Changing the subject: How new ways of thinking about human behaviour might change politics, policy and practice

Our first Social Brain report, Changing the Subject, introduced the idea of 'neurological reflexivity' and reflected on the policy implications of the fact that awareness of how our brains function increasingly shapes the way we use them.

Steer: the report

Our Steer report confirmed the promise of this approach, with a practical trial, motivated by the belief that if knowledge is power, knowledge about your own nature ought to be particularly empowering. 

Transforming behaviour change

This report argues for a more sophisticated understanding of the relationship between our social challenges, our behaviours and our brains, based on a considered response to two major cultural developments:

• The growing ascendancy of neuroscientific interpretations of human behaviour, leading to fears of reductionism and pharmaceutical control 
• Behaviour change becoming an explicit goal of government policy, leading to fears of Government manipulation and coercion

Divided Brain, Divided World

This report explores the practical significance of the scientific fact that the two hemispheres in each of our brains have radically different ‘world views’. It features a dialogue between Iain McGilchrist and Dr Jonathan Rowson, and includes reflections from a workshop attended by  policymakers, journalists and academics on the strength and significance of the ideas, including critique, clarification and illustrations of relevance in particular domains, including economics, behavioural economics, climate change, NGO campaigning, patent law, ethics, and art.

Cabbies, Costs and Climate Change

This project features a rare study of taxi drivers in their working habitats, and presents wider lessons about the challenges of efficient fuel use in the context of rising energy prices and climate change. The recommendations arising from the project as a whole include making habitual behaviour the focus of interventions, making fuel efficiency a pass/fail criterion on the driving test, changing driving habitats to encourage fuel efficiency, incentivising taxi drivers to become ambassadors for fuel efficiency, providing more salient feedback, and making taxis greener.

Reflexive Coppers: Adaptive Challenges in Policing

Reflexive Coppers: Adaptive Challenges in Policing concludes that years of ‘target culture’, combined with strict adherence to protocol, rank structure, and risk aversion encourages ‘group think’ and has a detrimental effect on the relationship between the police and the public.

The Power of Curiosity: How linking inquisitiveness to innovation could help to address our energy challenges

We introduce a perspective on public participation that is rarely considered by policymakers, namely mental complexity in the adult population - our varied capacity to understand competing motivations and values in ourselves and others, to ‘get things in perspective’, and to act appropriately in uncertain or ambiguous situations.

Beyond the Big Society

The report identified a vital link between curiosity and innovation, but found that Britons are less hungry for knowledge than they are for experiences, and lack curiosity about their energy usage.