Unlocking Behaviour Change

It’s the last episode of the season! Robert and Jamie go on a whistle-stop tour through the FACET framework for understanding real-world decision-making: (Framing, Assessing, Comparing, Enacting and Time). They offer some of their favourite decision-making tips from the last season. These include: the importance of getting the decision 'frame right' as this conditions everything that follows; gett...

How do you spot a ‘dubious’ expert? What signs should you look out for? What counts as reliable evidence? And ultimately . . . who can you trust? Robert and Jamie offer tips and advice on navigating the information that bombards us every day.    Want more? Check out our latest books:   Energise: The Secrets Of Motivation:  https://shorturl.at/bbA7y   React: Harness Your Animal Brain:  https://shor...

This is the first of a two-part episode on how best to use advice and information from so-called 'experts'. When and how much should we trust them? What does healthy scepticism look like? Robert reflects on his time in SPI-B advising the UK government and discusses the importance of behavioural science in helping shape and understand behaviour.  Want more? Check out our latest books:   Energise: T...

How do democracies work? Can there ever be a perfect voting system? What is the difference between desire and willingness? Deep dive with Robert and Jamie into the often murky and fraught world of democratic decision-making.   Want more? Check out our latest books:   Energise: The Secrets Of Motivation:  https://shorturl.at/bbA7y   React: Harness Your Animal Brain:  https://shorturl.at/yiFQ9    Si...

In this episode Robert gets it the wrong way round, citing the Cuban Missile Crisis as an example of how groupthink brought the West to the brink of nuclear war when in fact it was previous decisions such as authorising the failed invasion of Cuba that had exhibited groupthink and President Kennedy learned the lessons from this and set up decision-making processes that addressed this particular bi...

Crucial decisions that affect our lives are made in 'groups', which technically can range from two or more people, as in the flight crew of a commercial jet, to the voting population of a country. This episode begins to examine how group decisions are made. Robert and Jamie analyse the ebb and flow of discussions and the art of skilful chairing.  Want more? Check out our latest books:   Energise:...

Robert was fed up with asking for a flat white and getting heaven knows what, so with the help of his AI friend, Claude, he created an 'ontology' of milk-containing coffee drinks! Claude and Robert got carried away and ended up writing a Substack article about the power of ontologies as a way of clarifying meaning - something that is sorely needed in behavioural and social sciences. https://robert...

Robert argues that we should assume people pretty much always believe things because we want or need to believe them. Some of us value evidence and truth and so want to believe things based on evidence, but clearly that is only one source of desire. So when we hear someone espousing a belief, it is worth asking 'Why does this person want or need to believe this?' And then Robert and Jamie discuss...

Jamie has been watching Celebrity Traitors while Robert has been learning about Cicero. In this episode, the duo talk about why it can be stressful to explain your decisions to others, the pros and cons of focusing on ‘optics’, and how the simple 'lose-change/win-stay' heuristic can lead to bad decisions.  Want more? Check out our latest books:   Energise: The Secrets Of Motivation:  https://short...

Decisions can be stressful – sometimes so stressful that we procrastinate or even avoid making them at all. In this episode, Robert and Jamie explore how to use our emotions to clarify rather than cloud our judgements. They also reveal the honest truth about how they feel receiving feedback . . .  Want more? Check out our latest books:   Energise: The Secrets Of Motivation:  https://shorturl.at/bb...

What role do emotions play in our decision-making? In this episode in the series discussing 'real-world' decision-making, we talk about threats, opportunities and tasks, the Yerkes-Dodson Law, advertising, horses and riders, tunnel vision, headless chickens, and not being too comfortable on stage. And Jamie develops his radio voice ... Want more? Check out our latest books:   Energise: The Secrets...

In this episode, we talk about how we tend to overstimate the likelihood of things we can easily imagine, overly assume that people who are good at one thing tend to be good at other things, underestimate the importance of things the further we think they will occur in the future, and wrongly allow 'sunk costs' to influence decision-making. Want more? Check out our latest books:   Energise: The Se...

It’s one of the oldest debates in science: nature vs nurture – but where does the truth lie? Robert and Jamie discuss false dichotomies and black-and-white thinking as they continue exploring biases. Robert promotes using Bayesian probabilities to guide our decision-making, and Jamie gets angry at ChatGPT.  Want more? Check out our latest books:   Energise: The Secrets Of Motivation:  https://shor...

Everyone has biases, but what exactly is a bias? When do they work for us, and when are they maladaptive? In this episode, Jamie and Robert explore motivated biases, politics, and the power of optimism, with side-tracks into cricket and vegetarianism!   Want more? Check out our latest books:   Energise: The Secrets Of Motivation: https://shorturl.at/bbA7y   React: Harness Your Animal Brain: https:...

In this episode, Robert has an update on recent research into changes in mental rigidity as we age, and Jamie searches for silver linings. The duo go on to talk about ‘Just Noticeable Differences’, the transformative power of turning things off then on again, and how human's are going to have to become like chicken sexers when it comes to detecting fake videos and stories ... Want more? Check out...

Jamie has attended a wine-tasting, and Robert extrapolates insights into how we elaborate our ‘schemas’. The duo also discuss the complexities of choosing domestic solar panels and how schemas are essential for creativity . . .  Want more? Check out our latest books:   Energise: The Secrets Of Motivation: https://shorturl.at/bbA7y   React: Harness Your Animal Brain: https://shorturl.at/yiFQ9    Si...

This week, Robert and Jamie explore the work of the famous psychologist Jean Piaget. They talk about ‘schemas’ and how we ‘assimilate’ and ‘accommodate’ new information. They also discuss the ‘Big Five’ personality model, TikTok ‘Influencers’ and AI . . .  Want more? Check out our latest books:   Energise: The Secrets Of Motivation: https://shorturl.at/bbA7y   React: Harness Your Animal Brain: htt...

We all know first impressions are important, but why? And what about final impressions? Robert offers some practical advice, including how to make your CV more impressive and Jamie talks about how to structure a live performance.   Want more? Check out our latest books:   Energise: The Secrets Of Motivation: https://shorturl.at/bbA7y   React: Harness Your Animal Brain: https://shorturl.at/yiFQ9   ...

How do our beliefs shape our perceptions? And how do our wants and needs affect our beliefs about what is true? What happens when our expectations are violated? In this episode, Robert and Jamie look at the fundamental ways in which we interpret the world and how this affects the decisions we make. Also, Robert reminisces about hearing Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath for the first time . . .  Want...

What is 'temporal discounting' and how does it influence decisions to stop smoking and decisions about what clinical interventions are worth paying for? Can procrastination be a good thing sometimes? How can we achieve long-lasting behaviour change? And what is going on with tea . . . ? Want more? Check out our latest books:   Energise: The Secrets Of Motivation: https://shorturl.at/bbA7y   React:...

Robert and Jamie talk through the knotty business of enacting decisions. Robert emphasises that for decisions such as stopping smoking, acting on the decision sooner rather than later can make all the difference. They discuss levels of commitment and the power of identity. And Jamie casts doubt on Shakespeare’s true identity . . .   Want more? Check out our latest books:   Energise: The Secrets Of...

Jamie & Robert continue exploring the cluster of decisions around stopping smoking. They discuss 'decision-making rules' and how our personalities affect how we compare options.   Want more? Check out our latest books:   Energise: The Secrets Of Motivation: https://shorturl.at/bbA7y   React: Harness Your Animal Brain: https://shorturl.at/yiFQ9    Sign up to Robert’s Substack: https://robertwes...

Robert and Jamie continue exploring how the FACET (Frame, Assess, Compare, Enact and Time) framework for understanding decision-making works in the real world. This time, they discuss how someone might assess their options when trying to stop smoking. They unpack what part knowledge and evidence play in making decisions, and Jamie reveals lesser-known uses of ChatGPT . . . Want more? Check out our...

In this episode, Robert and Jamie start to apply the FACET framework for analysing real-world decision-making to an important and very common cluster of decisions: whether or not to try to stop smoking - something that Robert knows something about! Want more? Check out our latest books: Energise: The Secrets Of Motivation: https://shorturl.at/bbA7y React: Harness Your Animal Brain: https://shortur...

In this wide-ranging episode, Robert and Jamie begin by discussing AI music before exploring time management, personal versus professional mindsets, and individual differences. Plus, we learn why neither Robert nor Jamie likes to take advice, even though they are both happy to offer it!  Want more? Check out our latest books:   Energise: The Secrets Of Motivation: https://shorturl.at/bbA7y   React...