Skip to main content
Navigate back to homepage
Open search bar.
Open main navigation menu

Main navigation

  • Study
    UCL Portico statue
    Study at UCL

    Being a student at UCL is about so much more than just acquiring knowledge. Studying here gives you the opportunity to realise your potential as an individual, and the skills and tools to thrive.

    • Undergraduate courses
    • Graduate courses
    • Short courses
    • Study abroad
    • Centre for Languages & International Education
  • Research
    Tree-of-Life-MehmetDavrandi-UCL-EastmanDentalInstitute-042_2017-18-800x500-withborder (1)
    Research at UCL

    Find out more about what makes UCL research world-leading, how to access UCL expertise, and teams in the Office of the Vice-Provost (Research, Innovation and Global Engagement).

    • Engage with us
    • Explore our Research
    • Initiatives and networks
    • Research news
  • Engage
    UCL Print room
    Engage with UCL

    Discover the many ways you can connect with UCL, and how we work with industry, government and not-for-profit organisations to tackle tough challenges.

    • Alumni
    • Business partnerships and collaboration
    • Global engagement
    • News and Media relations
    • Public Policy
    • Schools and priority groups
    • Visit us
  • About
    UCL welcome quad
    About UCL

    Founded in 1826 in the heart of London, UCL is London's leading multidisciplinary university, with more than 16,000 staff and 50,000 students from 150 different countries.

    • Who we are
    • Faculties
    • Governance
    • President and Provost
    • Strategy
  • Active parent page: Brain Sciences
    • Study
    • Research
    • About the Faculty
    • Institutes and Divisions
    • Active parent page: News and Events
    • Contact

PALS Student Contributes to Major International Collaboration

PALS Student Contributes to Major International Collaboration on Critical Behavioural Science Theory

19 May 2020

Collage_Study_Team

Breadcrumb trail

  • Brain Sciences
  • News and Events

Faculty menu

  • Current page: Faculty news
  • Events

In recent years, the popularity of behavioural science has been on the rise. This is in large part due to governments and businesses around the world recognising the potential for behavioural insights to improve many processes and outcomes that depend heavily on our choice as individuals. At the same time, replicability concerns in psychology, and behavioural sciences in general, gave rise to large-scale replication efforts investigating many conclusions based on well-established theories.

A new paper titled Replicating patterns of prospect theory for decision under risk published in Nature Human Behaviour tested the replicability of findings from one of the most cited and influential papers in this field: Kahneman and Tversky’s 1979 Prospect Theory paper. Prospect Theory describes how people make choices when faced with risky decisions and how those choices are not always consistent with what we consider “rational”. This work was so influential and impactful that it earned Daniel Kahneman the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2002, and has only grown in influence since.

The replication study built on an extensive, cross-national sample – overall, 4,000 people in 19 countries were recruited, and the study material covered 13 languages. Led by Kai Ruggeri from Columbia University, researchers found that response patterns for decision-making under risk identified in the original paper more than 40 years ago, although somewhat smaller in size, still hold true today across multiple countries. For instance, we take more risks to avoid losses and fewer risks when we’re faced with a choice framed as a potential gain. In other words, not only have these patterns replicated, but it seems they are also generalizable around the world!

What is unique about this study is that students and early career researchers from all 19 countries played a crucial role in the effort. The project was part of an internship in the summer of 2019 at the University of Cambridge, organized by the Junior Researcher Programme, which aims to provide research opportunities to students of psychology and similar disciplines. Our student Celia Esteban Serna was part of the Spain researcher team. Having in mind the replication crisis in psychology, as well as the immense scientific impact of Prospect Theory and its widespread applications to policy and industry, Celia offers this valuable contribution to psychological science.

Interested to find out more? You can find the whole article here.

UCL footer

Visit

  • Bloomsbury Theatre and Studio
  • Library, Museums and Collections
  • UCL Maps
  • UCL Shop
  • Contact UCL

Students

  • Accommodation
  • Current Students
  • Moodle
  • Students' Union

Staff

  • Inside UCL
  • Staff Intranet
  • Work at UCL
  • Human Resources

UCL social media menu

  • Link to Soundcloud
  • Link to Flickr
  • Link to TikTok
  • Link to Youtube
  • Link to Instagram
  • Link to Facebook
  • Link to Twitter

University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7679 2000

© 2025 UCL

Essential

  • Disclaimer
  • Freedom of Information
  • Accessibility
  • Cookies
  • Privacy
  • Slavery statement
  • Log in