Sign in

Kai Ruggeri

@ruggeri.bsky.social
2.8K followers 1.4K following 81 posts

Professor @Columbia studying financial decision-making & other behaviors | Officer @USAirForce & @AirNationalGuard | Ozark born and raised

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Kai Ruggeri
Kai Ruggeri @ruggeri.bsky.social · 12/11/2025
Results from study of mental health in 92 countries (n>53,000): People are not doing well. - U-shape for age is gone: Young adults lowest health, highest illness - Education still matters (a lot) - 45% of older people live alone - Hybrid work > 100% remote or in-person Preprint: osf.io/3jyda_v1
23024
Reposted by Kai Ruggeri
Sofia Pelica @sofiapelica.bsky.social · 12/11/2025
𝗔𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝟵𝟮 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 🌍, 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝘆 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹-𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴: - Levels of energy, calm, and resilience are alarmingly low. - The “U-shape” of happiness across age has vanished: young adults now report the worst mental health. ⚠️ - Almost half of adults over 75 live alone.
284
Kai Ruggeri @ruggeri.bsky.social · 13/11/2025
If you look at the figure with household size, you'll see that this is not a trope but rather an empirical pattern. As with all such patterns, especially where the assessment is based on a mean, it is not absolute. People will far above/below, some moreso than others. But the pattern does exist.
010
Kai Ruggeri @ruggeri.bsky.social · 13/11/2025
Living alone in and of itself is not. An aging population living alone becomes a concern for health and safety, and on average, excessive time alone is associated with poorer well-being, cognitive decline, etc. Many exceptions of course, but it becomes one when highly concentrated on at-risk groups.
110
Kai Ruggeri @ruggeri.bsky.social · 12/11/2025
Results from study of mental health in 92 countries (n>53,000): People are not doing well. - U-shape for age is gone: Young adults lowest health, highest illness - Education still matters (a lot) - 45% of older people live alone - Hybrid work > 100% remote or in-person Preprint: osf.io/3jyda_v1
23024
Kai Ruggeri @ruggeri.bsky.social · 15/09/2025
For 5 years, @bjks.bsky.social has delivered episode after episode with the most influential behavioral & social psychologists of our day*. Strongly encourage you to check out his exceptional approach to hearing directly from authors that impact our field. *He also lowered standards to include me.
050
Kai Ruggeri @ruggeri.bsky.social · 13/09/2025
Nature vs Nurture...vs Options? We find that when the world around us changes rapidly like it did in 2020, our choice preferences, immediate environment, & critically, *the options available* are what truly shape behaviors. @senpei.bsky.social @sarahaj95.bsky.social www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
1112
Kai Ruggeri @ruggeri.bsky.social · 12/08/2025
Note: Due to variations in local privacy regulations, coverage is not necessarily representative for all countries (e.g., we have a lot of Swedish people in the sample, despite how it might look on the map).
000
Kai Ruggeri @ruggeri.bsky.social · 12/08/2025
The global distribution of 53,540 participants that completed our 94-country study on mental, financial, and social well-being.
190
Kai Ruggeri @ruggeri.bsky.social · 21/06/2025
publichealth.columbia.edu
Global Survey Invites You to Share How You Are Doing
Professor Kai Ruggeri invites participation in a global study of mental health and well-being.
042
Kai Ruggeri @ruggeri.bsky.social · 17/06/2025
How are you doing? Would you like to share? We are currently running a short survey (3-4 min) in over 90 countries and languages through the link below. No tricks, no agenda - just interested in hearing how people around the world are doing. globalmentalhealth.github.io/Research
globalmentalhealth.github.io
GMH Project
Global Mental Health Project
065
Kai Ruggeri @ruggeri.bsky.social · 12/06/2025
If you were looking for something that wasn't polarized...
070
Reposted by Kai Ruggeri
Kai Ruggeri @ruggeri.bsky.social · 12/04/2025
Tomorrow matters (almost) as much as today. In 13-country longitudinal study, we find financial well-being is as much a matter of income-wealth-debts as it is about sense of control, financial knowledge, & the future we expect (or fear). Critical data collected during extremely challenging times.
link.springer.com
Longitudinal Assessment of Financial Well-Being Across Europe Confirms the Multidimensionality of the Construct - Social Indicators Research
Research on financial well-being (FWB) is experiencing rapid growth despite a lack of internationally validated measures. Most of the literature relies on unidimensional FWB scores calculated as the s...
183
Kai Ruggeri @ruggeri.bsky.social · 12/04/2025
Freely available: rdcu.be/egrXI
rdcu.be
Longitudinal Assessment of Financial Well-Being Across Europe Confirms the Multidimensionality of the Construct
000
Kai Ruggeri @ruggeri.bsky.social · 12/04/2025
Tomorrow matters (almost) as much as today. In 13-country longitudinal study, we find financial well-being is as much a matter of income-wealth-debts as it is about sense of control, financial knowledge, & the future we expect (or fear). Critical data collected during extremely challenging times.
link.springer.com
Longitudinal Assessment of Financial Well-Being Across Europe Confirms the Multidimensionality of the Construct - Social Indicators Research
Research on financial well-being (FWB) is experiencing rapid growth despite a lack of internationally validated measures. Most of the literature relies on unidimensional FWB scores calculated as the s...
183
Reposted by Kai Ruggeri
Kai Ruggeri @ruggeri.bsky.social · 09/02/2025
In a study of 100 policies & 250 policymakers, we find that a) there's no such thing as the "best" type of evidence, and b) the scale of evidence used in decisions can be a strong predictor of policy effectiveness. Freely available to all @policysciences.bsky.social
link.springer.com
Assessing evidence based on scale can be a useful predictor of policy outcomes - Policy Sciences
With growing interest in more formalized applications of scientific evidence to policy, there are concerns about what evidence is selected and applied, and for what purpose. We present an initial argu...
44416
Kai Ruggeri @ruggeri.bsky.social · 29/03/2025
plus.columbia.edu/content/foun...
plus.columbia.edu
Foundations of Behavioral Science | Columbia Plus
000
Reposted by Kai Ruggeri
koenfucius @koenfucius.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
Research by @ruggeri.bsky.social suggests there is no overall “best” type of evidence for reliably predicting policy outcomes, but assessing the evidence using a ‘level’ scale offers much more robust predictions: buff.ly/4kjdOmE
042
Kai Ruggeri @ruggeri.bsky.social · 09/02/2025
Andi, to be clear, that was not interpreting focus groups as universally useful. But that some policymakers working on other matters, like something that may be unique to a single town or group, need focus group input in a way an RCT can’t inform. Not to replace RCTs in all instances.
010
Reposted by Kai Ruggeri
Anna Alexandrova @annaalexandrova.bsky.social · 09/02/2025
Proposals for formalising evidence evaluation fascinate n disturb me. It's notable that a certain type of study strongly predicts policy success. But the key lesson from recent #philsci that evidence is only strong when you can *combine* different types of it into a robust theory of change.
74512
Kai Ruggeri @ruggeri.bsky.social · 09/02/2025
Maybe not over-invested, but incorrectly assumed a universal value proposition. The most fascinating response was that RCTs don't inform policies on things like having sign language interpreters available in courtrooms or how many people should receive severe weather alerts.
130
Kai Ruggeri @ruggeri.bsky.social · 09/02/2025
In a study of 100 policies & 250 policymakers, we find that a) there's no such thing as the "best" type of evidence, and b) the scale of evidence used in decisions can be a strong predictor of policy effectiveness. Freely available to all @policysciences.bsky.social
link.springer.com
Assessing evidence based on scale can be a useful predictor of policy outcomes - Policy Sciences
With growing interest in more formalized applications of scientific evidence to policy, there are concerns about what evidence is selected and applied, and for what purpose. We present an initial argu...
44416
Reposted by Kai Ruggeri
Kai Ruggeri @ruggeri.bsky.social · 20/01/2025
Those headline stories about the decline of college enrollment this year were based on a typo. It actually went up. Seven percent.
insidehighered.com
Freshman enrollment up this fall; data error led to miscount
Freshman enrollment did not decline this fall, as previously reported in the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center’s annual enrollment report in October. On Monday, the NSC acknowledged that ...
211743
Kai Ruggeri @ruggeri.bsky.social · 20/01/2025
(The increase may have been 5% or another number to be published. On further reading of the linked material, it seems like the increase is confirmed but more details are coming.)
050
Kai Ruggeri @ruggeri.bsky.social · 20/01/2025
Those headline stories about the decline of college enrollment this year were based on a typo. It actually went up. Seven percent.
insidehighered.com
Freshman enrollment up this fall; data error led to miscount
Freshman enrollment did not decline this fall, as previously reported in the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center’s annual enrollment report in October. On Monday, the NSC acknowledged that ...
211743
Kai Ruggeri @ruggeri.bsky.social · 19/01/2025
Seriously, 2025, we just met. Slow down a little.
090
Reposted by Kai Ruggeri
Aaron Sojourner @aaronsojourner.org · 10/01/2025
Happy #JobsDay! At 8:30 am ET, BLS delivers the most-important signals abt how economy is changing. Forecasts’ center: +155K jobs Unemployment rate (UR) stable at 4.2%
1318
Reposted by Kai Ruggeri
Hayden Clarkin @thetransitguy.com · 09/01/2025
"Our cities are full" Our cities:
Google earth imagery of NW Downtown Detroit
1748974
Reposted by Kai Ruggeri
Ed Zitron @edzitron.com · 06/01/2025
Stop fucking printing everything Sam Altman says like it's truth!
1113368452
Kai Ruggeri @ruggeri.bsky.social · 02/01/2025
And "perfect" can be relative. Everything can be fine for you, but if outgroup (individual or collectively) is better, that is reason enough.
020
Kai Ruggeri @ruggeri.bsky.social · 31/12/2024
Extreme petty/childishness. USC keeps making late substitutions & getting warned for it. UofI coach goes to check on injured player near USC sideline, then for no obvious reason, uses the hand gestures when substitutions are noted by refs (and penalties). USC coach (Beamer) takes it personally.
100
Reposted by Kai Ruggeri
Katy Milkman @katymilkman.bsky.social · 31/12/2024
6️⃣ “A Synthesis of Evidence for Policy from Behavioural Science During COVID-19.” 👉An evaluation of 19 policy recommendations detailing how evidence from behavioral science could contribute to efforts to alleviate the COVID-19 pandemic. Led by @ruggeri.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
A synthesis of evidence for policy from behavioural science during COVID-19 - Nature
Evaluation of evidence generated to test 19 proposed policy recommendations and guidance for the future.
083
Kai Ruggeri @ruggeri.bsky.social · 28/12/2024
Not having a Netflix account has made it easier for me to go with #2, and probably going to stay that way.
010
Kai Ruggeri @ruggeri.bsky.social · 28/12/2024
That watching it is a choice and the other choice is not watching it.
110
Reposted by Kai Ruggeri
Sam Hirshman @hirshmansam.bsky.social · 27/12/2024
New paper: We combine evidence from a survey (correlational), bank spending data, and online experiments to show that job loss increases risk taking. Joint work with @abbysussman.bsky.social, Carlos Vazquez-Hernandez, Daniel O'Leary, and Jennifer Trueblood
25217
Reposted by Kai Ruggeri
Jay Van Bavel, PhD @jayvanbavel.bsky.social · 23/12/2024
This is consistent with a review of 747 COVID papers we published in @nature.com finding that evidence for social science and behavior claims during COVID as very high (16/18 claims were supported) and this research was highly rigorrous (average N= 16,848) www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
A synthesis of evidence for policy from behavioural science during COVID-19 - Nature
Evaluation of evidence generated to test 19 proposed policy recommendations and guidance for the future.
3329
Reposted by Kai Ruggeri
Jay Van Bavel, PhD @jayvanbavel.bsky.social · 23/12/2024
Thanks! I'm just posting this to show how much I appreciate all the scholars who worked their ass off during covid to do incredibly rigorous science while trying to juggle stress, childcare, illness, etc. We owe them all a sincere dept of gratitude.
1283
Reposted by Kai Ruggeri
Jay Van Bavel, PhD @jayvanbavel.bsky.social · 23/12/2024
A new paper finds that replicability of social and behavioural science claims in COVID-19 preprints was 65.4% (this included a successfull replication from my own lab--Sternisko et al) www.nature.com/articles/s41... This is just more evidence that research on COVID was actually quite robust.
15813
Kai Ruggeri @ruggeri.bsky.social · 21/12/2024
So the best-paid refs make about 30% as much as the best players spend on their offseason training regimens. But we expect perfection?
100
Kai Ruggeri @ruggeri.bsky.social · 21/12/2024
I get your point but those are minor distinctions of the same thing. Consistency requires training and repetition, which they aren't afforded. So I don't demand it from them if they aren't given resources in the way you'd give it to a player to be consistent at FTs, 3s, etc.
000
Kai Ruggeri @ruggeri.bsky.social · 21/12/2024
If an athlete can have a team of trainers and hundreds of thousands of dollars in their offseason regimen and still shoot 72% from the foul line, seems unrealistic to expect referees who work second jobs and barely get expenses covered to attend hotel conference room training sessions to be 99.9%.
200
Kai Ruggeri @ruggeri.bsky.social · 21/12/2024
To be fair, that game was still tied with 14 minutes left in the first quarter, so it's a valid point.
130
Reposted by Kai Ruggeri
Kai Ruggeri @ruggeri.bsky.social · 20/12/2024
PEOPLE WANT CHOICE OVER WHAT THEY SEE ONLINE: *Strong* preferences in our 26-country study for individual ownership of social media feeds, online shopping suggestions, news. People globally prefer individual ownership far more than government or commercial policy oversight. osf.io/preprints/os...
It won't suprise you, but this image shows just how much people prefer that they have control over what they see in social media feeds, online shopping platforms, and all sorts of website formats. There's a bit of a mix in terms of people preferring governments versus companies having a say over what we see, but all 26 countries place individual choice at the top. But is it realistic? Do people really set their feeds manually and control other sites? Or do we say we want one thing and actually end up letting the decision being made for us?In this visual, we find that in all 26 countries, people place the lowest value on commercial outcomes when it comes to what matters most in how websites are set up. Social and personal benefits are pretty similar around the world, but are typically valued substantially more than commercial outcomes. Read the pre-print for more information, such as how trust and other personal values impact these patterns.
1164
Kai Ruggeri @ruggeri.bsky.social · 20/12/2024
If routed to a generic link, try here: osf.io/preprints/os...
osf.io
OSF
000
Kai Ruggeri @ruggeri.bsky.social · 20/12/2024
PEOPLE WANT CHOICE OVER WHAT THEY SEE ONLINE: *Strong* preferences in our 26-country study for individual ownership of social media feeds, online shopping suggestions, news. People globally prefer individual ownership far more than government or commercial policy oversight. osf.io/preprints/os...
It won't suprise you, but this image shows just how much people prefer that they have control over what they see in social media feeds, online shopping platforms, and all sorts of website formats. There's a bit of a mix in terms of people preferring governments versus companies having a say over what we see, but all 26 countries place individual choice at the top. But is it realistic? Do people really set their feeds manually and control other sites? Or do we say we want one thing and actually end up letting the decision being made for us?In this visual, we find that in all 26 countries, people place the lowest value on commercial outcomes when it comes to what matters most in how websites are set up. Social and personal benefits are pretty similar around the world, but are typically valued substantially more than commercial outcomes. Read the pre-print for more information, such as how trust and other personal values impact these patterns.
1164
Reposted by Kai Ruggeri
Kai Ruggeri @ruggeri.bsky.social · 17/12/2024
PREPRINT: Across 26 countries, we find strong preferences for individual ownership of social media feeds, commercial shopping site setup, and other online platforms. Across countries, people prefer individual ownership far more than government or commercial policy oversight. osf.io/preprints/os...
0227
Kai Ruggeri @ruggeri.bsky.social · 17/12/2024
PREPRINT: Across 26 countries, we find strong preferences for individual ownership of social media feeds, commercial shopping site setup, and other online platforms. Across countries, people prefer individual ownership far more than government or commercial policy oversight. osf.io/preprints/os...
0227
Reposted by Kai Ruggeri
Tanja Pyhäjärvi @pyhatanja.bsky.social · 16/12/2024
Big news from Finnish publication forum. Almost all MDPI and Frontiers journals will be downgraded to level 0 and thus are not considered as properly peer reviewed trustworthy scientific journals. julkaisufoorumi.fi/en/news/chan...
julkaisufoorumi.fi
Changes to the classification
18403273
Reposted by Kai Ruggeri
Kai Ruggeri @ruggeri.bsky.social · 03/12/2024
Across multiple studies and many countries, we continue to find no differences in risk-taking or common cognitive biases between economic groups. Specifically, no differences between people had moved upward economically and those that remained low-income. New paper on this coming soon...
nature.com
The persistence of cognitive biases in financial decisions across economic groups - Scientific Reports
Scientific Reports - The persistence of cognitive biases in financial decisions across economic groups
26522
Reposted by Kai Ruggeri
Steph Tully @stephtully.bsky.social · 15/12/2024
Very interesting & consistent with my research with Eesha Sharma and Xiang Wang demonstrating that decisions under scarcity are not inherently less thoughtful or more myopic, but rather driven by attempts to address needs threatened by a lack of responses (JPSP: psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/202...).
psycnet.apa.org
APA PsycNet
0209