Research

Field experiments on democracy, sustainability and the practice of behavioural science.

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.

Read the case study → 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.

Read the case study → 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.

Read the case study →

Politricks Operational Transparency in Elections COVID-19 Vaccination in Ghana

1 / 3

← →

Publications & working papers

• Democracy Politricks: Teaching political tricks and discernment through active and passive tools 2025 · PNAS Nexus, 4(8), pgaf245
  Hopkins, S.-A. M., Rayburn-Reeves, R. M., Lindemans, J. W., O’Gorman, K. C., Vandewalker, I. A., Luebeck, C. A., & Sherlock, J. J. View the paper ↗
• Understanding COVID-19 vaccination behaviors and intentions in Ghana: A Behavioral Insights (BI) study 2024 · PLOS ONE, 19(2), e0292532
  Vepachedu, S., Nurzenska, A., Lohiniva, A. L., Hudi, A. H., Deku, S., Birungi, J., Greiner, K., Sherlock, J., & Foster, L. View the paper ↗
• Method Providing safe space for honest mistakes in the public sector is the most important predictor for work engagement after strategic clarity 2022 · Sustainability, 14, 7051
  Gargantini, T., Daly, M., Sherlock, J., & Lazebnik, T. View the paper ↗
• Democracy Fighting the spread of COVID-19 misinformation in Kyrgyzstan, India, and the United States: How replicable are accuracy nudge interventions? 2022 · Technology, Mind, and Behavior, 3(3)
  Gavin, L., McChesney, J., Tong, A., Sherlock, J., Foster, L., & Tomsa, S. View the paper ↗
• Sustainability Nudging the commute: Using behaviorally-informed interventions to promote sustainable transportation 2021 · Behavioral Science & Policy, 7(2), 27–49
  Whillans, A., Sherlock, J., Roberts, J., O’Flaherty, S., Gavin, L., Dykstra, H., & Daly, M. View the paper ↗
• Increasing uptake of NHS Health Checks: A randomised controlled trial using GP computer prompts 2021 · British Journal of General Practice, 71(710), e693–e700
  Gold, N., Tan, K., Sherlock, J., Watson, R., & Chadborn, T. View the paper ↗
• Pre-notification and reminder SMS text messages with behaviorally informed invitation letters to improve uptake of NHS Health Checks: A factorial randomized controlled trial 2019 · BMC Public Health, 19, 1162
  Sallis, A., Sherlock, J., Bonus, A., et al. View the paper ↗
• Democracy Behavioral Science to Save Democracy 2024 · In A. Samson (Ed.), The Behavioral Economics Guide 2024 (pp. 13–22)
  Sherlock, J.
• Method Fit for Purpose: Using Behavioral Insights to Equip Public Servants for Agenda 2030 2021 · In UN DESA, Changing Mindsets to Realize the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (Ch. 7, pp. 86–93)
  Sherlock, J., et al.
• Sustainability Fresh Start Effect in New Movers: A Pilot to Reduce SOV Trips 2023 · Duke University
  Bartmann, N., Hopkins, S.-A., Luebeck, C., & Sherlock, J.
• Method Remote work and people in government OECD Observatory of Public Sector Innovation, Case Study Library (organisational case study)
  Sherlock, J.
• Common Cents Lab Annual Report series (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019) 2016–2019 · Center for Advanced Hindsight, Duke University. Contributing author
  Common Cents Lab
• Sustainability Reducing Energy Arrears: Evidence from Four Natural Field Experiments Under review at The Review of Economics and Statistics
  Akesson, J., Hahn, R. W., Metcalfe, R., & Sherlock, J.
• Democracy Surfacing Electoral Processes: Operational Transparency Increases Trust in Elections and Voter Turnout Under review at Nature Human Behaviour
  Sherlock, J., & Daly, M. Preprint ↗
• Sustainability When the Rubber Meets the Road: Environmental Framing Shifts Minds, but Financial Frames, Pain of Payment and Friction Reduction Shift Behavior Under review at Travel Behaviour and Society
  Sherlock, J., Hopkins, S.-A., Daly, M., Powell, O., & Szczesiul, A.
• Sustainability Motivating Change: How Multi-Dimensional Framing and Locus of Control Shape Pro-Environmental Behavior Under review
  Hopkins, S.-A., Sherlock, J., Martinez Daniel, E., Luebeck, C., Gavin, L., & Daly, M.
• Method A Perspective on Recent Meta-Analyses on the Effects of Nudging Commentary revised and resubmitted to Behavioural Public Policy
  Sanders, M., Ellingwood, J., & Sherlock, J.
• Method Beyond Resource Provision: Resource Utilization Predicts Employee Well-Being and Productivity in a Longitudinal Remote Work Field Experiment Under review at Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being
  Sherlock, J., Vepachedu, S., Daly, M., & Tatman, T. A.
• Method Behavioral Interventions for Goal Setting and Social Ties among Remote Public Servants: Insights from a Field Experiment Under review at the Journal of Behavioral Public Administration
  Gómez, M., Soto-Mota, P., van Roekel, H., Bowers, J., Tummers, L., Fuenzalida, J., Kristal, A., Arcain, P., Iocco, M. P., Massaro, S., Sherlock, J., Collis, H., & Hein, A.
• Democracy Capture without Confusion: Voter Experience with Democracy under Ranked-Choice Voting Under review at the Journal of Experimental Political Science
  Barkley, A., Martinez Daniel, E., & Sherlock, J.
• Sustainability Personalized Routing Reduces Driving Alone: Evidence from 2 Field Studies Revised and resubmitted to Behavioural Public Policy
  Sherlock, J., Daly, M., Gavin, L., Szczesiul, A., & Beasley, M.
• Democracy Who Are Effective and Trustworthy Messengers for Election-Related Communications? How Local Messengers Impact Effectiveness of Psychological Inoculation Submitted to the Journal of Experimental Political Science
  Sherlock, J., Hopkins, S.-A., & Moore, D.
• Method The Future of Research (Field Experiments) in an AI-Driven Landscape Under review
  Sherlock, J., & Sanders, M.
• Democracy Behavioural Science to Strengthen Democracy: Evidence and Opportunities in Election Administration New Voices, Behavioural Public Policy
  Sherlock, J.
• Democracy Can Taxpayer Choice Raise Voluntary Public Revenue? Evidence from Bogotá Nearing submission to the Journal of Public Economics
  Sherlock, J., Frech La Rosa, H., Salas, L. M., & Sanders, M.
• Democracy Leading or Following? Three Experiments on Political Leadership and Public Opinion Nearing submission to the Journal of Experimental Political Science
  Sanders, M., Hirneis, V., Benoit, Y., & Sherlock, J.
• Sustainability Relocation and the Re-Formation of Car Dependence: Field Evidence from New Movers Nearing submission to Behavioural Public Policy, Voices from the Field
  Hopkins, S.-A., Bartman, N., Sherlock, J., Gavin, L., & Guruprasad, S.
• Method Understanding Responses to NHS Waiting List Validation Messages Four-study paper in preparation; intended submission to The BMJ
  House, T., McElvaney, T., Sherlock, J., Luetchford, A., Henstock, T., Dewey, E., Ledgard, C., & Berry, D.
• Sustainability Behavioral Spillovers as a Result of Municipal Food Waste Collection In preparation; target journal Nature Sustainability
  Sherlock, J., Rush, M., & Johnson, M.

Nothing in this category yet.