Bridging psychology and sociology: Towards a socio-ecological perspective in behavioural economics and policy

Behavioural economics has been heralded as a rupture in economics, toppling assumptions and axioms of rationality and utility maximisation. Roughly 60 years after the successful integration of psychology, several recent authors have lamented a lack of interdisciplinary perspectives and qualitative methods. Yet, these accounts likewise often remain superficial by merely offering research agendas. To make a genuine contribution to interdisciplinary approaches in behavioural economics, we offer a theoretically rigorous yet applied perspective. Specifically, we outline three emerging research areas. First, we integrate socio-ecological psychology and behavioural public policy. Second, we juxtapose sociological insights (Bourdieusian sociology and social practice theory) with behavioural economic foundations. Applying this theoretical angle, we sketch the core components of a ‘behavioural public policy of practice’. As a general backdrop, we outline new methodological pathways associated with our propositions and debate how this extended purview can facilitate a balance between undue complexity and over-simplification.