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As we celebrate five years of conducting behavioral research in East Africa and beyond, we continue to observe and learn from news across our markets. You will find an article about the role of cognitive biases in political decision-making and some findings from our lab study on dignity and respect. Reach the end to learn about our current job openings!
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Interesting stats or figures from the past week to put global issues in perspective
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The number of visitors to SportPesa between June 1 and June 30 this year, according to the Google Analytics report that the Kenyan sports betting company released. The statistic was released along with clarifying information about the age demographics of SportPesa users, as the platform received criticism for allowing underage individuals to gamble.
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The amount raised by Uganda’s controversial social media tax of 200 USh daily, which was introduced last year, in June 2018. The revenue is only 17% of the expected 284 billion USh, which the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) Commissioner General attributed to people using virtual private networks and wireless networks.
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The amount raised by global delivery firm Glovo for expansion in Sub-Saharan Africa. The firm launched in Kenya in January and has recruited over 120 riders for deliveries in Nairobi. The funds raised will also be used to expanding delivery categories beyond food to drinks, groceries and courier services.
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New insights, trends, and findings for behavioral science in the Global South
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The behavioral consequences of (dis)respect
For this study, we sought to understand the consequences of the respectful treatment of participants in development programs and experiments.
We tested a number of different outcome measures by randomly assigning treatment conditions to attendees who received differently framed invitation texts. These included whether they exhibited more altruistic behaviors, were happier or were more empowered, if they were exposed to small acts of respect. We also asked them to complete a survey on their ‘Life Experiences of Disrespect’, the emotions they associate with disrespectfulness and their definitions of respectfulness
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Emotions listed when recalling disrespectful events
What we found:
Participants routinely experience disrespect: Disrespect is associated with lower well-being and self-efficacy. 71% identified at least one social group who are not usually respectful towards them — from NGO workers to medical staff to police officers.
Small acts of respectfulness do not affect our outcome measures: Giving choices over time and using names does not make people significantly more likely to show up for a lab session or to be more altruistic, nor does it bring them higher self-efficacy or higher well-being.
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Recently published journals, papers, blog posts or just interesting snippets we enjoyed
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- Maxence Melo, co-founder of Tanzania-based social media website JamiiForums, was named one of the recipients of the Committee to Protect Journalists’ International Press Freedom Award. Melo, a human rights defender, was arrested by Tanzanian authorities in December 2016 after refusing to reveal the identities of anonymous contributors to JamiiForums, which he co-founded as a platform to encourage citizen journalists and for citizens to anonymously engage with Tanzania’s social, political and economic issues.
- Understanding Brexit with a behavioral lens.This article lists 17 biases which help to understand the political landscape and online rhetoric in the context of the Brexit debate. We appreciate this exercise in contextualization, but of course these biases apply to many situations (beyond UK politics!)
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We are hiring!
We are growing fast and looking for more talented individuals to join our teams in Kenya, Nigeria, India, Tanzania and beyond. Do you know anyone interested in applying behavioral science and building a world of better-designed policies, products and services? Our current openings are listed here.
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