Behavioural scientists don't seem to know much about human nature

I've never had a high opinion of behavioural scientists; they treat their discoveries of the most obvious human behaviours and characteristics as profound revelations. However, maybe I should treat behavioural scientists with more respect; they have fun conferences, and they come up with surprising discoveries such as those mentioned below.

Submitted for your approval is an excerpt from a report by Mike Pottenger, Sessional Lecturer, Department of Economics at University of Melbourne. Click on the link to see the full article, Why Can’t We Just Behave? Free Drinks and Behavioral Science, from The Conversation, June 4, 2014 (bold in original):

Something for Nothing and Making the Most of It

Last night there was a function where free drinks were served. Behavioural science has found that when something is free, people are likely to flock to it more than they otherwise might. So there’s reason to suspect that at least some attendees may have overindulged.

But that assumes the drinks really were free: attendees’ behaviour may have been driven by the assumption that they were effectively paying for the drinks (at least in part) through their registration fees.

In this case, behavioural science suggests that instead of regarding that past expense as a sunk cost and choosing their preferred number of drinks based on how many they actually feel like having, people may actually consume more drinks in an effort to get their money’s worth.

What About Self-Restraint? Or Self-Awareness?

Wouldn’t people’s knowledge that they needed to turn up bright and early this morning have meant they restrained themselves last night? As it turns out, behavioural science finds that a present bias means people are likely to have placed a higher value on having a good time last night than on being alert and attentive this morning.

Research also tells us that our capacity for self-restraint might be limited. So after spending a whole day paying attention to cognitively taxing talks and doing our best to avoid the chocolate cake at morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea, we might be less able to resist a tempting beverage (an effect known as ego-depletion).

You might think a group of people at a conference about behavioural science would know at least something about these behavioural phenomena and so could adjust their behaviour accordingly. But the research suggests it’s not easy to change your own behaviour even when you’re aware of your own biases (as is the case with gender bias). Many of the experts noted that yes, even they were subject to this dilemma. To make matters worse, self-serving bias means people are likely to routinely overestimate their ability to do so.

HT: The Epoch Times