Ruth Schmidt | Behavior by design

Introducing a strategic design sensibility into the practical application of behavioral design, through iterative development of new methodologies that integrate design, systems approaches, and behavioral science to address humanity-centered challenges and opportunities.

Recent selected publications:

Stenger, K. & Schmidt, R. (2025). Navigating complexity: A pattern language approach for behavioral science in public policy, Behavioural Public Policy. https://doi.org/10.1017/bpp.2024.47

Schmidt, R. (2024). A model for choice infrastructure: Beyond choice architecture in Behavioral Public Policy. Behavioural Public Policy 8(3), 415–440. https://doi.org/10.1017/bpp.2021.44

Schmidt, R. & K. Stenger (2024). Behavioral brittleness: The case for strategic behavioral public policy. Behavioural Public Policy 8(2): 212-237. https://doi.org/10.1017/bpp.2021.16

Chen, Z. & Schmidt, R. (2024). “Exploring a Behavioral Model of ‘Positive Friction’ in Human-AI Interaction” in Marcus, A., Rosenzweig, E., and Soares, M. (eds.) Design, User Experience, and Usability. HCII 2024: Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 14713: 3-22. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-61353-1_1

Schmidt, R., & Stenger, K. (2023). Frame plurality and ‘or/rationality’: a dialogic approach to the behavioral state. Behavioural Public Policy, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1017/bpp.2023.34

Schmidt, R., Chen, Z., and Paz Soldan, V. (2022) Choice Posture, Architecture, and Infrastructure: Systemic Behavioral Design for Public Health Policy, She Ji: The Journal of Design, Economics, and Innovation 8(4): 504-525. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sheji.2022.08.002

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Navigating complexity: A pattern language approach for behavioral science in public policy

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Exploring a Behavioral Model of “Positive Friction” in Human-AI Interaction

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Frame plurality and ‘or/rationality’: a dialogic approach to the behavioral state

Behavioral Implications and Emerging Legal Issues in Innovative and Digital Product Design

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Choice Conditions and Behavioural Leverage Points in Complex and Adaptive Systems

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(Dis)embodied Rationality?: Behavioral Design’s Mind-Body Problem

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Positive Sum Design: Design methods and strategies

Choice Posture, Architecture & Infrastructure: Systemic Behavioral Design for Public Health Policy

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A model for choice infrastructure: looking beyond choice architecture in Behavioral Public Policy

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Wicked Behavioral Design

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Behavioral brittleness: The case for strategic behavioral public policy

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Behavioral planning: Improving behavioral design with “roughly right” foresight

Prototyping systems design-informed behavioral public policy

Evolving SPACE for Academic Assessment (eLife)

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Participatory policy design: igniting systems change through prototyping

Strange bedfellows: Design research and behavioral design

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Overcoming bounded scalability: Achieving interoperability through behavioral boundary objects