It’s on You: A Virtual Book Talk Seminar with George Loewenstein, PhD

Speaker(s)

• 
  George Loewenstein, PhD — Herbert A. Simon University Professor of Economics and Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University

Event Description

Registration is required to attend. Please register here: https://upenn.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_qI_k5yWATmiVB8FP4fkSXA.

Join us for a thought-provoking exploration into how our collective challenges – from retirement shortfalls to climate change – are too often reframed as personal shortcomings – just waiting for a behavioral “nudge” to magically fix. In It’s on You, behavioral scientists Nick Chater and George Loewenstein argue that these nudges are not only ineffective, but sometimes intentionally wielded by powerful interests to divert us from deep structural issues.

Drawing on compelling examples – from “opt-out” 401(k) plans that fail to resolve the retirement crisis rooted in pension deregulation, to corporate carbon-footprint calculators that shift blame away from fossil fuel industries – this book reveals how we’ve been subtly coerced into blaming ourselves for societal failures.

With incisive clarity and rigorous evidence, It’s on You dismantles the allure of quick behavioral fixes and issues a call to action: real progress demands rewriting the rules, not tweaking behavior.

Why You Should Join

Unpack the Limits of Nudging: Learn why well-intentioned interventions often fail – and how they can even be used to obscure real accountability.

Hear from George Loewenstein Live: Gain firsthand insights from one of behavioral economics’ most influential voices.

Discuss Reframing Solutions: Engage in a lively conversation about how to shift from nudging individuals to reforming systems.

George Loewenstein is the Herbert A. Simon University Professor of Economics and Psychology at Carnegie Mellon University.  He received his PhD from Yale University in 1985 and since then has held academic positions at The University of Chicago and Carnegie Mellon University, and fellowships at Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, The Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, The Russell Sage Foundation and The Institute for Advanced Study in Berlin. He is one of the founders of the field of behavioral economics and more recently of the field of neuroeconomics.  He is past president of the Society for Judgment and Decision Making, and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.  Loewenstein’s research focuses on applications of psychology to economics, and his specific interests include decision making over time, bargaining and negotiations, psychology and health, law and economics, the psychology of adaptation, the role of emotion in decision making, the psychology of curiosity, conflict of interest, and “out of control” behaviors such as impulsive violent crime and drug addiction.  He has published over 300 journal articles and book chapters, and has written or edited 6 books on topics ranging from intertemporal choice to behavioral economics to emotions.

Organizer(s)