Nudge

The British government recently announced a ban on all social media usage for children up to the age of 16.  But will the ban work?  Today on Nudge, I explore the psychology of restrictions, bans and friction.  Warning: this show is restricted to those aged 16 or over.  --- Become an FSB member: https://get.fsb.org.uk/nudge/ Use code NUDGE for 10% off your FSB membership.  Unlock the Nudge Vaults:...

World-leading behaviour change expert Katy Milkman details how to change your habits.  --- Become an FSB member: https://get.fsb.org.uk/nudge/ Unlock the Nudge Vaults: https://www.nudgepodcast.com/vaults Katy’s book: https://amzn.to/3RF63xA  Katy’s podcast: https://www.schwab.com/learn/choiceology  Katy’s newsletter: https://www.katymilkman.com/newsletter-milkman-delivers  Subscribe to my newslett...

In December 2018 Gatwick Airport shut down. 109 eyewitnesses reported sighting 170 drone flights over the airport.  All flights were grounded, and the nation braced for a terrorist attack. But what if those sightings weren’t real but instead an imagination caused by expectations?  In today’s episode with award-winning science journalist David Robson, we explore the science of the expectation effec...

The broken windows theory suggests that one broken window can cause a neighbourhood to descend into disrepair. But is it true?  Today, with the award-winning professor Leidy Klotz, we investigate the broken windows theory and explain how environments shape our behaviour.  --- Become an FSB member: https://get.fsb.org.uk/nudge/ Leidy’s book Subtract: https://amzn.to/4df4duk Leidy’s latest book In a...

Octopus Energy went from £0 in revenue to £12 billion in 10 years.  Today, on Nudge, I chat with their first employee Pete Miller, who explains how they used nudges to grow.  Hear why they:  1) Encourage customers to spin a wheel to reward metre readings.  2) Give away free electricity at 4pm.  3) Play you the number one song from the year you turned 14.  4) And gave away 40,000 electric blankets...

The Enhanced Games, hosted in Las Vegas last Saturday, made a bold claim. With the use of performance-enhancing drugs, enhanced athletes would break not just personal records but world records.  And the end goal? To sell those same drugs to the masses.  It’s arguably the biggest marketing stunt of the year so far, and today on Nudge I reveal the psychology behind it.  Did the Enhanced Games succee...

In this episode, I chat to Pete Miller, part of the co-founding team at Octopus Energy, who helped design one of the most recognisable new logos in Britain.  Hear how Octopus used two proven psychological principles to build a logo people remember (and why those same principles are being ignored by most of the industry). You'll learn: - Why a distinct logo made one beer taste 5% better - How a 193...

In Singapore, a group of runners charge 50p per kilometre to run on strangers' Strava accounts.  That's how far people will go to look fit online.  This episode explains the psychology behind why being watched changes everything. --- Owain’s book: https://amzn.to/4smVtrP  Owain’s company CogCo: https://cogco.co/  Unlock the Nudge Vaults: ⁠https://www.nudgepodcast.com/vaults⁠  Join 11,626 readers o...

Professor Richard Wiseman searched for the world’s funniest joke.  He found it.  But it wasn’t what he expected.  --- Richard’s book Quirkology: https://amzn.to/4shYOJ6  Richard’s book 59 Seconds: https://amzn.to/3Pf9pWI  Richard’s SubStack: https://richardwiseman.substack.com/  Join 11,934 readers of the Nudge Newsletter: https://www.nudgepodcast.com/mailing-list Unlock the Nudge Vaults: https://...

Three thousand years ago, Odysseus tied himself to a mast to resist the Sirens.  He didn't trust his willpower, so he removed the choice entirely.  Today, Owain Service, co-founder of the Behavioural Insights Team and CEO at CogCo, calls that a commitment device.  And modern evidence shows it works for everything from saving money to staying married. --- Owain’s book: https://amzn.to/4smVtrP  Owai...

Warning, you’ll hear a lie in this episode.  You won’t be told it's a lie.  And 29% of those who listen probably won’t spot the lie. But if you listen till the end, you’ll learn the proven tips to spot lies like these.  Today on Nudge, Professor Richard Wiseman explains:  1) How to spot a liar  2) What makes someone lucky  3) If we’re really separated by six connections  4) And why enlarged pupils...

There's a pill on Amazon called Fukitol.  It contains nothing. And yet people buy it, swear by it, and give it five stars.  Today, Nir Eyal explains the remarkable science behind why placebos work. --- Listen to the bonus episode: https://nudge.kit.com/40414a1b44 Nir’s book Beyond Belief: geni.us/beyondbelief Nir’s free belief change guide: nirandfar.com/belief-change Join 11,934 readers of the Nu...

Professor Richard Wiseman wanted to discover the world’s #1 chat-up line.  But in doing so, he discovered several secrets behind human psychology.  On today’s Nudge he covers:  1) Why councils shouldn’t pay people to sweep litter  2) How a saleswoman doubled her likeability  3) The picture Richard uses to never lose his wallet  4) And the #1 chat-up line  --- Richard’s book Quirkology: https://amz...

I get a lot of questions about pricing.  Should I start with our most expensive item first? Should I use precise prices instead of rounded ones when negotiating? Should I name competitors when comparing prices? Today, with pricing expert Dr Markus Husemann-Kopetzky we work through eight different psychological pricing tips in just 24 minutes. ---  Listen to the bonus episode: https://nudge.kit.com...

Most restaurants have a major problem.  Paying the bill.  Give the bill too early, and the customer feels rushed. Too late, and they feel ignored.  To solve this problem (and many more), Will Guidara turned to behavioural science.  And his solution helped his restaurant become the world’s best. ---  Listen to the bonus episode: ⁠https://nudge.kit.com/aeea58886f⁠  Will’s book Unreasonable Hospitali...

In 2015, the media became obsessed with one man’s attempts to grow tea in the Scottish Highlands.  The BBC profiled him on the One Show. Radio reporters flocked to interview him. Even the Chinese national news agency reported his work.  Tam O’Braan (as he was then known) was the first to ever sell Scottish tea, and the press went wild.  Fornum and Mason bought his leaves. The Dorchester created a...

Will Guidara is the co-founder and restaurateur behind the world’s best restaurant.  But Will’s not a standard restaurateur. He didn’t just focus on creating the best food.  He used psychology and behavioural science to build the best experience.  Listen to learn how his restaurant became #1 by using anchoring, reciprocity and many more psych principles. ---  Listen to the bonus episode: https://n...

Do nine-ending prices really work?  Will £9.99 sell more than £10.00? Can it be used for high-quality products? What about hedonic products? Can it be used on speed limits?  For years this debate has raged on. But today on Nudge, I speak with pricing expert Dr Markus Husemann-Kopetzky to settle the argument. ---  Markus’ book: https://amzn.to/46Hetcg  Unlock the Nudge Vaults: https://www.nudgepodc...

Today on Nudge, Professor Katie Slocombe shares how chimpanzees handle power, build alliances, and jostle for status in their troop. It’s the first time on Nudge that we’ve looked at the primate roots of leadership and influence, with plenty of insight into how we humans behave at work (and everywhere else). Don’t miss it.  ---  Subscribe to the Nudge Newsletter (and get a surprise gift): https://...

16 years ago a chain of Chinese restaurants wanted to increase sales without changing the price.  They didn’t change the product.  The service.  The chef.  The food.  Instead, they changed two words on their menu and increased sales by 18%.  The restaurants used the advice of today’s guest on Nudge, Robert Cialdini.  Today, Cialdini explains the social proof principle, sharing how changing just tw...

I watched Home Alone and suddenly started hearing the theme tune everywhere.  I thought I was going insane.  But Tom Bowden-Green and Luan Wise explained that I actually fell for a fairly well-known bias.  A bias you’ve almost certainly experienced as well.  ---  Come to Uplift Live: https://uplift-live.com/ (Use code NUDGE to get £50 off)  Tom and Luan’s book: https://amzn.to/49aZnh3 Unlock the N...

HelloFresh is one of the fastest-growing companies of the past 20 years.  And it’s down to one, relatively simple behavioural science tactic.  --- Subscribe to the Nudge Vaults: https://www.nudgepodcast.com/vaults See Agent Spark in action at ⁠gwi.com/spark⁠ Read Mehdi’s book: https://amzn.to/48ORuO2  Here's Medhi's website: https://tinyurl.com/ymnu6jty Sign up for my newsletter: https://www.nudge...

Most of us are completely oblivious to the cognitive biases that dictate how we live our lives.  Today, with Tom Bowden-Green and Luan Wise, we cover seven cognitive biases that all of us fall for.  ---  Tom and Luan’s book: https://amzn.to/49aZnh3 Unlock the Nudge Vaults: https://www.nudgepodcast.com/vaults See Agent Spark in action at ⁠gwi.com/spark⁠ Join 10,428 readers of my newsletter: https:/...

“Say you’ve calculated your price and it comes out at £120,121.  Most would round it down to £120,000.  That’s completely wrong.”  That’s what Robert Cialdini told me on the latest episode of Nudge.  He also explained why the Prime energy drink first succeeded and then flopped.  How Disney kept us hooked on classic movies.  And how he applies the authority bias to sell his own products.  ---  Unlo...

This study analysed 6,700 websites in an unprecedented A/B test.  The results proved something that Dr Robert Cialdini had been preaching for years.  Today, on Nudge, Robert Cialdini joins me again, covering another of his seven principles of persuasion.  And I share a marketing lesson that (I think) every business needs to know. ---  Unlock the Nudge Vaults: https://www.nudgepodcast.com/vaults Se...