BCRN Seminar Wiki


 

 

    Multidisciplinary Perspectives

    on the Study of Behavior Change (2012)

    

 

 

Behaviors such as overeating, smoking, drinking, physical inactivity, or excessive risk taking are often difficult to change, and changing such behaviors can lead to substantial improvements in well-being and health. We will explore factors involved in behavior change from a broad multidisciplinary perspective. This class provides a rare and exciting opportunity for students to meet leading scholars from different fields (business, computer sciences, economics, neuroscience, psychology, psychiatry, public health) on and off the Berkeley campus who will present their work as it relates to the study of behavior change. Topics of interest include emotion, motivation, cognition, decision-making, well-being, health, and social networks with a special developmental focus on adolescence and late life. Speakers will give a 45-minute presentation that will be open to the public. After a brief period for questions and answers, there will be an in-depth discussion limited to the class. Readings will include those related to each speaker’s work and that provide a background understanding of the topic. Students will prepare discussion questions for each speaker.

 

This seminar is organized and sponsored by the Behavior Change Research Network.

Select talks (*) are sponsored by the Institute of Human Development

 

 

Seminar Schedule

 

          Location:  9 Durant Hall

          Time:  2-4 pm

 

          Title:  Emotional Functioning and Age: Some Surprising Changes

          Location:  9 Durant Hall

          Time:  2-4 pm

          Related Papers:

Shiota, M. N., & Levenson, R. W. (2009). Effects of aging on experimentally instructed detached reappraisal, positive reappraisal, and emotional behavior suppression. Psychology and Aging, 24, 890-900. Shiota_Levenson_2009.pdf

Carstensen, L. L., Mikels, J. A., & Mather, M. (2006). Aging and the intersection of cognition, motivation, and emotion. In J. E. Birren & K. W. Schaie (2006). Handbook of the psychology of aging (6th ed., pp. 343-362). Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier. Carstensen_Mikels_Mather_2006.pdf

Host: Claudia M. Haase

 

          Title: Dialog, Narrative, and Behavior Change 

          Location:  9 Durant Hall

          Time:  2-4 pm

          Related Papers:

Ramachandran, D., Canny, J., Dutta Das, P., & Cutrell, E. (2010). Mobile-izing health workers in rural India. Proc. 2010 ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 1879-1888. Ramachandran, Canny, Dutta Das & Cutrell (2010).pdf

Ramachandran, D., & Canny, J. (2008). The Persuasive Power of Human-Machine Dialog. Proc. Third International Conference on Persuasive Technology (Persuasive 2008), Springer Lecture notes in Computer Science 5033/2008, Oulu, Finland.  Ramachandra & Canny 2008.pdf  

Host: Jeff Spielberg

 

          Title: Health Disparities: What's Behavior Got To Do With It?  

          Location:  9 Durant Hall

          Time:  2-4 pm

          Related Papers:

Adler, N.E. & Stewart, J. (2010) Health disparities across the lifespan: Meaning, methods and mechanisms. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1186; 5-23. Adler & Stewart (2010).pdf

Adler, N.E. & Stewart, J. (2009) Reducing obesity: Motivating action without blaming the victim. Millbank Quarterly, 87, 49-70. Adler & Stewart (2009).pdf  

Host: Jeffrey Spielberg

 

          Title:  Decision Neuroscience: The Neural Mechanisms of Choice

          Location:  9 Durant Hall

          Time:  2-4 pm

Related Papers: 

McClure, S.M., Laibson, D.I., Loewenstein, G., & Cohen, J.D. (2004). Separate neural systems value immediate and delayed monetary rewards. Science, 306, 503-507.  McClure_Laibson_Loewenstien_Cohen_2004.pdf

Rangel, A., Carmerer, C., & Montague, P.R. (2008). A framework for studying the neurobiology of value-based decision making. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 9, 545-556. Rangel_Camerer_Montague_2008.pdf

Host: Jeffrey Spielberg

 

          *** Note, this talk will be held on a Tuesday rather than Monday and in a different location 

          Title:  Behavioral Economics and Incentives in Health Care

          Location:  Koret Room, F320 Haas School of Business

          Time:  2-4 pm

          Related Papers:    

Loewenstein, G. and Haisley, E. (2008). The economist as therapist: Methodological issues raised by “light” paternalism. In A. Caplin and A. Schotter (Eds.), Foundations of Positive and Normative Economics, volume 1 in the Handbook of Economic Methodologies, Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. EconomistAsTherapist.pdf

 John, L., Loewenstein, G., Troxel, A., Norton, L., Fassbender, J. & Volpp, K. (2011).  Financial Incentives for Extended Weight Loss: A Randomized, Controlled Trial. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 26, 621–6loewenstein.pdf

Host: Ayala Arad

 

          Title:  A Social Neuroscience Perspective on Adolescent Risk-Taking

          Location:  9 Durant Hall

          Time:  2-4 pm

          Related Papers:

Steinberg, L. (2010). A dual systems model of adolescent risk-taking. Developmental Psychobiology, 52, 216-224. Steinberg (2010).pdf

Albert, D., & Steinberg, L. (2011). Judgment and decision making in adolescence. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 21, 211-224. Albert & Steinberg (2011).pdf

Host: Claudia M. Haase

 

          Title:  Is Overconfidence a Positive Illusion?

          Location:  9 Durant Hall

          Time:  2-4 pm

          Related Papers: 

          Moore, D. A. & Healy, P. J. (2008). The trouble with overconfidence. Psychological Review, 115, 502-517. Moore Healy 2008.pdf

Armor, D.A., & Taylor, S.E. (1998). Situated optimism: Specific outcome expectancies and self-regulation. In M. P. Zanna (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 30, pp. 309-379). New York: Academic Press.Armor Taylor 1998.pdf  

Host: Ayala Arad

 

          Title:  A Personal Journey in the Wonderland of Neuroeconomics

          Location:  9 Durant Hall

          Time:  2-4 pm

          Related Papers: 

          Rubinstein, A. (2007). Instinctive and cognitive reasoning: A study of response times. Economic Journal117, 1243–1259. response time.pdf

          Rubinstein, A. (2008). Comments on NeuroEconomics. Economics and Philosophy, 24, 485-494. Rubinstein (2008).pdf

Host: Ayala Arad

 

          Title:  Emotion in Interpersonal Interactions

          Location:  9 Durant Hall

          Time:  2-4 pm

          Related Papers:

             Andrade, E. B. & Ho, T.-H. (2009). Gaming Emotions in Social Interactions. Journal of Consumer Research, 36, 539-551. Andrade&Ho2009.pdf

Andrade, E. B. & Cohen, J. B. (2007). Affect-Based Evaluation and Regulation as Mediators of Behavior: The Role of Affect in Risk-Taking, Helping and Eating Patterns. In Do Emotions Help or Hurt Decision Making: A Hedgefoxian Perspective, Eds. Kathleen Vohs, Roy Baumeister, and George Loewenstein. New York, NY: Russel Sage, (pp. 35-68). Andrade and Cohen2007.pdf

Host: Jeff Spielberg

 

          Title:  Social-Ecological Perspectives on Behavior Change:  Multi-Method Approaches to Promoting Healthy Adolescent Development.

          Location:  9 Durant Hall

          Time:  2-4 pm

          Related Papers:

Ozer, E.J., Wanis, M.G., & Bazell, N. (2010). Diffusion of school-based prevention programs in two urban districts: Adaptations, rationales, and suggestions for change Prevention Science, 11, 42-55. Ozer_Wanis_&_Bazell_2010.pdf

Ozer, E.J., & Weiss, D.S. (2004). Who develops Posttraumatic Stress Disorder? Current Directions in Psychological Science, 13, 169-172. Ozer_&_Weiss_2004.pdf

Host: Ayala Arad

 

          Location:  9 Durant Hall

          Time:  2-4 pm

          Related Papers:  TBA 

 

Contact

 

Robert W. Levenson (boblev@socrates.berkeley.edu)

Ayala Arad (ayala_arad@haas.berkeley.edu); Claudia M. Haase (claudia.haase@berkeley.edu); Jeffrey Spielberg (jspielb2@gmail.com)

 

 

Picture: (c) Jean Kirsten, www.j-kirsten.de

Behaviors such as overeating, smoking, drinking, physical inactivity, or excessive risk taking are often difficult to change, and changing such behaviors can lead to substantial improvements in well-being and health. We will explore factors involved in behavior change from a broad multidisciplinary perspective. This class provides a rare and exciting opportunity for students to meet leading scholars from different fields (psychology, economics, business, public health, neuroscience) on and off the Berkeley campus who will present their work as it relates to the study of behavior change. Topics of interest include emotion, motivation, cognition, decision-making, well-being, health, and social networks with a special developmental focus on adolescence and late life. Speakers will give a presentation that will be open to the public followed by an in-depth discussion limited to the class. Readings will include those related to each speaker’s work and that provide a background understanding of the topic. Students will prepare discussion questions for each speaker.