[rafael_c]

"On the other hand, conducting those experiments over wider demographics and in different points in time means that the study wants to build "universal" models of how each single person in the whole world acts, which is utterly dismissive of the specific local environment around people."

I don't think building "universal models" or observing recurring patterns through analysis of 'experiments over wider demographics and in different points in time' require the ambition to predict a single individual behavior or actions as a corollary.

The problem lies - like you said - with the policymaker. And well more generally with people who extrapolate the results of a paper inadequately.

[skybrian]

The problem is even more pervasive than that. There is an irresistible tendency to try to make universal statements rather than just sharing anecdotes and not generalizing from them.

Like, for example, I just made two universal statements, didn’t I?