Joseph Sherlock

Current engagements

Assistant Professor (Lecturer)

School for GovernmentKing’s College London

Course Director

Sanford School of Public PolicyDuke University

Behavioural Science Fellow

UN Behavioural Science GroupExecutive Office of the Secretary-General

About

Behavioral Scientist with 12 years of experience, specializing in democracy and sustainability, designing and leading large-scale randomized controlled field experiments in complex, real-world settings. Work spans the USA, the UK, and multiple international contexts, partnering with major government bodies, civic organizations, and multilateral institutions. Holds a PhD in Psychological and Behavioural Science from the London School of Economics and Political Science and currently serves as Assistant Professor at the School for Government, King’s College London. Advises the UN Secretary General’s office and teaches short courses for Duke University.

More about me

Full profile, teaching and doctoral supervision at King’s.

King’s College London profile

Research focus

Democracy

For democracy to survive, we need to innovate. This requires us to experiment. I study how behavioral science can boost civic trust, improve transparency, and make democratic institutions fit for the current world.

Sustainability

My work applies behavioural insights to encourage sustainable action, helping individuals and institutions close the gap between climate intention and behaviour.

Method

As we enter our second decade as an applied behavioural science field, it is time we understood more effectively how we do what we do, and what leads to success as an applied behavioural scientist.

Featured work

Democracy

Politricks

Published in PNAS Nexus

Context: Misinformation threatens democracy and climate action, eroding trust and amplifying polarization.
Problem: Few studies compare active (games) and passive (guides) learning in helping citizens discern manipulative content.
Intervention: We built Politricks, an interactive game, alongside a passive inoculation guide, each teaching three manipulation tactics: emotional storytelling, conformity, and conspiracy theories.
Outcome: Active and passive tools are comparably effective, scalable strategies for building resilience against misinformation.

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Democracy

Operational Transparency in Elections

Preprint · under review at Nature Human Behaviour

Context: Democracies face declining trust fuelled by polarization, misinformation, and hidden election processes.
Problem: Voters often misinterpret how elections work, leading to scepticism and disengagement.
Intervention: Applying behavioural insights to increase operational transparency, redesign ballots for usability, and work with election officials to test communication and procedural reforms.
Outcome: Evidence-based, incremental interventions make democratic systems more understandable and trustworthy, reducing misinformation’s impact and strengthening confidence in elections.

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Behavioural insights

COVID-19 Vaccination in Ghana

Published in PLOS ONE

Context: Ghana faced vaccine hesitancy despite availability, with uptake shaped by social and cultural factors.
Problem: Traditional drivers such as provider recommendations were unexpectedly less predictive; family and religious leaders influenced decisions far more.
Intervention: A two-part study surveyed 1,494 people and tested behaviourally informed message frames (fear, altruism, social norms) delivered through trusted messengers.
Outcome: Tailoring strategies to leverage social trust and context-specific nudges can increase vaccine uptake in Ghana.

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