Behavioral Grooves Podcast

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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

Tuesday Mar 17, 2020

Managing Coronavirus - An Introduction to Weekly Grooves

Tuesday Mar 17, 2020

This is an episode originally produced for Weekly Grooves. We hope you enjoy!

Coronavirus and the disease it’s created – Covid-19 – is alive and well and getting stronger every day. How bad is it? It’s difficult to say with any certainty in part because it’s constantly changing and it’s very complex. However, when presented with ambiguous information, our minds draw conclusions based on our biases and the decision-making heuristics our ancient brains rely on.

In this episode, Kurt and Tim discuss an article by friend and leading behavioral scientist, Michael Hallsworth, PhD. Michael leads the North American Behavioural Insights Team and knows a thing or two about behavior change.

In this article, Michael talks about what behavioral science hacks can be applied to reduce the spread of the virus and, hence, Covid-19.

Links

“Handwashing can stop a virus – so why don’t we do it?” by Michael Hallsworth, PhD: https://behavioralscientist.org/handwashing-can-stop-a-virus-so-why-dont-we-do-it-coronavirus-covid-19/

Effective Hand Washing: https://tinyurl.com/to4gpsw

Doctors Hand Hygiene plummets unless they know they are being watched: https://abcnews.go.com/Health/doctors-hand-hygiene-plummets-watched-study-finds/story?id=39737505

The long history of the hand-washing gender gap: https://slate.com/technology/2020/02/women-hand-washing-more-than-men-why-coronavirus.html

“Experimental Pretesting of Hand-washing interventions in a natural setting,” by Gaby Judah, PhD, et al.: https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/pdfplus/10.2105/AJPH.2009.164160

“Risk and Morality: Three Framing Devices,” by John Adams, PhD: https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.169.4608&rep=rep1&type=pdf

When-Then Statements: https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/for-educators/teaching-strategies/behavior-strategy-when-then

Temptation Bundling: https://jamesclear.com/temptation-bundling

Sunday Mar 15, 2020

Chiara Varazzani: Behavioral Science Needs More Neuroscience

Sunday Mar 15, 2020

Chiara Varazzani, PhD is the Principal Advisor at the Behavioral Insights Unit in the Victorian Government's Department of Premier and Cabinet in Australia. Chiara is Italian born, French-educated, and employed in Australia, adding her to the list of Italian-born behavioral scientists we’ve had on our show (Cristina Bicchieri, Francesco Gina, and Silvia Saccardo, in case you’re counting).

She blew us away with her passion for behavioral science as well as her comments about the way our brain calculates the ratio between effort and reward with dopamine and noradrenaline. It was a reminder that there is hard science behind why we do what we do. She also wondered why so much of behavioral science interventions rely on what she very passionately described as old school methods. Interesting question!

If you’re a marketer or a health care provider, Chiara has insights that prove beneficial to your work. And if you have any ideas on how to use smell in the world of sales incentives, we’d love to talk with you about that!

We also had a great exchange about music. Chiara has very wide musical interests and her playlists are bound to invite you into some wonderful, and possibly unfamiliar, artists.

Please enjoy our conversation with Chiara Varazzani.

Kurt Nelson, PhD: @WhatMotivates

Tim Houlihan: @THoulihan

Links

Chiara Varazzani, PhD: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cvarazzani/

Antonio Damasio, PhD: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Damasio

FMRI: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Functional_magnetic_resonance_imaging

Electroencephalogram (EEG): https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/eeg/about/pac-20393875

Portable EEG: https://imotions.com/blog/eeg-headset-prices/

Common biases and heuristics: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XHpBr0VFcaT8wIUpr-9zMIb79dFMgOVFRxIZRybiftI/edit#

Sleep, Rotten Eggs and Smoking Study: https://www.jneurosci.org/content/34/46/15382

BETA (Behavioral Economics Team of Australia): https://behaviouraleconomics.pmc.gov.au/

BETA Impact Report: https://behaviouraleconomics.pmc.gov.au/sites/default/files/resources/pmc-beta-impact-report-web.pdf

Dopamine: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dopamine

Noradrenaline: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/noradrenalin

Neuromarketing World Forum: https://www.neuromarketingworldforum.com/

Michael Hallsworth & Music: https://behavioralgrooves.com/episode/michael-hallsworth-from-mindspace-to-east/

Cristina Bicchieri, PhD: https://behavioralgrooves.com/episode/cristina-bicchieri-social-norms-are-bundles-of-expectations/

Francesca Gino, PhD: https://behavioralgrooves.com/episode/francesca-gino-curiosity-and-rebellion-makes-your-career/

Silvia Saccardo, PhD: https://behavioralgrooves.com/episode/silvia-saccardo-ethics-of-decisions-and-italian-rap/

Jana Gallus, PhD: https://behavioralgrooves.com/episode/jana-gallus-the-role-of-precision-in-incentives/

James Heyman, PhD: https://behavioralgrooves.com/episode/behavioral-grooves-1-james-heyman-phd/

Musical Links

Leonard Cohen “Suzanne” with Judy Collins: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toEk9DaLrgs

Jacques Brel “Marieke”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfGDpzL9H7Y

Fabrizio de André “Creuza de Ma”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78YNQ7zzxvQ

Antonio Vivaldi: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Vivaldi

Bombino: https://open.spotify.com/album/4gcKhaSReWjY8R5q2jMdLz?highlight=spotify:track:6p3PMnO8z1I8fPqx2j1Mkj

Trent Reznor: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trent_Reznor

Natural Born Killers Soundtrack: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_Born_Killers_(soundtrack)

Judy Collins: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judy_Collins

Stephen Stills “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVUwrifwKrI

Tim Houlihan “Those Who Discovered the World”: https://open.spotify.com/track/1UMdtl78cXrrrRZRQ0zRSv

Tim Houlihan “Aljezur Sunrise”: https://open.spotify.com/track/1UMdtl78cXrrrRZRQ0zRSv

Sunday Mar 08, 2020

John Fuisz: Tracking Emotional Vectors

Sunday Mar 08, 2020

John Fuisz is co-founder of Veriphix and a marketer who believes in building great brands. He does so with a sophisticated system that, on the surface, appears simple and direct; however, it’s built on his astute observations of consumer behavior, the clever use of data, and most importantly, it’s related to Annie Duke’s use of bets to measure future behaviors.

We wanted to talk to John because his work tracks the seemingly subtle, yet extremely powerful, ways our buying and voting behaviors can be influenced.

Veriphix connects brands with users with three primary tools: First, by tracking emotional vectors, to understand how we feel about things on a weekly basis by asking them to make bets about what they expect to feel. Second by monitoring the emotional triggers that get us to do the things we do. Lastly, he watches for the implicit delta, the measure of the emotional impact of an issue. And he does so with very strict ethical standards.

John believes that marketers should elevate their messaging to build great brands, not just influence our subconscious decision making. He wants to dilute the impact that nefarious actors have on consumers (and voters) by challenging us to a meaningful first step. He notes, “We want to believe we’re rational humans, but to have an effective defense [against bad actors], we have to admit we’re irrational.”

Please take a moment to rate Behavioral Grooves or leave us a review. Our podcast doesn’t have advertisers; rather, we rely on listeners like to you help us get the word out. Your help is greatly appreciated.

We hope you enjoy our conversation with John Fuisz.

Kurt Nelson, PhD: @WhatMotivates

Tim Houlihan: @THoulihan

Links

John Fuisz: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-fuisz/

Veriphix: https://veriphix.com/

Annie Duke: https://www.annieduke.com/

“Thinking In Bets”: https://www.amazon.com/Annie-Duke/e/B001K88E4U/

Claire McCaskill “Korea”: https://www.vox.com/2018/8/20/17759574/midterm-russia-china-north-korea-iran-hack-cyber

DARPA: https://www.darpa.mil/

Christopher Wylie: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Wylie

“Mind Fuck”: https://www.amazon.com/Mindf-Cambridge-Analytica-Break-America/dp/1984854631

IRB: https://www.fda.gov/regulatory-information/search-fda-guidance-documents/institutional-review-boards-frequently-asked-questions

Ozan Varol “Think Like a Rocket Scientist”: https://www.amazon.com/Think-Like-Rocket-Scientist-Strategies/dp/1541762592

Common Biases and Heuristics: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XHpBr0VFcaT8wIUpr-9zMIb79dFMgOVFRxIZRybiftI/edit#

Charlotte Blank: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlotte-blank-52554a2/

Jeff Kreisler: http://jeffkreisler.com/

Neuromarketing World Forum: https://www.neuromarketingworldforum.com/

Darren Brown video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQXe1CokWqQ

John Bargh and Replication: https://replicationindex.com/2019/03/17/raudit-bargh/

Moral Foundations: https://moralfoundations.org/

Kids Priming video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=TLf2gOrL1iM&app=desktop

Musical Links

Depeche Mode: http://www.depechemode.com/

Sharon Van Etten: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7sTHoeH0eA

Gary Clark, Jr.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYXMDCNjl8M

Guy Clark: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Clark

Ziggy Marley: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ziggy_Marley

New Order: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Order_(band)

The National: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_National_(band)

Sha-Na-Na: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sha_Na_Na

Sinead O’Connor: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sin%C3%A9ad_O%27Connor

Wolfman Jack: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfman_Jack

Iron & Wine: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_%26_Wine

Calexico: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calexico_(band)

Madison Cunningham: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-VSDUqVmnI

Sunday Mar 01, 2020

Andrew Wagner: The Economics Inside Online Games

Sunday Mar 01, 2020

Author and economist Andrew Wagner’s new book, The Economics of Online Gaming, shares how economic decisions get made by players of online games. We discuss how reputations and player behaviors impact success in the game.

For instance, a very positive reputation could lead other players to work with you, but it also could lead them to take advantage of you. Andrew discovered, in this game, that while a bad reputation sets people against you, it also provided unforeseen benefits in the game, economically speaking, of course.

We agree with Andrew that economics can be intimidating because it is a math-heavy field. To some, economics is simply inaccessible. However, we all love the drama found in video games, so Andrew combined drama with economics in his book.

Also, if you’ve not checked out our new podcast channel, Weekly Grooves, please do so. Each weekly episode is short-commute ready (no more than 15 minutes long) and brings behavioral insights to the week’s headlines.

Kurt Nelson, PhD: @WhatMotivates

Tim Houlihan: @THoulihan