With some colleagues, we have tried in various ways to put to practical use the theoretical insights gleaned from other dimensions of our work. Most notably, we used chatbots to argue with people before that was cool, about topics such as vaccination or GMOs. This was grounded in the idea that the exchange of arguments, as a rule, allows people to change ideas for the best, and that it could be emulated by a chatbot (although we used old-school, scripted chatbots).
VACCINATION
Baudouin, N., De Rouilhan, S., Huillery, E., Pasquinelli, E., Chevallier, C., Mercier, H. Interventions to reduce vaccine hesitancy among adolescents: a randomized controlled trial. Nature Human Behaviour.
Altay, S., Hacquin, A., Chevallier, C. , & Mercier, H . Information delivered by a chatbot has a positive impact on COVID-19 vaccines attitudes and intentions. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied. (coverage STAT, Pour la Science, France Info, review in Rapid Reviews)
Chevallier, C., Hacquin, A.-S., & Mercier, H. COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy: shortening the last mile. Trends in Cognitive Sciences.
Altay, S. & Mercier, H. Framing messages for vaccination supporters. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied.
Miton, H. & Mercier, H. Cognitive obstacles to pro-vaccination beliefs. Trends in Cognitive Sciences. (coverage Science et Avenir)
ENVIRONMENT
Mus, M., Hadjes, A., Mercier, H. & Chevallier, C. Psychological drivers of conservation policy support: A systematic scoping review of quantitative evidence. Journal for Nature Conservation.
Mus, M., De Rouilhan, S., Chevallier, C. & Mercier, H. Energy subsidies versus cash transfers: the causal effect of misperceptions on public support for countermeasures during the energy crisis. Energy Research & Social Science.
Vlasceanu, M., Doell, K. C., Bak Coleman, J.-B. … Mus, M. & Mercier, H. … Van Bavel, J.J. Addressing climate change with behavioral science: A global intervention tournament in 63 countries. Science Advances.
Mus, M., Mercier, H. & Chevallier, C. Designing an acceptable and fair carbon tax: The role of mental accounting. PLoS Climate.
Herrera Masurel, A., Altay, S. & Mercier, H. Does nuclear energy produce neodymium? Negative perception of nuclear energy drives the assumption that it is polluting. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied. (coverage in Weekendavisen)
Liu, S., Altay, S., & Mercier, H. Being green or being nice? People are more likely to share nicer but potentially less impactful green messages. Climatic Change.
Altay, S., Schwartz, M., Hacquin, AS., Allard, A., Blancke, S. & Mercier, H. Scaling up interactive argumentation by providing counterarguments with a chatbot. Nature Human Behavior.
Hacquin, AS., Altay, S., Aarøe, L. & Mercier, H. Disgust sensitivity and public opinion on nuclear energy. Journal of Environmental Psychology. (coverage in Weekendavisen)