Behavioral Grooves Podcast

There are actually 5 drivers of resilience; optimism, self compassion, cognitive agility, self efficacy and emotional regulation. We dive deep into each of these components and how they play a part in being resilient, with our guest Gabriella Rosen Kellerman MD. Gabriella is a medical doctor and behavioral science researcher with training in psychiatry and fMRI research. She currently works as Chi...

“Brands really matter, when and only when they matter to consumers. And this is fundamentally a question of human connection.” ~ Matt Johnson To get under the skin of how branding works, what makes it effective and how to build a successful brand, we talk with Matt Johnson PhD , who is an expert on the human side of business. Matt is a speaker, researcher, and writer specializing in the applicatio...

Context heavily influences our behavior (regular listeners of the show know our “context matters” mantra well!). Sometimes, because of what life throws at us, we have to re-evaluate our options. The best choice isn’t always the perfect choice. For instance, in an ideal world, we might be planning a 5 mile run after work. But instead we need to collect our sick child from school early and have to s...

Ever need to read a book in a hurry? How can you absorb the most relevant content in a short period of time? Join Kurt and Tim as they talk to their friend Christian Hunt of the Human Risk Podcast , for tips and tricks to read quickly and effectively. We’ve all been stuck with a last minute deadline that involves getting through a large amount of reading material. How do you approach it? As podcas...

Small changes can have big effects. Standing on a different set of scales can affect our weight loss journey and adding friction to the share button online can reduce the spread of misinformation. Find out from Irrational Lab ’s Managing Director, Evelyn Gosnell how they are researching the behavioral insights that make a big difference in the world. Evelyn Gosnell is a frequent speaker in behavio...

Finding your groove - ever wondered what that actually means? And why is this podcast really called Behavioral Grooves?! Kurt and Tim explain what it means to get in your groove and the 3 foundational steps that will help you get there. If you need to find your groove again in 2023, listen to this expert advice.   It’s a long running joke on the podcast, that when settling on the name “Behavioral...

Scaling behavioral science initiatives from a small research study to a large population is a topic we have enjoyed delving into this year with John A. List in Episode 296 . And we are delighted to be joined on this episode by Neela Saldanha PhD who focuses her work on developing the science around scaling policy interventions.   Neela is the Executive Director of the Yale Research Initiative on I...

One of the ways we find our groove is through knowledge – sometimes new ideas, sometimes repeated ideas that are presented in new ways. Sometimes, it’s just reminders of old ideas that deserve a new look. And we love the fresh ideas that we’ve read about this year in the very notable Behavioral Science books of 2022. Kurt and Tim sit down, in this episode, to discuss the highlights of the books th...

Want to start a journaling habit but worried you won't stay motivated? Having the right journal, that is designed using behavioral insights to keep you engaged, is the key. In this unique Grooving Session, our very own Kurt Nelson takes the hot seat along with his Lantern Group business partner, Ben Granlund to talk about their highly anticipated new product - the Brain/Shift Journal . This new jo...

We know human behavior isn’t rational. But this episode illustrates behavior using a surprising concept - game theory. This eye opening conversation with Erez Yoeli delves into what game theory is and the remarkable way it can be used to explain the things we think, feel and do. Our guest, Erez Yoeli has co-authored a new book, alongside Moshe Hoffman, called “ Hidden Games: The Surprising Power o...

Exercising your courage muscle every day and pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone, can have remarkable effect on your mindset and really influence those around you. Pushing through the uncomfortable feeling of simply talking to a stranger, or bravely climbing a ladder to clean your gutters, can make you more prepared for the scary moments in life that you can’t control. For instance, you’...

If you were sent an exclusive invite to a secret society, would you accept? If you knew only a few people in the world had been approached to join, would it spark a scarcity curiosity? What is more alluring: the society itself or the mere fact that it’s a secret? Creating hype is the forte of our returning guest on this episode, Michael F. Schein. In our previous chat with Michael back in episode...

The web was intended to be a way of creating genuine connections with others, but we’re all sadly familiar with the detrimental ways it can be used to spread misinformation. A team of experts at Prosocial Design Network is now using evidence-based behavioral insights to redesign social media interactions, to bring out the best of us online. We’re honored to be joined on this episode by two of the...

Would you help change a stranger’s tire? How about if they offered you $20? Or, what if instead of money, they offered you some candy?  We often think these types of exchanges are financial in nature - but this study explored how there is actually a different type of exchange going on here - a social exchange. When we help a friend move some furniture, invite friends over for dinner, help a strang...

We find it easy to condemn wrongdoers, after they’ve been called out. But why do we often let unethical behavior occur around us, and not speak out? If we take a step back from the idea of there being one “bad apple”, we realize that with any wrongdoing, there is a collection of people who have been complicit in the behavior. Why is there so much fear about speaking up? “We've created too much fea...

How we think about the world can drastically influence how we navigate through it. Cutting edge research proves that reframing our mindset to be more positive, even in the light of negative events, can significantly alter how our brain responds. Discussing one of our favorite books of the year, author David Robson explains how our expectations can secretly meddle with almost every aspect of our li...

Cheating is all around us. Is it on the rise? It appears to be so, but why? Christian Hunt, the founder and host of Human Risk Podcast, and Koen Smets, a London-based behavioral scientist, discuss the dodgy travails of the human condition using examples of cheating in chess, walleye fishing, cycling, and even among behavioral scientists.  Join us for an invigorating discussion on why we cheat - an...

Learning ALL the parts of our country’s history can be very uncomfortable. Not just in the US, but around the world, there are usually very dark parts of our past that many of us would rather brush over because it doesn’t marry up with the sterilized version of what we were taught when we were younger.   While many of us are willing to take the next step, to unlearn our history and dismantle the u...

People don’t hate change, they hate the ambiguity that comes with change. Organizational psychologist, Dr Debbie Sutherland PhD, shares the tools we can use, both in business settings and in our personal lives, to overcome our discomfort with ambiguity and to thrive in uncertain environments.  Debbie is an academic executive coach with both a masters degree and doctorate degree from Columbia Unive...

Walking away is never easy. Whether it’s quitting a job, a relationship or an expedition to the peak of Mount Everest, we have a real problem with knowing when to stop. And ironically, when we do quit, we often wish we’d done it earlier. So why do we find it so difficult to quit? Annie Duke addresses the psychological reasons that prevent us from quitting, and how we can overcome them.    Annie ne...

Conversations are vital to our existence - after all, we talk with people every day. But have you ever dissected what makes a conversation effective? When we are more conscious of how we are talking with others, we can nurture more productive connections, and avoid common pitfalls that often derail our conversations. In this episode, we explore the importance of conscious conversations, with autho...

Racism is solvable, but that doesn’t mean we will solve it. To close the gap between the probable and possible, we need to have meaningful conversations. “Conversation is one of the most powerful ways to build knowledge, awareness, and empathy and ultimately, impact change.” In his award winning book, “ The Conversation: How Seeking and Speaking the Truth About Racism Can Radically Transform Indiv...

Close your eyes and visualize a horse. Most people can picture the outline of the body, the color of the horse and the unique features of the animal. But some people simply don’t see any image at all. This lack of a mind’s eye is known as aphantasia .    To help explain exactly what aphantasia is, and how it can affect behavior, we talk with Professor Adam Zeman who actually helped identify and na...

“The primary source of unconscious priming…is your conscious experience.” Our consciousness is where we bring everything together, where we integrate and form a rich integration of our experience. This result is that this experience gets spread out to all the processes of the mind which is pivotal to how priming, an unconscious effect, actually works. Dr John Bargh PhD is a researcher and professo...

Rory Sutherland is a British advertising executive who became fascinated with behavioral science. Between his TED talks, books and articles, he has become one of the field’s greatest proponents. Rory is currently the Executive Creative Director of OgilvyOne, after gigs as vice-chairman of Ogilvy Group UK and co-founder of the Behavioural Sciences Practice, part of the Ogilvy & Mather group of comp...