US: Behavioral Science and Decision Making in Context Grant Program

RSF is open to a range of questions consistent with its mission to “improve social and living conditions in the United States”.

Limited consideration will be given to projects that test well-established behavioral effects without examining their context or underlying mechanisms. RSF does not fund studies using data from other countries unless they are part of a comparative project aimed at elucidating social and living conditions in the U.S.

Topics

• The kinds of topics that are of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:
  • 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.
    • 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. 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. PIs may request up to $75,000. Budget amounts are over a two-year period.

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 the Pipeline Competition. 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 the mission.

For more information, visit Russell Sage Foundation.