DEVIATE: Using positive deviance to reduce economic and health inequality

旨在减少不平等的经济和行为政策通常基于对中高收入个人有效的政策。这种方法忽视了低收入个人面临的实际挑战，如系统性障碍、有限的资源和缺乏机会。这项研究通过研究积极的离经叛道者扭转了这一趋势：那些克服了不平等和其他不利因素的人。它首先观察一些行为，比如在收入有限的情况下进行财务储蓄，或者即使在获得护理的机会有限的情况下，或者在社会规范不鼓励的情况下接种流感疫苗。这些观察导致了更实际的干预，这些干预在许多环境和多种行为中进行了测试，以了解不同的环境如何可能加剧不平等，即使处于不利地位的个人做出了看似正确的选择。这将是第一次使用积极偏离方法的综合行为研究，明确目标是减少经济不平等。关于结构性劣势的行为研究侧重于稀缺的心理后果，而不是应对策略和干预。同时，大多数行为干预措施都是为模特儿设计的，这使得许多大规模的行为政策在弱势社区完全无效。这项研究通过关注克服不平等的个人，即所谓的积极偏离者，展示了积极偏离框架在多大程度上可以创新行为政策的方法。在第一阶段，使用广泛的医疗和财务数据来定义和观察积极的偏差。这些观察结果被纳入第二阶段的干预措施。最后，动员早期职业研究人员来测试干预措施在多个国家的可复制性。第三阶段还将确定由社会和系统因素造成的潜在差异，突出积极偏离者所特有的行为，而不是限制代理选择的行为。研究的重点是与健康和经济不平等直接相关的六种行为：流感疫苗接种、预防性护理出席、遵守处方、偿还债务、意外之财管理和财务储蓄。研究人员测试助推、轻推、标准行为干预(费用/激励)和任务，以确定纳入和促进积极偏差的潜在有效性。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Economic and behavioral policies aimed at reducing inequality are typically based on what works for middle- and high-income individuals. That approach misses practical challenges facing low-income individuals, such as systemic barriers, limited resources, and lack of opportunity. This research reverses that trend by studying positive deviants: individuals who overcame inequalities and other disadvantages. It begins with observing behaviors such as financial savings despite limited incomes or getting flu shots even with limited access to care or when social norms discourage it. Those observations lead to more practical interventions, which are tested in many settings and across multiple behaviors to understand how different environments may worsen inequalities, even when disadvantaged individuals make what appear to be good choices. This will be the first comprehensive behavioral research to use the positive deviance approach with an explicit aim to reduce economic inequalities.Behavioral research on structural disadvantages focuses on the psychological consequences of scarcity as opposed to coping strategies and interventions. Concurrently, most behavioral interventions are designed for the modal person, rendering many large-scale behavior policies entirely ineffective in disadvantaged communities. By focusing on individuals that overcome inequality, known as positive deviants, this research demonstrates to what extent the positive deviance framework can innovate approaches to behavioral policy. In the first phase, extensive healthcare and financial data are used to define and observe positive deviants. Those observations are leveraged into interventions in the second phase. Finally, early career researchers are mobilized to test the replicability of interventions in multiple countries. The third phase will also identify potential differences created by social and systemic factors, highlighting behaviors that are unique to positive deviants compared to where agency in choice is restrained. Studies are focused on six behaviors directly relevant to health and economic inequality: flu vaccinations, preventive care attendance, prescription compliance, debt repayment, windfall management, and financial savings. The researchers test boosts, nudges, standard behavioral interventions (fees/incentives), and mandates, for potential effectiveness at incorporating and facilitating positive deviance.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.