Stories, science and secrets from the world’s brightest thought-leaders. Behavioral Grooves is the podcast that satisfies your curiosity of why we do what we do. Explanations of human behavior that will improve your relationships, your wellbeing, and your organization by helping you find your groove.
Episodes
Sunday Oct 27, 2019
Victoria Shaffer: End of Life Decision Tools
Sunday Oct 27, 2019
Sunday Oct 27, 2019
Victoria Shaffer is a researcher and professor at the University of Missouri. Victoria focuses on applying decision psychology and behavioral economics to medical decision making. In particular, she is researching judgment and decision making and how they impact the design of patient decision support tools.
Tim and Victoria met working on a field research project with Dan Ariely, PhD because of her work on non-monetary rewards with Scott Jeffrey, PhD. She was pushing back on common sense preferences, such as money is the best motivator, just as she is today with her work in the medical field.
Our conversation with Victoria began on familiar ground: the preference for cash as a reward and how it’s actually less effective than non-monetary rewards in incentive schemes. But we soon turned to the very personal journey of how she and her mother dealt with decisions surrounding her father’s diagnosis with cancer. Her personal journey became the foundation for important research to help patients, their loved ones and the caregivers communicate more effectively through stories.
It’s a fascinating discussion and we hope you enjoy it.
Links
Victoria Shaffer: https://psychology.missouri.edu/people/shaffer
Shelly Taylor on Biases and Mental Health: http://humancond.org/_media/papers/taylor_brown_88_illusion_and_well_being.pdf
Hal Arkes: https://psychology.osu.edu/people/arkes.1
Decision Support Tools: https://www.healthit.gov/topic/safety/clinical-decision-support
“Being Mortal” by Atul Gawande: http://atulgawande.com/book/being-mortal/
MD Anderson Cancer Center: https://www.mdanderson.org/
Advance Directives: https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/advance-care-planning-healthcare-directives
Palliative Care: https://getpalliativecare.org/whatis/
Peter Ubel – Duke: https://www.fuqua.duke.edu/faculty/peter-ubel
Affective Forecasting Errors: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affective_forecasting
Columbia Records: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_Records
Dan Gilbert: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Gilbert_(psychologist)
Kurt Nelson, PhD: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kurtwnelson/
Tim Houlihan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-houlihan-b-e/
Music
Van Halen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9X6e7uctAww
Black Sabbath: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5s7_WbiR79E
Ozzy Osbourne: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtHEN518VCM
Styx: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XcKBmdfpWs
Depeche Mode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diT3FvDHMyo
The Cure: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXCKLJGLENs
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQ9NaqjeDGU
James Taylor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWGK_fWKb4U
Sunday Oct 20, 2019
Grooving: UPenn Norms and Behavioral Change Workshop
Sunday Oct 20, 2019
Sunday Oct 20, 2019
Kurt and Tim were invited to attend the Norms and Behavioral Change (NoBeC) workshop at the University of Pennsylvania on October 17 and 18, 2019, and what we experienced blew us away. We were impressed with a terrific diversity of academic fields studying social norms, the great work they are doing, and the generosity of the community (at UPenn as well as the behavioral science researchers from around the world).
This gathering was very different from industry assemblies we’ve attended, which in and of itself was not a surprise. However, there were three noteworthy differences. First, the lineup of speakers was heavily weighted toward researchers with findings on projects involving social norms. Second, academic audience members held speakers accountable for rigorous processes and the descriptions of their results. Lastly, the Q&A at the end of each presentation was filled with animated questions from economists, behavioral economists, sociologists, political scientists, philosophers, strategists, law professors, and of course, psychologists. The cross-disciplinary aspect of this group reinforced the need for more diverse thinking in the business world.
We came away with a greater appreciation of the role that social norms play in our behaviors and decision making as well as the tremendous research that’s being conducted on related topics.
We will be publishing our series of interviews with researchers from the workshop in the coming weeks, and we hope you enjoy them as much as we did.
Links
University of Pennsylvania Master of Behavioral and Decision Sciences: https://www.sas.upenn.edu/lps/graduate/mbds
Sunday Oct 13, 2019
Paul Hebert: 7 Deadly Incentive Sins
Sunday Oct 13, 2019
Sunday Oct 13, 2019
Paul Hebert knows incentives. He is the Vice President of Individual Performance Strategy at Creative Group, Inc. and a writer, speaker and consultant and is widely considered an expert on motivation and incentives focused on influencing behaviors that drive business results. Paul has been interviewed by the BBC and USA TODAY because of his work applying solid psychological theory to sales motivation.
Paul, Kurt and Tim recently co-authored an eBook called “The 7 Deadly Sins to Avoid in Your Next Sales Incentive.” The purpose was to help sales managers who are struggling to maximize their effort and results when they use sales incentives. In the podcast, we recap the most common sins committed by sales managers and discuss ways of avoiding them.
- Spread goals evenly
- Give a huge prize to the top performer
- Must be above quota to earn
- We’ll figure it out behind the scenes
- Under-quota performers can’t be winners
- It’s all about the Benjamins
We hope you enjoy the discussion and recommend you download the eBook for reference.
Links
Paul Hebert: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulhebert/
7 Deadly Sins Ebook: https://hubs.ly/H0kR8g60
Paul Hebert’s Blog: http://wphebert.com
Fistful of Talent Blog: http://fistfuloftalent.com/author/paulhebert
Elliot Aronson, PhD: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elliot_Aronson
Zeno of Citium: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeno_of_Citium
Steenburgh and Ahearne “Motivating Salespeople”: https://hbr.org/2012/07/motivating-salespeople-what-really-works
Ariely and Heyman “A Tale of Two Markets”: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.0956-7976.2004.00757.x?journalCode=pssa
Jeffrey and Shaffer “The Effects of Tangible Rewards”: https://theirf.org/research/the-effects-of-tangible-rewards-versus-cash-rewards-in-a-sales-tournament-a-field-experiment/1638/
The guy who traded a paper clip for a house: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_red_paperclip
The Price is Right: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Price_Is_Right
Estonia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estonia
Musical Links
“Eve of Destruction” by Barry McGuire: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfZVu0alU0I
“Timothy” by The Bouys: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGNdvKvbxYQ
“DOA” by Bloodrock: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WQptxygSM8
First Avenue: https://first-avenue.com/
Trip Shakespeare: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PvyrRupOf0
Trip Shakespeare “The Slacks” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkOepnPJS3o
Dan Wilson: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Wilson_(musician)
Tragically Hip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XN25TcN--I8
Morphine: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morphine_(band)
Lucius: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QSF8bgqgC4
Semisonic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGytDsqkQY8
Trampled by Turtles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcoPedyXJVc
And the Professors: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kxiVQI3XeA
The Mighty Pines: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHrR8LhTKfo
Ewert & the 2 Dragons: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddCsOTWz7gI
Wednesday Oct 09, 2019
Grooving: On Goals
Wednesday Oct 09, 2019
Wednesday Oct 09, 2019
Goals are often misunderstood. Goals are much more than just objectives that are handed down to subordinates. Rather, goals are self-determined in the best cases, and at the very least, are set collaboratively to get the most out of them.
We discuss Goal Setting Theory (GST), results from research that Tim conducted, and we address the three key elements that must be included to maximize the effect of the goals: 1. The goals must be perceived as achievable. Without perceived achievability, the goal is not accepted and, therefore, not a goal. 2. There must be some involvement with those who are executing the goals. If the goal is handed down from on high without meaningful participation from the person who’s going to act on it, it’s not a goal. 3. There must be a positive relationship between the goal and the reward (including a perceived assessment of risk). As the risk of achievability increases, so must the perceived value of the reward.
This short grooving session also delves into some myths and how to deal with them. Ultimately, we want listeners to come away with a clear understanding of the powerful results than can be obtained with practical and effective use of self-selected goals.
Links
Zig Ziglar: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zig_Ziglar
Goal-Setting Theory: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goal_setting
Edward Locke: https://peakon.com/us/blog/future-work/edwin-locke-goal-setting-theory/
Gary Latham: http://www.rotman.utoronto.ca/FacultyAndResearch/Faculty/FacultyBios/Latham
Howard Klein: https://fisher.osu.edu/people/klein.12
Ran Kivetz: https://www8.gsb.columbia.edu/cbs-directory/detail/rk566
George Loewenstein: https://www.cmu.edu/dietrich/sds/people/faculty/george-loewenstein.html
Saurabh Bhargava: https://www.cmu.edu/dietrich/sds/people/faculty/saurabh-bhargava.html
Raghuram Bommaraju: https://www.isb.edu/faculty-research/faculty/directory/bommaraju-raghuram
Raghuram Bommaraju & Sebastian Hohenberg on self-selected goals: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1509/jm.17.0002
Kurt Nelson, PhD: kurt@lanterngroup.com
Tim Houlihan: tim@behavioralchemy.com
Sunday Oct 06, 2019
Brad Shuck: Being Ignored is Worse Than Having a Stapler Thrown at You
Sunday Oct 06, 2019
Sunday Oct 06, 2019
Brad Shuck, PhD is an Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership, Evaluation, and Organizational Development at the University of Louisville. He is also recognized as one of the world’s most knowledgeable experts on employee engagement and is a sought-after speaker from around the world.
Brad’s work is recognized as some of the most influential research in the field of employee engagement and his insights are invaluable. On top of that, Brad is a drummer, a lover of all sorts of music and our discussion traversed topics from the social determinants of health to having parents that were patient enough to allow him to learn drums as a child.
In our grooving session, Kurt and Tim dive deeper into creating a work culture of meaning and we ask the musical question: how does moving from town to town as a child impact your musical tastes?
And don’t forget to join us for our 100th Episode Celebration on October 17, 2019 in Philadelphia! Eventbrite link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/behavioral-grooves-100th-episode-event-tickets-73159537145
Links
Brad Shuck email: drbshuck@gmail.com
Brad Shuck web page: www.drbshuck.com
Brad Shuck Google Connection: @drbshuck
Teresa Amabile: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/profile.aspx?facId=6409
Brad’s Research
- Shuck, B., Alagaraja, M., Immekus, J., Honeycutt, M., & Cumberland, D. (2019). Does compassion matter for leadership: a two-stage sequential equal status mixed method exploratory study of compassionate leader behavior and connections to performance in human resource development. Human Resource Development Quarterly, X, XX-XX. doi: 10.1002/hrdq.21369
- Shuck, B., Peyton-Roberts, T., Zigarmi, D. (2018). Employee perceptions of the work environment, motivational outlooks, and employee work intentions: An HR practitioner’s dream or nightmare? Advances in Developing Human Resources, 20, 197-213. doi: 10.1177/1523422318757209
- Shuck, B., #Osam, K., Zigarmi, D., & Nimon, K. (2017). Definitional and conceptual muddling: Identifying the positionality of employee engagement and defining the construct. Human Resource Development Review, 16, 263-293. doi: 0.1177/1534484317720622
- Shuck, B., Nimon, K., & Zigarmi, D. (2017). Untangling the predictive nomological validity of employee engagement: Decomposing variance in employee engagement using job attitude measures. Group and Organizational Management. 42, 79-112. doi: 10.1177/1059601116642364
- Shuck, B., Alagaraja, M., Rose, K., Owen, J., #Osam, K., & Bergman, M. (2017). The health-related upside of employee engagement: Exploratory evidence and implications for theory and practice. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 30, 165-178. doi: 10.1002/piq.21246
- Shuck, B., Adelson, J., & Reio, T. (2017). The employee engagement scale: Initial evidence for construct validity and implications for theory and practice. Human Resource Management, 56, 953-977. doi: 10.1002/hrm.21811
- Rose, K., Shuck, B., #Twyford, D., & Bergman, M. (2015). Skunked: An integrative review exploring the consequences of dysfunctional leaders and implications for the employees who work for them. Human Resource Development Review, 14, 64-90. doi: 10.1177/1534484314552437
Musical Links
Folk Music: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folk_music
A Lion Named Roar: http://www.alionnamedroar.com/
Mumford & Sons: https://www.mumfordandsons.com/
For King and Country: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_King_%26_Country_(band)
John Coltrane: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EH3mb3oXCpw
Rodd Stewart: https://www.rodstewart.com/