Behavioral Science Research at Hopelab
How can social media be harnessed to support mental health? Can acts of kindness be digitized to boost resilience? How might an app deepen real-world relationships?
At Hopelab, we’re applying behavioral science to answer these and many other big questions facing digital health today.
Published Research
Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial on Nod
Featured ResearchRead the results of the pilot randomized controlled trial on the nod smartphone app created to address loneliness among college students.

One year into the pandemic, a new survey reveals that teens and young adults are actively turning to online sources to cope with mental health.

This pilot randomized controlled trial examined the feasibility of delivering positive psychology skills via the Vivibot chatbot and its effects on key psychosocial well-being outcomes in young adults treated for cancer.

The following summarizes results from a randomized controlled trial measuring Re-Mission’s impact on patient behavior and provides a short overview of the development process used to create the game.
Behavioral Science Collaborations
Academic Partnerships to Support our Mission
The behavioral science team at Hopelab conducts rigorous research on health, well-being, and technology. This research informs the development of science-based technologies to improve the lives health and well-being of teens and young adults. But we can’t do it all ourselves. To achieve our objectives, we also collaborate with and provide support for some of the best and brightest minds in adolescent health, developmental neuroscience, and positive psychology to generate actionable insights on:
- New powerful metrics of health and well-being
- Innovative technologies that promote health and well-being in youth
Behavioral Science Collaborations

In collaboration with Dr. Andrew Fuligni from The University of California, Los Angeles, we are expanding the research showing health-protective benefits from “acts of kindness” interventions.

In collaboration with Dr. Tamara Taggart from George Washington University, we’re examining the use of online crowdsourcing contests to directly engage youth in the development of behavioral health interventions.

In collaboration with Dr. Sonya Lyubomirsky from The University of California, Riverside, we are expanding prosocial research that might benefit young adult health.

In collaboration with Dr. Edith Chen from Northwestern University, we are investigating whether and in what ways a year-long mentoring program might impact the metabolic and cardiovascular health of mentors.

In collaboration with Dr. Glen Coppersmith and Dr. Alex Fine of Qntfy, we’re investigating whether specific social media behaviors are related to mental health and well-being in youth.

In collaboration with Dr. Emily Falk from the University of Pennsylvania, we’re investigating whether youth’s real-world social networks influence the way their brains respond to information and how that shapes behavior choices.

In collaboration with UCLA researchers, we aim to identify how providing social support affects adolescents’ emotional resilience to stress.