The Position of Calories on Menus Influences How Much People Eat. ESRI Research Bulletin 2019/15

High levels of obesity worldwide have led to calls for calorie information to be put on food menus. Ireland’s Obesity Policy and Action Plan commits the government to introduce legislation on calorie posting. In advance of this measure, some restaurants have adopted voluntary policies and put calories on their menus already. However, the size of the calorie information and where it is placed on the menu differs across restaurants. This may matter, because research in behavioural economics suggests that, in general, the size, colour and location of information affects how people respond to it. In research funded by the Department of Health, the ESRI’s Behavioural Research Unit designed an experiment to test how the location of calorie information on menus affects whether consumers notice calorie information and how much they order, eat and understand

The effect of spatial position of calorie information on choice, consumption and attention. ESRI WP615, February 2019

We report a “lab-in-the-field” experiment designed to test the impact of posting calories on menus. The study adds substantially to previous work by testing different spatial arrangements of price and calorie information. Choices were real, not hypothetical, and participants were unaware that their lunch choice was part of a study, even though their eye-movements were being tracked. Participants exposed to calorie information ordered 93 fewer calories (11%) relative to a control group. The impact was strongest when calorie information was presented on menus just to the right of the price, in an equivalent font. The difference in number of calories consumed was greater still. These effects were mediated by knowledge of the amount of calories in the meal, implying that calorie posting led to more informed decision making. There was no impact on enjoyment of the meal. Eye-tracking data suggested that this arrangement altered the decision process such that greater decision weight was given to calorie content

Underestimation of money growth and pensions: Experimental investigations. ESRI WP611, February 2019

People underestimate long-term growth in savings because they linearise exponential growth – a phenomenon known as exponential growth bias (EGB). This bias has implications for multiple financial decisions, particularly those relating to pensions. We hypothesised that underestimation might be even more severe for regular savings relative to lump sums, because savers need also to estimate accumulation. The additional cognitive load could strengthen EGB, or individuals might underestimate accumulation in addition to EGB. Four experiments investigated: (1) whether underestimation of money growth is greater for long streams of regular savings than for lump sums; (2) whether underestimation occurs when questions are framed intuitively as the cost of delaying starting a pension; and (3) whether practice with a calculator designed to illustrate the cost of delay attenuates underestimation. Individuals were more likely to underestimate money growth from regular savings than from lump sums, because they failed to accumulate contributions in addition to displaying EGB. Underestimation was substantial and persistent. Practice with a calculator partially attenuated underestimation, primarily among individuals with higher educational attainment and without a pension. Overall, these findings imply that across multiple judgements, decisions and frames, individuals substantially underestimate money growth, reducing the attractiveness of saving

BUDGET PERSPECTIVES 2019, PAPER 2. USING BEHAVIOURAL EXPERIMENTS TO PRE-TEST POLICY. July 2018

Good policy development requires the conviction and courage to know when to push through and when to admit uncertainty. This paper argues that policy can be improved when uncertainty is admitted and paired with rigorous scientific methodology. We use international and Irish examples to show how experimental behavioural research is a powerful but underused tool that policymakers can use to reduce uncertainty and add a scientific foundation to the policymaking process

Eradication, Containment, Management and Restoration. A report to the European Commission Working Group 3 on Invasive Species Policy

• Working Group Invasive Species n. 3 • Task 3.1: Eradication, Containment, Management and Restoration o Objective o Scope o Definitions o Eradication o Containment o Mitigation o Coexistence and Acceptance o Restoration o The Role of EU and MS o Practical considerations o References OBJECTIVE To minimise the damage caused by established IAS to species, habitats, ecosystem function and services, economic activities, together with human and animal health. To be achieved, where possible, by the eradication of IAS and, where impractical, the limitation of their impact, further spread and management of the consequences

Using behavioural science to help fight the coronavirus. ESRI Working Paper No. 656 March 2020

This paper summarises useful evidence from behavioural science for fighting the COVID-19 outbreak. It is based on an extensive literature search of relevant behavioural interventions and studies of crises. The findings aim to be useful not only to government and public authorities, but to organisations, workplaces and households. Seven issues are covered: (1) Evidence on handwashing shows that education and information are not enough. Placing hand sanitisers and colourful signage in central locations (e.g. directly beyond doors, canteen entrances, the middle of entrance halls and lift lobbies) increases use substantially. All organisations and public buildings could adopt this cheap and effective practice. (2) By contrast, we lack direct evidence on reducing face touching. Articulating new norms of acceptable behaviour (as for sneezing and coughing) and keeping tissues within arm’s reach could help. (3) Isolation is likely to cause some distress and mental health problems, requiring additional services. Preparedness, through activating social networks, making concrete isolation plans, and becoming familiar with the process, helps. These supports are important, as some people may try to avoid necessary isolation. (4) Public-spirited behaviour is most likely when there is clear and frequent communication, strong group identity, and social disapproval for those who don’t comply. This has implications for language, leadership and day-to-day social interaction. (5) Authorities often overestimate the risk of panic, but undesirable behaviours to watch out for are panic buying of key supplies and xenophobic responses. Communicating the social unacceptability of both could be part of a collective strategy. (6) Evidence links crisis communication to behaviour change. As well as speed, honesty and credibility, effective communication involves empathy and promoting useful individual actions and decisions. Using multiple platforms and tailoring message to subgroups are beneficial too. (7) Risk perceptions are easily biased. Highlighting single cases or using emotive language will increase bias. Risk is probably best communicated through numbers, with ranges to describe uncertainty, emphasising that numbers in the middle are more likely. Stating a maximum, e.g. “up to X thousand”, will bias public perception. A final section discusses possibilities for combining these insights, the need for simplicity, the role of the media, and possibilities for rapid pretesting

Portion size markings on snack packaging influence how much people eat. ESRI Research Bulletin 202028 November 2020.

Men eat fewer crisps and women eat fewer chocolate biscuits when portion sizes are clearly marked on packaging, according to new research by the ESRI’s Behavioural Research Unit. The researchers conducted two controlled behavioural experiments to test this

The impact of career guidance on the mental well-being of young people

Mental health conditions have relatively early onset compared to other major disease categories, and therefore have the potential to cause distress and negative economic impact throughout a person’s working life.• Youth is a period of complex and prolonged transition, during which there is exposure to mental health risk factors. Youth unemployment may lead to both economic and health scarring with negative consequences that can endure long into adulthood.• Risks to mental health are not borne equally by all sectors of society. Young people in socio-economically disadvantaged communities are most vulnerable.• Career guidance has a number of features likely to promote positive well-being, including recognising strengths, a focus on the future, setting achievable goals, and building a social identity through work.• Career guidance resembles counselling in terms of providing one-to-one attention, and a safe space to young people to share their concerns. It may therefore offer some of the short-term well-being benefits of personal counselling.• More importantly, career guidance supports people to access decent work, and education or training opportunities that provide access to a source of income, social contact, purposeful activity, and some healthy challenges.Where the choice of career pathway is informed by good guidance, work is more likely to be rewarding, consistent with an individual’s needs and values, and as a result more likely to be sustainable over time.• Career service organisations have access to the key target youth populations for public mental health interventions.• Career guidance can be embedded in programmes to support unemployed youth, and is likely to complement psycho-educational interventions designed to promote resilience.• The goals of public policy for career service organisations should encompass the promotion of mental health and well-being.• Assessing the extent of impact of career guidance on well-being is not easy, because it is a modest scale intervention that is difficult to disentangle from its context. Large sample, longitudinal research is required to generate this evidence

Policy in Scotland: The outcomes of the ‘Career Review’ process

No abstract available

The impact of career guidance on the mental well-being of young people

Mental health conditions have relatively early onset compared to other major disease categories, and therefore have the potential to cause distress and negative economic impact throughout a person’s working life.• Youth is a period of complex and prolonged transition, during which there is exposure to mental health risk factors. Youth unemployment may lead to both economic and health scarring with negative consequences that can endure long into adulthood.• Risks to mental health are not borne equally by all sectors of society. Young people in socio-economically disadvantaged communities are most vulnerable.• Career guidance has a number of features likely to promote positive well-being, including recognising strengths, a focus on the future, setting achievable goals, and building a social identity through work.• Career guidance resembles counselling in terms of providing one-to-one attention, and a safe space to young people to share their concerns. It may therefore offer some of the short-term well-being benefits of personal counselling.• More importantly, career guidance supports people to access decent work, and education or training opportunities that provide access to a source of income, social contact, purposeful activity, and some healthy challenges.Where the choice of career pathway is informed by good guidance, work is more likely to be rewarding, consistent with an individual’s needs and values, and as a result more likely to be sustainable over time.• Career service organisations have access to the key target youth populations for public mental health interventions.• Career guidance can be embedded in programmes to support unemployed youth, and is likely to complement psycho-educational interventions designed to promote resilience.• The goals of public policy for career service organisations should encompass the promotion of mental health and well-being.• Assessing the extent of impact of career guidance on well-being is not easy, because it is a modest scale intervention that is difficult to disentangle from its context. Large sample, longitudinal research is required to generate this evidence