On the importance of behavioral operational research: The case of understanding and communicating about dynamic systems

► Topics for behavioral research in OR are presented. ► OR process is especially sensitive to behavioral effects. ► We demonstrate the impact of behavioral effects by revisiting a study of how people understand dynamic systems. ► Our results show that people's understanding of dynamic systems depends on priming and information presentation. ► Practice of OR can be substantially improved by focusing on the behavioral aspects of the OR process.