Reposted by Kai RuggeriKai Ruggeri @ruggeri.bsky.social · 12/11/2025Results 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 RuggeriSofia Pelica @sofiapelica.bsky.social · 12/11/2025𝗔𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 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 · 13/11/2025If 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 · 13/11/2025Living 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 · 12/11/2025Results 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 · 15/09/2025For 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 · 13/09/2025Nature 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 · 12/08/2025Note: 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 · 12/08/2025The 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 · 21/06/2025publichealth.columbia.eduGlobal Survey Invites You to Share How You Are DoingProfessor Kai Ruggeri invites participation in a global study of mental health and well-being. 042
Kai Ruggeri @ruggeri.bsky.social · 17/06/2025How 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/Researchglobalmentalhealth.github.ioGMH ProjectGlobal Mental Health Project 065
Kai Ruggeri @ruggeri.bsky.social · 12/06/2025If you were looking for something that wasn't polarized... 070
Reposted by Kai RuggeriKai Ruggeri @ruggeri.bsky.social · 12/04/2025Tomorrow 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.comLongitudinal Assessment of Financial Well-Being Across Europe Confirms the Multidimensionality of the Construct - Social Indicators ResearchResearch 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 · 12/04/2025Freely available: rdcu.be/egrXIrdcu.beLongitudinal Assessment of Financial Well-Being Across Europe Confirms the Multidimensionality of the Construct 000
Kai Ruggeri @ruggeri.bsky.social · 12/04/2025Tomorrow 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.comLongitudinal Assessment of Financial Well-Being Across Europe Confirms the Multidimensionality of the Construct - Social Indicators ResearchResearch 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 RuggeriKai Ruggeri @ruggeri.bsky.social · 09/02/2025In 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.sociallink.springer.comAssessing evidence based on scale can be a useful predictor of policy outcomes - Policy SciencesWith 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 · 29/03/2025plus.columbia.edu/content/foun...plus.columbia.eduFoundations of Behavioral Science | Columbia Plus 000
Reposted by Kai Ruggerikoenfucius @koenfucius.bsky.social · 28/02/2025Research 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 · 09/02/2025Andi, 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 RuggeriAnna Alexandrova @annaalexandrova.bsky.social · 09/02/2025Proposals 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 · 09/02/2025Maybe 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 · 09/02/2025In 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.sociallink.springer.comAssessing evidence based on scale can be a useful predictor of policy outcomes - Policy SciencesWith 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 RuggeriKai Ruggeri @ruggeri.bsky.social · 20/01/2025Those headline stories about the decline of college enrollment this year were based on a typo. It actually went up. Seven percent.insidehighered.comFreshman enrollment up this fall; data error led to miscountFreshman 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 · 20/01/2025Those headline stories about the decline of college enrollment this year were based on a typo. It actually went up. Seven percent.insidehighered.comFreshman enrollment up this fall; data error led to miscountFreshman 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
Reposted by Kai RuggeriAaron Sojourner @aaronsojourner.org · 10/01/2025Happy #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 RuggeriHayden Clarkin @thetransitguy.com · 09/01/2025"Our cities are full" Our cities: 1748974
Reposted by Kai RuggeriEd Zitron @edzitron.com · 06/01/2025Stop fucking printing everything Sam Altman says like it's truth! 1113368452
Kai Ruggeri @ruggeri.bsky.social · 02/01/2025And "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 · 31/12/2024Extreme 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 RuggeriKaty Milkman @katymilkman.bsky.social · 31/12/20246️⃣ “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.comA synthesis of evidence for policy from behavioural science during COVID-19 - NatureEvaluation of evidence generated to test 19 proposed policy recommendations and guidance for the future. 083
Kai Ruggeri @ruggeri.bsky.social · 28/12/2024Not 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 · 28/12/2024That watching it is a choice and the other choice is not watching it. 110
Reposted by Kai RuggeriSam Hirshman @hirshmansam.bsky.social · 27/12/2024New 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 RuggeriJay Van Bavel, PhD @jayvanbavel.bsky.social · 23/12/2024This 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.comA synthesis of evidence for policy from behavioural science during COVID-19 - NatureEvaluation of evidence generated to test 19 proposed policy recommendations and guidance for the future. 3329
Reposted by Kai RuggeriJay Van Bavel, PhD @jayvanbavel.bsky.social · 23/12/2024Thanks! 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 RuggeriJay Van Bavel, PhD @jayvanbavel.bsky.social · 23/12/2024A 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 · 21/12/2024So 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 · 21/12/2024I 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 · 21/12/2024If 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 · 21/12/2024To 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 RuggeriKai Ruggeri @ruggeri.bsky.social · 20/12/2024PEOPLE 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... 1164
Kai Ruggeri @ruggeri.bsky.social · 20/12/2024If routed to a generic link, try here: osf.io/preprints/os...osf.ioOSF 000
Kai Ruggeri @ruggeri.bsky.social · 20/12/2024PEOPLE 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... 1164
Reposted by Kai RuggeriKai Ruggeri @ruggeri.bsky.social · 17/12/2024PREPRINT: 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 · 17/12/2024PREPRINT: 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 RuggeriTanja Pyhäjärvi @pyhatanja.bsky.social · 16/12/2024Big 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.fiChanges to the classification 18403273
Reposted by Kai RuggeriKai Ruggeri @ruggeri.bsky.social · 03/12/2024Across 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.comThe persistence of cognitive biases in financial decisions across economic groups - Scientific ReportsScientific Reports - The persistence of cognitive biases in financial decisions across economic groups 26522
Reposted by Kai RuggeriSteph Tully @stephtully.bsky.social · 15/12/2024Very 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.orgAPA PsycNet 0209