In global health governance, the ongoing negotiations over the Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) mechanism under the WHO illustrate how psychological dynamics could shape cooperation as much as institutional design or legal drafting. Yet, psychology rarely applied in such circumstances.


Since the World Development Report 2015: Mind, Society, and Behavior, psychology's insights into cognitive bias, framing, and motivation have gained limited recognition in the public policy sphere. Yet, their application to international treaty-making remains rare. Negotiators' behavior often reflects bounded rationality, loss aversion, and status-quo bias, while group identity and perceived fairness influence how coalitions form and dissolve. Drawing on decision-making science, social identity theory, and conflict-resolution psychology, this presentation examines how cognitive and affective factors condition negotiation strategies within the PABS process.


Importantly, PABS deliberations extend beyond state representatives. Non-state actors—scientific networks, research institutions, philanthropic foundations, and civil-society organizations—play increasingly visible roles in shaping expectations, framing benefit-sharing norms, and influencing perceptions of trust and legitimacy. Their participation introduces additional motivational layers, including reputational concerns, moral reasoning, and the pursuit of epistemic authority. Understanding these dynamics through psychological theories of cooperation and social influence helps explain how consensus or stalemate emerges in multi-actor negotiations.


Positioned within the panel "Rewaking a Dormant Legacy: Applied Psychology in Service of Global Challenges," this contribution discusses and suggest how psychology can illuminate and improve the micro-processes of collective decision-making in global governance. It reclaims psychology's original mission as an applied social science—one that not only understands individual minds but also facilitates cooperative action among diverse actors in the pursuit of global public goods.