biases and misperceptions, which may be reflected and maintained through institutional policies and practices. In this way, systemic racism can be embedded through laws and regulations within society or an organization. It can contribute to discrimination in criminal justice, employment, housing, political power, and educational attainment, among other outcomes. Similarly, decisions are made within social structures and within the context of social networks. Networks can influence how decisions are made in the context of voting, protesting, job search, college enrollment, and other behaviors relevant to social and economic mobility, poverty, and inequality. RSF is interested in research examining the extent to which and how institutions, policies, social structures, and networks affect attitudes and behavior.
  • Motivations, Incentives and Choice Architecture: Individuals respond to incentives, and to a broad array of social, political, psychological, economic, and cultural motivations. Moreover, the ways in which options are presented to individuals (Choice Architecture) can impact their behavior. RSF is interested in research on the consequences of choice architecture and motivated behavior for social, economic, and political inequalities.
  • Habits, Time Preferences, Mental Bandwidth and Behavior Change: Many human behaviors are habitual, intuitive, taken-for-granted, or otherwise not reflective. Time preferences and burdens on mental bandwidth (e.g., due to poverty or other forms of scarcity) shape behaviors, both consciously and subconsciously. RSF is interested in research examining how consequential habits are formed and changed, and the extent to which habits, mental burdens and preferences affect social, economic, and political attitudes and behaviors.
  • Affect and Emotions: Emotions can shape attitudes and behaviors both consciously and subconsciously. RSF is interested in supporting research that examines the extent to which emotions influence social, economic, legal, and political attitudes and behaviors.

Funding Information

• Trustee Grants are generally capped at $200,000. Presidential Grants are capped at $50,000, but PIs may request up to $75,000 when the proposed research project has special needs for gathering data (e.g., qualitative research) or gaining access to restricted-use data, or when the proposal budget includes salary support for multiple assistant professor PIs.

Eligibility Criteria

• All applicants (both PIs and Co-PIs) must have a doctorate. In rare circumstances, RSF may consider applications from scholars who do not hold a doctorate but can demonstrate a strong career background that establishes their ability to conduct high-level, peer-reviewed scholarly research. Students may not be applicants.
• RSF particularly encourages early career scholars to apply for Presidential grants or our Pipeline Competition. For the November deadlines you can apply for either the pipeline grants or our regular research grants but not both. All nationalities are eligible to apply and applicants do not have to reside in the U.S., but the focus of the proposed research project must be on the U.S. as per our mission.

For more information, visit RSF.