Behavioural scientist

A Behavioural scientist is a researcher who investigates human or animal behavior by evaluating neural, psychological, cognitive, social, economic and environmental mechanisms to understand the underpinnings of behavior. The discipline integrates insights from neuroscience, functional brain imaging, electrophysiology, and frameworks from psychology, economics, computational modelling and sociology to produce predictive, empirical models of behaviour.^[1][2]

Role in Big Tech and Product Development

Behavioural scientists are employed in various capacities within companies in big tech, particularly in product development, user experience research, and growth teams. In these roles, they apply psychology, neuroscience, and experimental methods to increase user engagement, retention, and monetisation.^[3][4] Their responsibilities can include designing A/B tests, creating user decision-flow models, measuring habit formation, and recommending UX modifications to influence specific metrics such as daily active users or time spent on a platform.^[4] Some organisations designate these as "behavioural research" or "growth" roles.^[3]

Major technology companies routinely hire behavioural scientists to enhance product design, experimentation, and growth strategies. Apple incorporates behavioural design principles into its product ecosystems, aiming to reduce cognitive load and enhance decision-making through intuitive interfaces and attention-friendly designs.^[5]

Meta (formerly Facebook) integrates behavioural researchers in teams such as who design and analyse controlled experiments to inform features like Safety Check and user engagement enhancements.^[6] Amazon deploys behavioural science in its customer experience operations across platforms like Amazon Web Services and e-commerce. The company famously uses techniques such as “one-click purchasing” and subscription defaults, which rely on friction reduction and cognitive simplification to increase user retention and repeat transactions.^[7]

Netflix is known for its robust experimentation infrastructure, continuously testing and refining features such as the transition from a five-star rating system to a simpler “thumbs up/down” model using large-scale A/B testing to optimize user feedback loops and engagement.^[8]

Persuasive Design and Addictive Products

Behavioural scientists are employed to use persuasive design and increase product engagement. Techniques such as variable rewards, intermittent reinforcement, and trigger–action–reward loops have been employed in apps and games to promote repeated use.^[9] These methods, informed by behavioural research, have been incorporated into consumer products across various sectors, with contributions from figures such as Brian Jeffrey Fogg and Nir Eyal, who have developed widely adopted frameworks for habit formation and user engagement.^[10]

Professional Scope

Behavioural scientists study behaviour at multiple levels, from brain activity to social interaction. At the biological level, they investigate how brain regions, neural circuits, and hormones influence decision-making and emotion. At the psychological level, they examine learning, memory, attention, and motivation. At the social and environmental level, they analyse how group dynamics, cultural norms, and physical surroundings shape behaviour. By integrating evidence from these levels, behavioural scientists develop models that explain how brain function and environmental context work together to produce behaviour, and test these models in both laboratory and real-world settings.^[11]

Disciplinary Foundations and Interdisciplinarity

Behavioural science is inherently interdisciplinary, encompassing psychology, behavioural neuroscience, cognitive science, behavioural genetics, behavioural biology, sociology and computational modelling. Scholars in these areas collaborate to understand behaviour across levels - from neural circuits and cognitive processes to social dynamics and cultural practices. Behavioural scientists often integrate tools and theories from multiple disciplines to create comprehensive models of behaviour.^[12][13]

The Role of Psychological and Neuroscientific Methods

Psychologists contribute experimental designs, cognitive assessments, and psychometric tools that form foundational methodologies in behavioural science. Behavioural neuroscientists study brain mechanisms underlying decision-making, learning, and emotion regulation using neuroimaging (e.g., fMRI, EEG), electrophysiology, and pharmacological methods. The combination of psychological experiment and neuroscience data enables a deeper understanding of the biological underpinnings of behaviour.^[14][15]

Significance and Societal Impact

Behavioural scientists influence a wide array of societal domains globally. Their work informs public health campaigns, consumer engagement, business growth, education reforms, financial regulation, consumer protection policies, and technology design. By providing evidence-based insights into human behaviour, they help shape interventions that improve societal well-being, increase policy effectiveness, and foster ethical governance in diverse cultural and institutional settings.^[16][17]

Behavioural scientists attempt to design better user experiences, improve customer retention, enhancing workplace productivity, and inform ethical leadership practices. Companies routinely use behavioural insights to drive innovation and competitive advantage while balancing responsibility and stakeholder trust.^[18][19]

Behavioural scientists address complex global challenges by developing scalable interventions that modify behaviour in domains such as health (vaccine uptake, preventive care), finance (saving and debt reduction), and environmental sustainability (energy usage, waste reduction). By grounding these interventions in behavioural theory and empirical testing, they contribute to solutions that can be deployed across populations and cultural contexts at scale.^[20][21]

Methodological Innovations

Over time, behavioural scientists have expanded their techniques:

• Classical and operant conditioning techniques (e.g., Pavlov’s dogs, Skinner box) enabled controlled learning experiments.^[22]
• Neuroscientific tools, such as fMRI, EEG, MEG, optogenetics, and lesion studies, have provided insights into the brain's role in behaviour.^[23]
• Computational approaches - reinforcement learning models, agent-based simulations, Bayesian inference - help formalize and predict complex behaviours, including dynamics like reversal learning in behaviour change.^[24]
• Experience Sampling Method (ESM) and mobile-based tools enable real-time, ecologically valid tracking of behaviour in natural contexts.^[25]

Research methods

Behavioural scientists can combine tools from neuroscience, experimental psychology, and computational science to understand behaviour:

• Neuroimaging: functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetoencephalography (MEG) for mapping brain systems engaged during tasks and interventions.^[26]
• Electrophysiology: electroencephalography (EEG) and intracranial recordings for millisecond-scale dynamics.
• Neuroendocrine and physiological assays: cortisol, oxytocin and autonomic measures (heart rate variability, galvanic skin response) to index internal states that affect behaviour.^[27]
• Behavioural quantification: eye-tracking, markerless motion capture and digital trace data for precise measurement of observable actions.^[28]
• Computational modelling: reinforcement-learning models, Bayesian models and agent-based simulations to formalise latent processes and generate testable predictions.^[29]
• Field experiments and trials: randomised controlled trials and natural experiments to evaluate ecological validity and policy impact.

Key neural and biological targets

Behavioural scientists frequently study canonical brain systems implicated in decision and social behaviour:

• The ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) encodes subjective value and integrates attributes into a common valuation signal across domains.^[2]
• The striatum (ventral and dorsal) responds robustly during reward anticipation and reinforcement learning, tracking prediction errors and motivational signals.^[30]
• The amygdala contributes to emotional salience, threat detection and affective modulation of decision processes; its activity interacts with valuation circuits under affective framing and social contexts.^[31]
• Hormonal modulators such as cortisol and oxytocin alter risk preferences, social trust and stress reactivity, and are measurable levers for understanding state-dependent behaviour.^[32]

Specializations

Behavioural science is applied in a wide range of fields to understand behaviour and design strategies that improve decision-making, performance, and well-being. It combines insights from psychology, neuroscience, economics, and related disciplines to address challenges in health, technology, business, and the environment.

• Behavioural neuroscience: investigates the neural substrates of cognition, emotion, and action, using tools such as functional neuroimaging, optogenetics, and electrophysiology to link brain activity with behavioural outcomes.^[33]
• Human-technology interaction: cognitive-state monitoring using EEG or fNIRS is used to build adaptive interfaces that reduce cognitive overload and improve decision performance in high-stakes environments such as aviation, medicine and complex command systems.^[34]
• Clinical and translational research: computational and circuit-level models translate symptom clusters into candidate mechanisms (e.g., aberrant reward learning in addiction), guiding biomarker development and targeted interventions.^[35]
• Behavioural biology: integrates ethology, neurobiology, and physiology to study innate and learned behaviours across species, informing conservation strategies, animal welfare practices, and evolutionary theory.^[36]
• Behavioural genetics: examines the influence of genetic variation and heritability on behavioural traits, often through twin studies, genome-wide association studies, and model organism research.^[37]
• Organisational behaviour: applies psychological and behavioural principles to improve workplace productivity, leadership, and employee well-being.^[38]
• Environmental behaviour: designs interventions such as social norm messaging, feedback systems, and commitment devices to promote sustainable practices in energy use, conservation, and waste reduction.^[39]
• Behavioural economics and market design: applies psychological insights to improve decision-making environments in markets, reduce biases, and optimise pricing strategies.^[40]

Notable behavioural scientists

The field of behavioural science includes many prominent researchers who have advanced the understanding of human and animal behaviour through interdisciplinary approaches. Notable figures include:

• B. F. Skinner, known for his work on operant conditioning and behaviourism.^[41]
• John B. Watson, a pioneer of behaviourism.^[42]
• Albert Bandura, famous for social learning theory and the concept of self-efficacy.^[43]
• Daniel Kahneman, awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for integrating psychological insights into economic decision-making.^[44]
• Amos Tversky, collaborator with Kahneman on cognitive biases and heuristics.^[45]
• Herbert A. Simon, for his contributions to decision-making and bounded rationality.^[46]

Applied behavioural scientists

Several applied behavioural scientists have contributed significantly to practical applications of behavioural research in industry and public policy, particularly in the technology sector:

• Susan Athey, known for her work on technology, marketplace design, and causal inference, with contributions to firms like Microsoft and Airbnb.^[47]
• Katy Milkman, whose research on behavioural nudges and decision-making has influenced health initiatives and workplace productivity, including collaborations with companies such as Google and LinkedIn.^[48]
• Daniel Kahneman, a Nobel laureate known for his pioneering work on cognitive biases and decision-making, whose insights have been widely applied in tech product design and user experience.^[49]
• Nir Eyal, author and behavioural design consultant known for his work on habit-forming technology used by major tech companies.^[50]
• Brian Jeffrey Fogg, founder of the Behaviour Design Lab at Stanford University, whose research on persuasive technology has influenced companies like Facebook and Google.^[51]
• Susan Weinschenk, a behavioural psychologist specializing in user experience and behavioural psychology, consulting for major tech firms.^[52]