This Harvard Professor Studies Our Weird Rituals

I shrunk Britain’s favourite bread and showed it to a dozen Brits from Bolton. I was experimenting with shrinkflation. Companies shrink the size of their products without changing the price, benefiting from a psychological bias that means we struggle to notice small changes. Today, chatting with Grace Forell from Which?, I figure out the psychology behind shrinkflation, why it works, and I test if anyone notices my shrunken loaf of bread.  Methods of Persuasion: https://www.kolenda.io/books Grace Forell’s podcast: https://tinyurl.com/38hu99bu

Today, I try to persuade 20 total strangers to listen to Nudge. To help, I’ve asked Brain Ahearn for advice. Brian’s Tedx talk on pre-suasion has been viewed by over 1 million people. He teaches tactics that anyone can use. So, I put his advice to the test. I’ve found 40 strangers and asked them if they’d listen to Nudge, but for 20 I used Brian’s ‘pre-suasion’. Did it work? Tune in to find out.  Brian’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianfahearn/ Brian’s website: https://influencepeople.biz/ Learn more about Voxpopme: https://www.voxpopme.com/

What makes us happy? This question generates wildly different answers. I asked four Nudge listeners and got four different answers. Being the behavioural science nerd I am, I’ve always wondered if there is a scientific answer to this question. Is there a study that reveals the secrets behind the good life? Yes, there is. It’s the longest study on human happiness ever conducted. Today, I spoke to Marc Schulz, the associate director of that study, and he shared the results. What causes a happy life? Find out on today’s episode of Nudge. Marc’s book The Good Life: https://tinyurl.com/3fzcwuhp Access the Bonus Episode: https://nudge.ck.page/8c8b5f6c05

Robert Cialdini is known to most as the godfather of influence. But is his 40-year-old book still relevant? Today, with Bas Wouters, best-selling author and CEO of the Cialdini Influence, we debate whether Cialdini’s 1984 findings still apply.  How I persuaded 8 influencers to promote Nudge: https://tinyurl.com/y8dvy9xk Bas’s book Online Influence: https://www.onlineinfluence.com/book-online-influence/ Cialdini’s latest edition of Influence: https://tinyurl.com/2sdz9524 BBC’s Bickman experiment: https://youtu.be/4jcleVvgchs?si=hxG2nodA_1vAZfDS Subscribe to the (free) Nudge Newsletter: https://nudge.ck.page/profile

I’ve spent hundreds of hours playing Nintendo Brain Training. I’ve always thought it’d make me smarter. Most people agree. I asked 25 Brits, and 24 said it “helps their memory.” And yet, my guest on Nudge, Prof Dan Simons, thinks we’re all wrong. So, does Nintendo brain training work? Well, in today’s episode of Nudge, I find out.  First, I analysed the dozens of ads Nintendo had put out. I share the psychological nudges they used to persuade us and how they made their game so popular. Then, I run my own experiment. For 5 days, I play Nintendo Brain Training. I record my progress and measure if my intelligence has improved after a week. And finally, I chat with Professor Dan Simons and hear why he thinks so many people like me were lured in by Brain Training’s claims.  Subscribe to the (free) Nudge Newsletter: https://nudge.ck.page/profile Learn more about Voxpopme: https://www.voxpopme.com/

This advice has changed the way I work.  Professor Adam Alter covers the science behind creativity, Bob Dylan’s songwriting tricks, Pfizer’s profitable pivot, Pixar’s crowd-based wisdom, and one study that changed my perspective on creativity.  Adam’s book: https://adamalterauthor.com/anatomy Subscribe to the (free) Nudge Newsletter: https://nudge.ck.page/profile Mike Temple’s Blowin’ cover: https://youtu.be/tFgohZ8xtnI?si=z0LYO9E2qX5PCEEw

Professor Danny Zane told me to slightly change how I promote my products. His advice increased my sales by 600%. Today, on Nudge, I reveal what he told me.  Danny’s webpage at Lehigh: https://business.lehigh.edu/directory/daniel-zane The email engagement results: https://im.ge/i/The-email-engagement-results.fEAXyX The sale results: https://im.ge/i/The-sale-results.fEAos9 Subscribe to the (free) Nudge Newsletter: https://nudge.ck.page/profile

Tesco is the largest UK employer. They conduct almost 1 million interviews a year, yet I think they might be pointless. Today, I will share psychological studies showing common interview flaws. I explain why so many of us are bad at predicting what others think and suggest a better way to conduct interviews.  Thinking Fast and Slow: https://tinyurl.com/msd3kz9b Talking to Strangers: https://tinyurl.com/yewvrwb5 Subscribe to the (free) Nudge Newsletter: https://nudge.ck.page/profile

Fraudsters use four common tactics to con you. These tactics have been proven to work in scientific labs, adopted by the world’s best marketers, and used by scammers to manipulate and persuade. Are you being conned? Find out on today’s episode of Nudge with Dan Simons. Dan's book: https://www.dansimons.com/NobodysFool.html Subscribe to the (free) Nudge Newsletter: https://nudge.ck.page/profile

There’s a strange ritual Messi does at the start of every game that helps make him great. This ritual also helps job candidates succeed in interviews, sketch comedians create better jokes, and helped A-ha write Take On Me. To hear what it is, listen to bestselling author Adam Alter teach me the science behind beating procrastination.  Adam’s book: https://adamalterauthor.com/anatomy Subscribe to the (free) Nudge Newsletter: https://nudge.ck.page/profile