Joseph S. Kay, PhD

Director of Research Operations
The Behavior Change for Good Initiative

Contact Information

Email:
jskay@wharton.upenn.edu
Office Phone:
215-746-6609

Office Address:
3720 Walnut Street
Solomon Labs
Philadelphia, PA 19104

Bio

Dr. Joseph Kay is the Director of Research Operations for the Behavior Change for Good (BCFG) Initiative at the University of Pennsylvania. He oversees BCFG’s day-to-day research activities, focusing on large-scale field studies on behavior change. Joseph received his Ph.D. in Psychology and Social Behavior from the University of California, Irvine. He has over a decade of experience in conducting applied research in psychology and economics, investigating strategies to change attitudes and behaviors for the better.

Representative Publications

A 680,000-person megastudy of nudges to encourage vaccination in pharmacies
Milkman, K.L., L. Gandhi, M.S. Patel, H.N. Graci, D.M. Gromet, H. Ho, J.S. Kay, T.W. Lee, J. Rothschild, J.E. Bogard, I. Brody, C.F. Chabris, E. Chang, G.B. Chapman, J.E. Dannals, N.J. Goldstein, A. Goren, H. Hershfield, A. Hirsch, J. Hmurovic, S. Horn, D.S. Karlan, A.S. Kristal, C. Lamberton, M.N. Meyer, A.H. Oakes, M.E. Schweitzer, M. Shermohammed, J. Talloen, C. Warren, A. Whillans, K.N. Yadav, J.J. Zlatev, R. Berman, C.N. Evans, R. Ladhania, J. Ludwig, N. Mazar, S. Mullainathan, C.K. Snider, J. Spiess, E. Tsukayama, L. Ungar, C. Van den Bulte, K.G. Volpp, and A.L. Duckworth (2022). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119, e2115126119.

A randomized trial of behavioral nudges delivered through text messages to increase influenza vaccination among patients with an upcoming primary care visit
Patel, M.S., K.L. Milkman, L. Gandhi, H.N. Graci, D. Gromet, H.Ho, J.S. Kay, T.W. Lee, J. Rothschild, M. Akinola, J. Beshears, J.E. Bogard, A. Buttenheim, C. Chabris, G.B. Chapman, J. J. Choi, H. Dai, C.R. Fox, A. Goren, M.D. Hilchey, J. Hmurovic, J.K. John, D. Karlan, M. Kim, D. Laibson, C. Lamberton, B.C. Madrian, M.N. Meyer, M. Modanu, J. Nam, T. Rogers, R. Rondina, S. Saccardo, M. Shermohammed, D. Soman, J. Sparks, C. Warren, M. Weber, R. Berman, C.E. Evans, S.H. Lee, C.K. Snider, E. Tsukayama, C. Van den Bulte, K.G. Volpp, and A.L. Duckworth (2022). American Journal of Health Promotion, 08901171221131021.

Megastudies improve the impact of applied behavioural science
Milkman, K.L., D. Gromet, H. Ho, J. Kay, T. Lee, P. Pandiloski, Y. Park, A. Rai, M. Bazerman, J. Beshears, L. Bonacorsi, C. Camerer, E. Chang, G. Chapman, R. Cialdini, H. Dai, L. Eskreis-Winkler, A. Fishbach, J.J. Gross, A. Horn, A. Hubbard, S.J. Jones, D. Karlan, T. Kautz, E. Kirgios, J. Klusowski, A. Kristal, R. Ladhania, G. Loewenstein, J. Ludwig, B. Mellers, S. Mullainathan, S. Saccardo, J. Spiess, G. Suri, J.H. Talloen, J. Taxer, Y. Trope, L. Ungar, K.G. Volpp, A. Whillans, J. Zinman, A.L. Duckworth (2021). Nature, 600, 478–483.

A megastudy of text-based nudges encouraging patients to get vaccinated at an upcoming doctor’s appointment
Milkman, K.L., M.S. Patel, L. Gandhi, H.N. Graci, D. Gromet, H. Ho, J.S. Kay, T.W. Lee, M. Akinola, J. Beshears, J.E. Bogard, A. Buttenheim, C. Chabris, G.B. Chapman, J.J. Choi, H. Dai, C.R. Fox, A. Goren, M.D. Hilchey, J. Hmurovic, L.K. John, D. Karlan, M. Kim, D. Laibson, C. Lamberton, B.C. Madrian, M.N. Meyer, M. Modanu, J. Nam, T. Rogers, R. Rondina, S. Saccardo, M. Shermohammed, D. Soman, J. Sparks, C. Warren, M. Weber, R. Berman, C.N. Evans, C.K. Snider, E. Tsukayama, C. Van den Bulte, K.G. Volpp, A.L. Duckworth (2021). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118, e2101165118.