Research & machine learning
Measure what matters.
Bring research design, psychometrics and machine learning together to model data and understand motivation, personality and meaningful differences between people.
BehaviorBlock / Applied psychology
Human understanding,
at scale.
We bring behavioral intelligence to the design of communications, programs and services, combining first-principles thinking with empirical research.
What we do
Behavioral intelligence.
Put to work.
Understand the people you serve, test ways to support them, and equip your team to act on the evidence.
Intervention design & evaluation
Test what makes a difference.
Design and evaluate communications, tools and programs informed by psychology. Establish what success would look like, test the proposed changes, and use the findings to decide what to refine or take forward.
Workshops & advisory
Give teams a framework they can use.
Help teams apply established psychology to the decisions and systems they are responsible for, with clear guidance for putting it into practice.
For defined contribution plan sponsors
Understand what drives
retirement engagement.
The Retirement Motivation Diagnostic applies self-determination theory to your plan’s communications, tools and participant support. Understand participants’ experiences and motivations, then identify where better support could make a difference.
Discuss your planHere from DCIIA? Let’s continue the conversation.
From assessment to action.
- 01
Assess the participant experience. A benefits-team workshop and confidential employee survey examine motivation, confidence, personal relevance and perceived barriers to saving.
- 02
Connect insight with plan data. Where available, de-identified enrollment, contribution and utilization data connect participant experience with plan behavior.
- 03
Put findings to work. Receive a workforce motivation profile, communication recommendations and a prioritized action roadmap, with a written report and executive briefing.
How we work
From understanding
to action.
Understand what sustains motivation, drives optimal performance, and helps people thrive.
- 01
Discovery.
Explore your aspirations, the people involved and the context. Establish what you want to make possible and what meaningful progress would look like.
- 02
First principles and evidence.
Make assumptions explicit. Draw on established psychology and empirical research to develop hypotheses, then test them in context.
- 03
Design and evaluate.
Develop the assessments or interventions the question calls for. Evaluate them in context, examine the findings and refine the approach.
- 04
Put findings to work.
Translate findings into clear recommendations, practical tools and next steps, including what to adopt, refine or test next.
Stefano Di Domenico
Founder, BehaviorBlock Inc.
Meet the founder
Stefano Di Domenico, PhD
Behavioral scientist and founder of BehaviorBlock.
Stefano’s research focuses on human motivation and personality, including self-determination theory and financial life.
Stefano is an Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, in Psychology at the University of Toronto Scarborough. Through BehaviorBlock, he brings an independent, research-informed perspective to organizational questions.
Explore Stefano's academic workLet's talk
What would you like
to make possible?
Tell us what you hope to achieve, what you want to understand, or what you would like to test. A first conversation helps clarify your goals and whether research, an intervention study, or a workshop would be useful.
Start a conversation
Your email goes directly to Stefano.