Princeton University, Kahneman-Treisman Center for Behavioral Science & Public Policy

Public policy is usually designed with the assumption that people make optimal choices based on their own best interests. Princeton University, through the Kahneman-Treisman Center, is leverages the combined strengths of scholars exploringthe gaps between what individuals “should” be expected to do and what people actually do .Our researchers are studying real-life examples of informed, reasonable people making less-than-rational choices and how policy might be better designed and executed to make it easier to improve their outcomes.

Research conducted at the center directly influences local, national, and global policy making, and ultimately results in policies that take into account the way people actually think and behave when making decisions. The Center is an intellectual and administrative hub to support and organize new scholarly opportunities for Princeton undergraduates and graduate students, plan lecture series and conferences, disseminate research results, and connect Princeton researchers with policy makers and scholars from other institutions.