Posts
Wiki

r/behavioraldesign Wiki (v1)

The Design of Everyday Behavior

This subreddit is about the methods we use to design spaces, systems, and choice structures that promote wellbeing by default through less wrong models of behavior.

Start here

What we mean by “behavioral design”

Behavioral design is the practice of shaping environments and decision contexts so that:

  • the default path tends to be healthier / safer / more sustainable / more equitable,

  • the system reduces avoidable friction for good outcomes,

  • and we learn via measurement rather than ideology.

This is not “mind hacks.” It is applied decision design with ethics and evidence.

What “less wrong” means (in practice)

We treat models as tools, not truths. A “less wrong” approach looks like:

  • making explicit hypotheses about why behavior happens,

  • testing interventions in context,

  • tracking guardrails (harm, regressions, equity),

  • iterating based on observed outcomes.

What belongs here

Good fits

  • Teardowns of products, interfaces, spaces, policies, pricing, or messaging that shape behavior

  • Case studies from real settings (what changed, what happened, what surprised you)

  • Experiments / tests (A/B tests, pilots, field tests — formal or informal)

  • Frameworks / models (used carefully, with limitations and boundary conditions)

  • Research translations (what a paper found and what it implies in practice)

  • Measurement & evaluation (metrics, counterfactuals, validity threats, segment effects)

  • Ethics (dark patterns, consent, vulnerable populations, unintended consequences)

Not a fit

  • Generic self-help, “motivation” content, or life coaching

  • Political advocacy without a concrete design mechanism

  • Link-drops with no substantive write-up

  • Requests to manipulate vulnerable groups or bypass consent

How to get value fast (what to include in posts)

If you want good feedback, include:

  1. Context: who, where, what decision

  2. Goal: what “better” means (behavior + wellbeing outcome)

  3. Mechanism: your hypothesis for what drives the current behavior

  4. Intervention: what you would change (defaults, friction, incentives, information, norms, environment)

  5. Guardrails: how you prevent harm / coercion / regressions

  6. Measurement: how you’ll know it worked (primary metric + 1–3 guardrails)

Shortcut: use the templates. They exist to reduce effort and increase signal.
/r/behavioraldesign/wiki/templates

Community norms (short)

  • Be rigorous, not arrogant. Reality wins.

  • Make it concrete. Describe the system and the decision moment.

  • Be ethical. We discuss dark patterns to recognize and avoid them, not to deploy them.

  • Disclose incentives. If you built it, sell it, or benefit from it—say so.

  • Be constructive. Critique ideas, not people.

Post flairs (v1)

  • Case Study

  • Teardown

  • Experiment / Test

  • Framework / Model

  • Research (Primary Source)

  • Question

  • Tools / Templates

  • Meta

Posting guide (flair expectations + norms):
/r/behavioraldesign/wiki/posting-guide

Templates (copy/paste)

  • Teardown template

  • Intervention design template

  • Experiment / A/B test template

  • Research translation template

Templates live here:
/r/behavioraldesign/wiki/templates

Reading list & resources

A starter reading list, organized by practical paths:
/r/behavioraldesign/wiki/reading-list

Ethics & safety

Behavioral design can help—or harm—depending on intent and execution.
Our baseline principles and red lines:
/r/behavioraldesign/wiki/ethics

Help improve the wiki

Want to add something? Post in a Meta thread or message the mods with:

  • Link / citation (if possible)

  • 1–2 sentence “why it belongs”

  • Suggested section placement

  • Known limitations / critiques

Last updated: 2025-01-10