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Looking at Spillovers in the Mirror: Making a Case for "Behavioral Spillunders"
Dario Krpan1, Matteo M Galizzi1, Paul Dolan1
1Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, United Kingdom.
Frontiers in Psychology
|June 4, 2019
Summary
Behavioral spillovers influence future actions. This study introduces "spillunder," where anticipating a future behavior impacts a preceding one, potentially altering policy interventions.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral economics
- Psychology
- Public policy
Background:
- Behavioral spillovers describe how interventions for one behavior affect others.
- This research explores the reverse: how anticipated future behaviors influence preceding actions, termed 'spillunder'.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce and define the concept of behavioral spillunder.
- To review existing evidence and propose a conceptual framework for spillunder effects.
- To highlight the implications for behavioral interventions and research.
Main Methods:
- Narrative literature review of existing spillunder studies.
- Development of a conceptual framework based on psychological and economic principles.
- Identification of six potential mechanisms driving spillunder effects.
Main Results:
- Limited empirical evidence currently exists for spillunder effects.
- Spillunder effects are proposed to be more common than currently documented.
- Six mechanisms (executive functions, moral licensing, emotion regulation, etc.) are identified as potential drivers.
Conclusions:
- Spillunder effects, where future behavior expectations influence present actions, warrant further investigation.
- Understanding spillunder is crucial for designing effective and comprehensive behavioral interventions.
- Methodological considerations for studying spillunder effects are discussed.