Michael Hallsworth

Join an incredible lineup of speakers for the Behavioral Science & Policy Association's 2026 Conference! Early Bird tickets end on March 16th.

Constructive Confrontation (SSIR) An excerpt from The Hypocrisy Trap on how to avoid it

Accusations of hypocrisy are everywhere. Yet despite this noise, little seems to change.

In an excerpt from his new book, "The Hypocrisy Trap," @mhallsworth.bsky.social introduces “induced hypocrisy,” a tactic that offers a new, more respectful way to help people live up to their commitments.

❤️ A great list from PW featuring so many of our UP friends!

@casssunstein.bsky.social @madva.bsky.social @michaelbrownstein.bsky.social @mhallsworth.bsky.social @dryan149.bsky.social

The Hypocrisy Trap with Dr Michael Hallsworth Dr Hallsworth will explore how the "hypocrisy trap" — our relentless drive to expose inconsistency — either breeds more hypocrisy or exhausts our belief in shared standards altogether.

Rather than follow our instincts, there's a more constructive way to understand and respond to hypocrisy. Join "The Hypocrisy Trap" author @mhallsworth.bsky.social at @lsepbs.bsky.social next week on Wednesday, Nov. 19th, when he will discuss tools for moving from outrage to outcomes:

Join me for this event in London! It will go some to some interesting places...

The Hypocrisy Trap with Dr Michael Hallsworth Dr Hallsworth will explore how the "hypocrisy trap" — our relentless drive to expose inconsistency — either breeds more hypocrisy or exhausts our belief in shared standards altogether.

📘 Our lives are full of accusations of hypocrisy — against politicians, companies, and each other. Yet despite this noise, little seems to change. Join us for this talk on 19 Nov where @mhallsworth.bsky.social & @liamdelaney2025.bsky.social will discuss Michael's recent book 'The Hypocrisy Trap'.

The Hypocrisy Trap: How Changing What We Criticize Can … How our desire to stamp out hypocrisy is backfiring—and…

Closing soon! People in the US & Canada have the chance to win a free copy of my new book The Hypocrisy Trap on Goodreads. Prize draw ends on Halloween! www.goodreads.com/book/show/22...

Looking forward to this event in London!

If you're in the US, you can get my new book at 20% off for a limited period! a.co/d/gcKOt9q

Photo of "The Hypocrisy Trap: How Changing What We Criticize Can Improve Our Lives" by Michael Hallsworth. The cover features repeating pattern of a finger pointing in blue and white.

In "The Hypocrisy Trap," behavioral scientist @mhallsworth.bsky.social reveals the hidden psychology of double standards, offering practical solutions for a more constructive approach to understanding and responding to hypocrisy: mitpress.mit.edu/978026205094...

Publication day!

Thanks to @nextbigidea.bsky.social for choosing my upcoming book "The Hypocrisy Trap" as a must-read! Out on October 14th nextbigideaclub.com/magazine/nex...

3D cover image of "The Hypocrisy Trap: How Changing What We Criticize Can Improve Our Lives" by Michael Hallsworth. Above the cover, an endorsement from Katy Milkman reads "The Hypocrisy Trap offers a thoughtful exploration of our deeply human tendency to abhor hypocrisy - and the unintended consequences that can follow."

Learn about how rethinking hypocrisy can improve our politics, business, and personal relationships in a new book by behavioral scientist Michael Hallsworth. "The Hypocrisy Trap" releases Oct. 14th: mitpress.mit.edu/978026205094... @mhallsworth.bsky.social

A book titled "The Hypocrisy Trap: How Changing What We Criticize Can Improve Our Lives" by Michael Hallsworth, displayed against a plain pink background. The cover is blue and white with a pattern made up of a pointed finger graphic.

In "The Hypocrisy Trap," behavioral scientist Michael Hallsworth reveals the hidden psychology of double standards, offering practical solutions for a more constructive approach to understanding and responding to hypocrisy.

Out Oct. 14th: mitpress.mit.edu/978026205094... @mhallsworth.bsky.social

Why Simplicity Can Be Strength in a Complex World - by Michael Hallsworth - Behavioral Scientist As intuitive as it seems, a complicated approach to behavioral design may not be the best response to complexity.

As intuitive as it seems, a complicated approach to behavioral design may not be the best response to complexity.

Read: “Why Simplicity Can Be Strength in a Complex World” by @mhallsworth.bsky.social — behavioralscientist.org/why-simplici...

Your online behavior is seen as less reflective of your "true self" than what you do in person. The reason why is pretty interesting.

In our increasingly distrusting and polarized society, accusations of hypocrisy are everywhere.

But our drive to expose inconsistency between words and deeds can actually breed more hypocrisy!

Check out this new book on hypocrisy: www.amazon.com/dp/026205094...

Big shifts for behavioural science: getting more flexible and adaptive This is the third piece in our series explaining the four big shifts in behavioural science that BIT is aiming…

🔄 Big Shift #3: Make behavioural science more adaptive

Rigid approaches can fail in fast-changing environments. In the third of four big shifts @mhallsworth.bsky.social explores how to tackle unstable issues using flexible framing & adaptive testing.

👇Read the latest in our series: bit.ly/4gXEG8E

The evolution of EAST: Four Simple Ways to Apply Behavioural Insights Join Michael Hallsworth, BIT’s Chief Behavioural Scientist and one of the authors of the original framework, as he explores how behavioural science has developed over the last 10 years, including the ...

New BIT podcast 🎧 Join @mhallsworth.bsky.social to hear how behavioural science has developed over the last 10 years, including the wins, the setbacks, and the future of the field.

🎧 Listen now: bit.ly/4bcTOOj

Big shifts for behavioural science: focusing on the social drivers of behaviour - BIT This is the second piece in our series explaining the four big shifts in behavioural science that BIT is aiming to achieve. In 2023, BIT published a manifesto setting out ten proposals for the future ...

Big shift 2️⃣ for behavioural science: make it more social

@mhallsworth.bsky.social shares how examining social connections, values, and identities can lead to surprising insights and push the field forward.

Read the second in our 4-part series👇
bit.ly/4jlRsR8

Thank you, Caroline!

Four Simple Ways to Apply EAST Framework to Behavioural Insights Discover four easy ways to use EAST Framework to apply behavioural insights to your business or project with helpful advice from The Behavioural Insights Team.

Delighted that the OG Behavioural Insights Team has released a new version of their excellent EAST Framework handbook, first published in 2014 and updated just now to reflect 10 more years of evidence on behavioral science usage around the world. www.bi.team/publications...

Big shifts for behavioural science: working with complexity and systems - BIT This is the first piece in our series explaining the four big shifts in behavioural science that BIT is aiming to achieve. In 2023, we published our manifesto, which set out ten proposals for where th...

Behavioral science could address some of the world’s toughest problems - if we ‘see the system’ as a whole. Here's how complexity and systems thinking can improve understanding, interventions, and evaluations: www.bi.team/comment/big-...

A Dispatch from Rio: Working to Strengthen Behavioral Science in Latin America at the G20 - by Heather Graci - Behavioral Scientist The Rio de Janeiro behavioral science unit envisions a collaborative network of researchers and policymakers across Latin America, plus a seat for Latin American behavioral scientists on the global st...

If you want the latest on behavioral science in Latin America, @behscientist.bsky.social just put out a dispatch from the recent G20 conference in Rio. Lots happening! behavioralscientist.org/a-dispatch-f...

My understanding is that once you open a bottle of whisk(e)y, that starts the clock ticking - it starts losing alcohol content. So what if you want to buy a bottle to drink in the future?

Yes please, if any space left.

Both the original and the new study are really great. Appreciate all the effort required by the teams to run them.

A better way to track your benefits Designing the country’s first benefits application tracker

Great example of govt doing things better: Michigan created a "pizza tracker" so you can see the progress of your benefits application. Led to ⬇️14% in calls to support staff civilla.org/stories/appl... h/t @brendanbabb.bsky.social

I'm hoping that the F is working this weekend!