Roman Family Center for Decision Research

09/02/2026

From interactive exhibits to published research, Mindworks shows what’s possible when behavioral science connects directly with the public. Nearly 38,000 visitors have participated in studies, helping create more inclusive and impactful behavioral research. Read the story to see how Mindworks is marking 5 years of impact: https://www.chicagobooth.edu/why-booth/stories/celebrating-five-years-of-mindworks via University of Chicago Booth School of Business

Faculty, staff, and students reflect on Booth’s downtown behavioral science center for its fifth anniversary.

08/24/2026

How can we have more meaningful conversations with our kids?

Ariel Kalil (The University of Chicago) argues many of us have been thinking wrong about how to encourage parents to talk and read with their children. Do parents just need better conversation starters?

Listen: https://www.chicagobooth.edu/review/podcast/how-can-we-have-more-meaningful-conversations-our-kids via Chicago Booth Review

Ariel Kalil argues many of us have been thinking wrong about how to encourage parents to talk and read with their children.

08/19/2026

Celebrating five years of Mindworks: The Science of Thinking, where behavioral science comes to life!

Since opening in downtown Chicago, Mindworks has welcomed nearly 85,000 visitors and engaged more than 38,000 study participants from around the world. What began as a bold idea has grown into a dynamic space for discovery, inviting the public to explore how we think, choose, and behave.

Congratulations to everyone at Mindworks and the Roman Family Center for Decision Research on this incredible milestone. Here’s to the next five!

💡 Take a look at the story and milestones faculty, staff, and researchers are celebrating as Mindworks marks this exciting anniversary: https://www.chicagobooth.edu/why-booth/stories/celebrating-five-years-of-mindworks

University of Chicago Booth School of Business The University of Chicago Chicago Booth Review

Faculty, staff, and students reflect on Booth’s downtown behavioral science center for its fifth anniversary.

08/17/2026

Are you biased, or just cautious?

New research from Chicago Booth postdoctoral scholar Kyle LaFollette, Heath Demaree & Doroteja Rubez (Case Western Reserve University), and Harvard’s Amit Goldenberg suggests that results from the Implicit Association Test (IAT) may reflect not only bias, but also how cautiously people approach the task itself.

Read more: https://www.chicagobooth.edu/review/are-you-biased-just-cautious via Chicago Booth Review

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A decades-old test of implicit bias may not be telling the full story.

08/13/2026

Heading to the 2026 Association for Consumer Research Conference in Chicago? We’d love to welcome you to Mindworks: The Science of Thinking on Thursday, September 24, from 15:30 to 18:30.

Located just steps from the conference hotel, Mindworks is a behavioral science discovery center and working lab operated by Roman Family Center for Decision Research (University of Chicago Booth School of Business). Join fellow attendees for drinks and light bites, make new connections, and experience a research space designed to bring decision science to life.

✅ Registration is required, and availability is limited. Open to ACR attendees and their guests only.

👉 Register today: https://events.humanitix.com/acr-reception-at-mindworks?c=social

08/06/2026

Have you ever watched a clip twice and felt the moment seemed less spontaneous the second time? Could replaying a video be subtly changing how we judge what really happened?

Chicago Booth’s Kristin Donnelly explains the “replay illusion”: when we watch the same moment again, our brains can treat replay like repetition, making actions seem more rehearsed and less spontaneous than they really were.

💡 Read more: https://www.chicagobooth.edu/review/rewatching-videos-can-lead-replay-illusion via Chicago Booth Review

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A Q&A with Chicago Booth’s Kristin Donnelly about our tendency to confuse replay with repetition.

07/28/2026

How can we make changes that actually last, not just resolutions that fade by February?

Chicago Booth’s Ayelet Fishbach recommends choosing a goal that you look forward to doing, not something that you wish you already finished doing.

Read more: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20260703-why-mid-year-is-the-perfect-time-to-set-new-goals via BBC

Mindworks University of Chicago Booth School of Business Behavioral Insights and Parenting Lab The University of Chicago The University of Chicago Chicago Booth Review

"Fresh start" moments outside of the New Year can be surprisingly effective in motivating us to change behaviour and pursue goals.

07/22/2026

07/22/2026

"Fresh start" moments outside of the New Year can be surprisingly effective in motivating us to change behaviour and pursue goals.

07/22/2026

Are we missing out on happiness by avoiding meaningful chats? How can we turn a surface-level conversation into a more meaningful one?

Chicago Booth’s Nicholas Epley says we often underestimate how good genuine connection feels. His research shows we underestimate how much others want to connect, and how much better these conversations can make us feel.

💡 Find out more from his insights shared in TIME: https://time.com/article/2026/06/24/how-to-have-deeper-conversations/

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