MABEL’s mission is to advance the scientific study of human behavior, decision-making, learning, cooperation, and development in populations that are often underrepresented in behavioral science.
Most existing research on cognition, preferences, strategic reasoning, and social behavior has been conducted in highly industrialized and relatively homogeneous environments. MABEL aims to broaden this evidence base by studying children, adolescents, and adults in diverse social, cultural, educational, and economic contexts.
The laboratory seeks to generate rigorous scientific knowledge while also contributing to local research capacity, education, and evidence-based interventions.
Why Madagascar?
Madagascar offers a unique and important context for studying human development and decision-making. The country includes substantial diversity in educational access, economic conditions, family structures, institutional environments, languages, and cultural practices. Many communities face structural barriers such as poverty, limited access to electricity, uneven schooling opportunities, and geographic isolation.
At the same time, Madagascar has a rich social and cultural history, strong community structures, and important variation across urban, rural, and more isolated populations. This makes it a valuable setting for studying how human behavior develops in relation to institutions, ecology, education, social norms, and biological constraints.
MABEL is founded on the idea that understanding human decision-making requires looking beyond standard laboratory populations and integrating evidence from diverse real-world environments.
A Broad Interdisciplinary Approach
Research at MABEL is grounded in behavioral economics and experimental methods, but it is intentionally interdisciplinary.
Our scientific approach is informed by:
- psychology and cognitive science;
- anthropology and the study of diverse populations;
- developmental science;
- economics and decision theory;
- history of institutions and social organization;
- biology, neuroscience, genetics, hormones, nutrition, and health;
- education, poverty, and human capital research.
A central goal of MABEL is to create collaborations across fields. We believe that decision-making cannot be fully understood without considering the biological, psychological, social, cultural, and institutional environments in which individuals develop and act.
This interdisciplinary orientation is especially important for studying populations that differ from standard university samples, including rural communities, children in low-resource educational environments, and groups with more traditional or isolated ways of life.
Long-Term Vision
The long-term vision of MABEL is to become a leading behavioral research platform in Madagascar and francophone Africa.
By combining rigorous experimental methods with interdisciplinary collaboration and local engagement, MABEL aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of human behavior across environments. The laboratory also seeks to support evidence-based interventions in education, development, and social policy.
MABEL is founded on a simple principle: to understand human decision-making, science must study humans in the full diversity of their biological, cultural, economic, and institutional contexts.