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David Rand: The Role of Behavioral Science in the Era of COVID-19

July 06, 2020

In this conversation with Kelly Peters of BEworks , David  Rand discusses the importance of bridging the gap between theory and application in the behavioral sciences, and also explains the origins of misinformation and polarization in the context of social media and the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Rand, Associate Professor of Management Science and Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT Sloan, and the Director of the Human Cooperation Laboratory and the Applied Cooperation Team, said it is  important for academics to go out  in the real world and to apply theories in the real world that will help create accurate, research-driven beliefs. People want to share content that is accurate, he said, but they tend to be distracted from thinking about accuracy. 

Watch the full interview here.