Behavioral science can inform and transform the work of product managers, designers, researchers, and marketers.
Behavioral Science for Good
Apply proven design methods to increase engagement and customer satisfaction
Become an expert at testing your intuitions in a quantitative way
Learn how to separate what customers SAY from what they DO
Develop innovative features using behavioral insights
Until now, the only formal way to learn behavioral science principles has been to invest years studying for a PhD or to take a two or three-day workshop. Irrational Labs‘ program offers a much needed middle ground. You’ll walk away with a full behavioral science toolkit and the expertise to bring this discipline to your organization in a scalable and ethical way.
Past Workshop Attendees & Testimonials:
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Google
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Maritz
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Aetna
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Facebook
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Lyft
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The World Bank
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Cuna
The Course
In this multi-week, immersive course, you’ll learn about how to use behavioral economics and psychology to understand how people make decisions.
You’ll learn how to apply key insights about consumer behavior, make small adjustments to an environment to drive behavior change, and trigger decisions that will ultimately improve your customer’s health, wealth, and happiness – and your business outcomes.
What you’ll take away:
- How to use behavioral science in your product and feature development
- The “3B framework” for behavior change: develop solutions that account for human biases (used by companies like Google and Facebook)
- New, faster ways to discover insights and conduct research to de-risk new product and marketing initiatives
- How to bring the art of experimentation into your product infrastructure and corporate culture
- Survey & experimental design methodologies, including statistical best practices
- Proficiency in evaluating designs with the 3B model of behavioral science
- Tools, like a behavioral diagnosis, that help you evaluate your current product experience and prioritize changes
- How to lead with value -- become an expert at structuring pricing
- Materials to enable you to train the rest of your team
- How to use behavioral science ethically
- Certificate of completion
Learn more about our BE Bootcamp.
Curriculum
Opening Weekend in San Francisco
January 18-20
How to Use Behavioral Insights to Assess and Improve Current Product and Feature Success
Week 2: Online
January 29
The BE Lens on Engagement & Retention
Week 3: Online
February 5
BE Insights for Marketing & Launch
Week 4: Online
February 12
Value Creation: Why We Work on Actual Pricing Last
Week 5: Online
February 19
Applying the Behavioral Framework
Week 6: Online
February 26
A Testing Culture: How to Use Experiments to Drive Customer and Business Value
Week 7: Online
March 5
Interpreting Your Customer Data: Determine What’s Real
Week 8: Online
March 12
Critical Eye: How to Evaluate Designs Using Behavioral Science
Final Weekend in San Francisco
March 15-17
Putting It All Together: Becoming a Behavioral Scientist
The Instructors
Expert behavioral scientists Kristen Berman, Evelyn Gosnell, and Richard Mathera will be your main instructors. Kristen co-founded the behavioral science group at Google with Dan Ariely and Irrational Labs. Evelyn is a lecturer at UCSD, the senior behavioral scientist at Irrational Labs, and Head of Product Development and Behavioral Science for Shapa, an innovative scale for weight management. Richard is a managing director at Irrational Labs, and previously was a Senior Behavioral Scientist at the Common Cents Lab, a Duke University initiative which leverages behavioral economics to improve the financial well-being of low and moderate income Americans.
“Thank you SO MUCH for organizing that Behavioral Economics workshop. Very very interesting, I can see it helping a lot with 2019 planning.”
Bringing behavioral economics to bear on product design is an activity that will surely impact billions of people... and Kristen is making that happen.
I attended a workshop on behavioral science led by Evelyn. It was cutting-edge, engaging, and highly relevant to real-world business environments, I walked away with experiments I could test with my team.
Working with Richard was a game changer – he uncovered behavioral insights that helped us see our program in a whole new light and improve our program immensely!
The course also features guest lecturers who will share their expertise and learnings from the field.

Dan Ariely
James B. Duke Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics at Duke University

Deena Rosen
Former VP of Design, Opower

Kelvin Kwong
Former Director of Product Management, Jawbone

Chris York
Founder & CEO, Cognitive
Admissions
Who should attend this program?
We will be more likely to accept you if you’re working on:
- increasing financial well being
- improving health outcomes
- increasing happiness or productivity
- getting people to call their mother more frequently… also known as social connection!
Will not accept:
- game designers
- cigarette companies
- advertisers
- consultants or agencies
- media companies
Admissions Requirements
- Complete an online application
- 2+ years work experience
- Preference given to teams, individuals, and companies whose work is focused on making people happier, healthier, or wealthier. Please provide a brief description of your company’s mission in the application.
Applications for the Winter 2019 cohort now closed. Next BE Bootcamp coming late 2019.
When is it?
November 2018:
Application opens
January 18-20, 2019:
Opening weekend in San Francisco
January 22 – March 5, 2019:
Eight weekly online sessions, live on Tuesdays 9-11 am PST / 12-2 pm EST
March 15-17, 2019:
Closing weekend in San Francisco
Late 2019:
Next BE Bootcamp
Program Fee
$14,800 per person, individual
$13,500 per person, two or more from the same company*
*We encourage multiple employees from the same company or business unit to attend because this will increase your ability to leverage and apply insights from BE Immersion and drive meaningful outcomes for your company. To apply and be considered for admission as a team of more than five, and qualify for a group rate, please contact us at evelyn@bebootcamp.com.
Program fee does not include travel costs.
If cost is a barrier, please contact us for scholarship consideration.
FAQs
- When is the course held?
Applications are now closed for the Winter 2019 BE Bootcamp. Next Bootcamp coming late 2019.
The opening and closing weekends for the Winter 2019 BE Bootcamp will be held in person in San Francisco, January 18-20 and March 15-17, 2019. Plan on attending the full weekend, from Friday afternoon to Sunday evening. Weeks 2 through 8 will be online, live on Tuesdays 9-11 am PST / 12-2pm EST. Live participation required.
- How much time should I commit?
The course consists of 4 full days of class in-person (opening and closing weekends in San Francisco) and 7 online sessions that will last about 2 hours each. In addition to the classes, plan on spending 2-3 hours outside of class each week working on homework assignments.
- Who is this course for?
The bootcamp is ideal for product leaders. Specifically, it would be a good fit for product managers, designers, researchers, and marketers working on products or services aimed at increasing financial well being, improving health outcomes, or increasing happiness or productivity. We will not accept game designers, cigarette companies, advertisers, consultants or agencies, or media companies.
- Are there any qualifications to apply for this course?
Applicants should have at least two years of work experience. No previous experience in behavioral economics is necessary. Preference will be given to teams, individuals, and companies whose work is focused on making people happier, healthier, or wealthier.
- Do you offer any discounts for groups from the same organization?
The program fee is reduced from $14,800 to $13,500 per person if two or more from the same organization attend. To apply for admission as a team of more than five and qualify for a group rate, please contact us at evelyn@bebootcamp.com.