Politricks
Context: Misinformation threatens democracy and climate action, eroding trust and amplifying polarization.
Problem: Few studies compare active (games) vs. passive (guides) learning in helping citizens discern manipulative content.
Interventions: Researchers developed Politricks, an interactive game, and a passive inoculation guide, each teaching three manipulation tactics: emotional storytelling, conformity, and conspiracy theories.
Outcome: Active and passive tools are comparably effective, scalable strategies to build resilience against misinformation.
Operational Transparency Increases Trust in Elections and Voter Turnout
Case Study: Behavioral Science to Save Democracy
Context: Democracies face declining trust fueled by polarization, misinformation, and hidden election processes.
Problem: Voters often misinterpret how elections work, leading to skepticism and disengagement.
Interventions: Applies behavioral insights to increase operational transparency, redesign ballots for usability, and collaborate with election officials to test communication and procedural reforms.
Outcome: Evidence-based, incremental interventions can make democratic systems more understandable and trustworthy, reducing misinformation’s impact and strengthening citizen confidence in elections.
The Behavioral
Economics Guide 2024
Case Study: Behavioral Science to Save Democracy
Context: Democracies face eroding trust amid polarization, misinformation, and strained election systems.
Problem: Voters misjudge how elections work; hidden processes and cognitive biases amplify distrust.
Interventions: Increase operational transparency, redesign ballots for usability, and partner with election officials to run experiments and scale proven approaches.
Outcome: While no single solution exists, incremental, evidence-based changes can rebuild trust, improve efficiency, and strengthen democratic resilience.
Behavioral Insights
(BI) Study
Case Study: COVID-19 Vaccination in Ghana
Context: Ghana faced vaccine hesitancy despite availability, with uptake shaped by social and cultural factors.
Problem: Traditional drivers like healthcare provider recommendations were unexpectedly less predictive; instead, family and religious leaders strongly influenced vaccination decisions.
Interventions: A two-part study surveyed 1,494 people and tested behaviorally informed message frames (fear, altruism, social norms) delivered via trusted messengers (health authorities, doctors, religious leaders).
Outcome: Tailoring strategies to leverage social trust and context-specific nudges can increase vaccine uptake in Ghana.
Explore Published Research
Hopkins, S.-A. M., Rayburn-Reeves, R. M., Lindemans, J. W., O’Gorrman, K. C., Vandewalker, I. A., Luebeck, C. A., Sherlock, J. J. (2025). Politricks: Teaching political tricks and discernment through active and passive tools. PNAS Nexus, 4(8), pgaf245.
Sallis, A., Sherlock, J., Bonus, A., et al. (2019). Pre-notification and reminder SMS text messages with behaviorally informed invitation letters to improve uptake of NHS Health Checks: a factorial randomized controlled trial. BMC Public Health, 19, 1162.
Whillans, A., Sherlock, J., Roberts, J., O'Flaherty, S., Gavin, L., Dykstra, H., & Daly, M. (2021). Nudging the Commute: Using Behaviorally-Informed Interventions to Promote Sustainable Transportation. Behavioral Science & Policy, 7(2), 27–49.
Gold, N., Tan, K., Sherlock, J., Watson R., & Chadborn, T. (2021). Increasing uptake of NHS Health Checks: a randomised controlled trial using GP computer prompts. British Journal of General Practice, 71(710), e693-e700.
Gargantini, T., Daly, M., Sherlock, J., & Lazebnik, T. (2022). Providing Safe Space for Honest Mistakes in the Public Sector Is the Most Important Predictor for Work Engagement after Strategic Clarity. Sustainability, 14, 7051.
Gavin, L., McChesney, J., Tong, A., Sherlock, J., Foster, L., & Tomsa, S. (2022). Fighting the Spread of COVID-19 Misinformation in Kyrgyzstan, India, and the United States: How Replicable Are Accuracy Nudge Interventions? Technology, Mind, and Behavior, 3(3: Autumn).
Vepachedu, S., Nurzenska, A., Lohiniva, A. L., Hudi, A. H., Deku, S., Birungi, J., Greiner, K., Sherlock, J., & Foster, L. (2024). Understanding COVID-19 vaccination behaviors and intentions in Ghana: A Behavioral Insights (BI) study. Plos one, 19(2), e0292532.
Ideas in motion
Thinking about:
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Increasing online voting in Peru
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Exploring voluntary tax contributions in Bogota
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Innovating in participatory budgeting in Durham, North Carolina
Working on:
Sherlock, J., & Daly, M. Operational Transparency to Increase Trust in Elections and Voter Turnout: Results from Lab and Field Research Testing Communication Interventions. Planned Nature Human Behavior submission.
Sherlock, Joseph and Hopkins, Shaye-Ann and Daly, Michael and Powell, Owen and Szczesiul, Adelaide, When the Rubber Meets the Road Environmental Framing Shifts Minds, But Financial Frames, Pain of Payment and Friction Reduction Shifts Behavior.
WIP: Democracy
The following manuscripts are early-stage or under peer review, offering a preview of upcoming research directions.
Sherlock, J., & Daly, M. Operational Transparency to Increase Trust in Elections and Voter Turnout: Results from Lab and Field Research Testing Communication Interventions. Planned Nature Human Behavior submission.
Hopkins, S.-A. M., Sherlock, J., Rayburn-Reeves, R. M., Vandewalker, I. A., Lindemans, J. W., & Luebeck, C. Politricks: Teaching Political Tricks through Active and Passive Learning to Build Discernment. Planned PNAS submission.
Sherlock, J., Hopkins, S.-A. M., & Moore, D. Who Should Communicate About Elections: Election Officials as Our Election Messengers. Planned Journal of Experimental Political Science submission.
Sherlock, J., & Gavin, L. The Psychological Impacts of Granular Democratic Activity Through Participatory Budgeting.
Sherlock, J., Gavin, L., Daly, M., & Szczesiul, A. The effects of ballot decision aids on voting. Planned Behavioral Public Policy Submission.
Sherlock, J. Behavioral Science to Strengthen Democracy: Exploring Evidence and Opportunities.
WIP: Sustainability
The following manuscripts are early-stage or under peer review, offering a preview of upcoming research directions.
Sherlock, Joseph and Hopkins, Shaye-Ann and Daly, Michael and Powell, Owen and Szczesiul, Adelaide, When the Rubber Meets the Road Environmental Framing Shifts Minds, But Financial Frames, Pain of Payment and Friction Reduction Shifts Behavior.
Sherlock, J., Rush, M., & Johnson, M. Behavioral Spillovers as a result of Municipal Food Waste Collection.
Sherlock, J., Daly, M., Gavin, L., & Cloughesy J. Personalized routing reduce driving alone: Evidence from 2 field studies.
Sherlock, J., Daly, M., Gavin, L., & Hopkins, S.-A. M. Awareness of payment as means to reduce driving behavior: Evidence from 3 field studies.
Sherlock, J., Daly, M., Gargantini, T., & Vepachedu, S. Behavioral Solutions to Increase Remote Work Flourishing.
Stay tuned for more!