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Research: How We Think—and Decide—in a Complex World 

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 In my research, I study how people intuitively make decisions in complex environments, why that thinking often falls short, and how we can build the capacity to do better.

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My research—rooted in work at Harvard and MIT Sloan—focuses on two intersecting questions:

  • How do children and adults develop the ability to think in systems?
     

  • What gets in the way—cognitively, structurally, and culturally?

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I explore how visual metaphors (like the Carbon Bathtub), language, and developmental strategies can build systems literacy across the lifespan. I also study how habits of thought can shift to better navigate systemic challenges—whether tackling climate change, improving health outcomes, or building a culture of safety in large organizations.

Areas of Focus

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Cognitive Development

How systems thinking develops from childhood through adult.

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Systems + Decision Making

How people make decisions in dynamic, feedback-rich environments.

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Barriers to Systems Thinking

The causes and consequences of asystemic thinking- mental models, silos, incentive misalignment, etc.

Selected Publications

​Click to Explore:

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  • Managing Complex Dynamic Systems: Challenge and Opportunity for Naturalistic Decision-Making Theory (Sterman & Booth Sweeney, 2007) – In How Professionals Make Decisions, Montgomery, Lipshitz & Brehmer (Eds.), Lawrence Erlbaum Associates
     

  • Patterns of Polycrisis: Applying System Archetypes to Crisis Interactions (Booth Sweeney, 2025) – Global Sustainability, Cambridge University Press
     

  • Integrating Complex Systems Methods to Advance Obesity Prevention (2020) – Health Education & Behavior
     

  • All Systems Go! Education for the Anthropocene (2017) – Worldwatch Institute
     

  • Learning to Connect the Dots: Children’s Systems Literacy (2012) – The Solutions Journal
     

  • “Carbon Bathtub” featured as National Geographic Big Idea (2009) – Co-developed with John Sterman, MIT
     

  • Thinking About Systems: Student and Teacher Conceptions (2007) – System Dynamics Review
     

  • Understanding Public Complacency About Climate Change (2006) – Climatic Change

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  • Bathtub Dynamics: Initial Results of a Systems Thinking Inventory (2001) – System Dynamics Review

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Additional peer-reviewed publications and articles available upon request.

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