Nudge

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 effect.

Link to the bonus episode: https://nudge.kit.com/86d3e39845 

Become an FSB member: https://get.fsb.org.uk/nudge/

Read the Expectation Effect: https://amzn.to/4dvkb3s 

David’s website: https://davidrobson.me/ 

David’s Substack: https://davidarobson.substack.com/

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Today’s sources: 

Benedetti, F., Durando, J., & Vighetti, S. (2014). Nocebo and placebo modulation of hypobaric hypoxia headache involves the cyclooxygenase-prostaglandins pathway. Pain, 155(5), 921–928.

Job, V., Dweck, C. S., & Walton, G. M. (2010). Ego depletion—Is it all in your head? Implicit theories about willpower affect self-regulation. Psychological Science, 21(11), 1686–1693.

Langer, E., Djikic, M., Pirson, M., Madenci, A., & Donohue, R. (2010). Believing is seeing: Using mindlessness (mindfully) to improve visual acuity. Psychological Science, 21(5), 661–666.

Merckelbach, H., & van de Ven, V. (2001). Another white Christmas: Fantasy proneness and reports of 'hallucinatory experiences' in undergraduate students. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 32(3), 137–144.

Montes, J., Wulf, G., & Navalta, J. W. (2018). Maximal aerobic capacity can be increased by enhancing performers' expectancies. Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, 58(5), 744–749.

Pirson, M., Ie, A., & Langer, E. (2012). Seeing what we know, knowing what we see: Challenging the limits of visual acuity. Journal of Adult Development, 19(2), 59–67.

Robson, D. (2022). The expectation effect: How your mindset can transform your life. Canongate.

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. 

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Become an FSB member: https://get.fsb.org.uk/nudge/

Leidy’s book Subtract: https://amzn.to/4df4duk

Leidy’s latest book In a Good Place: https://amzn.to/4tzjCvE 

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Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phill-agnew/ 

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Today’s sources: 

Brown, G., & Baer, M. (2011). Location in negotiation: Is there a home field advantage? Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 114(2), 190–200.

Cialdini, R. B. (2016). Pre-suasion: A revolutionary way to influence and persuade. Simon & Schuster.

Langer, E. J., & Rodin, J. (1976). The effects of choice and enhanced personal responsibility for the aged: A field experiment in an institutional setting. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 34(2), 191–198.

Pinsker, H., Kupfermann, I., Castellucci, V., & Kandel, E. R. (1970). Habituation and dishabituation of the gill-withdrawal reflex in Aplysia. Science, 167(3926), 1740–1742.

Rajecki, D. W. (1974). Effects of prenatal exposure to auditory or visual stimulation on postnatal distress vocalizations in chicks. Behavioral Biology, 11(4), 525–536.

Rodin, J., & Langer, E. J. (1977). Long-term effects of a control-relevant intervention with the institutionalized aged. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 35(12), 897–902.

Wells, M. M. (2000). Office clutter or meaningful personal displays: The role of office personalization in employee and organizational well-being. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 20(3), 239–255.

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 during an energy crisis.

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Become an FSB member: https://get.fsb.org.uk/nudge/

Unlock the Nudge Vaults: https://www.nudgepodcast.com/vaults

Subscribe to my newsletter: https://www.nudgepodcast.com/mailing-list 

Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phill-agnew/ 

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Today’s sources: 

Shampanier, K., Mazar, N., & Ariely, D. (2007). Zero as a special price: The true value of free products. Marketing Science, 26(6), 742–757.

Shen, L., Fishbach, A., & Hsee, C. K. (2015). The motivating-uncertainty effect: Uncertainty increases resource investment in the process of reward pursuit. Journal of Consumer Research, 41(5), 1301–1315

Skinner, B. F. (1938). The behavior of organisms: An experimental analysis. Appleton-Century-Crofts.

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 succeed? Listen to find out. 

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Subscribe to my newsletter: https://www.nudgepodcast.com/mailing-list 

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Today’s sources 

Landy, D., & Sigall, H. (1974). Beauty is talent: Task evaluation as a function of the performer's physical attractiveness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 29(3), 299–304.

Miller, A. G. (1970). Role of physical attractiveness in impression formation. Psychonomic Science, 19(4), 241–242.

Mujika, I., & Burke, L. M. (2019). Swimming fast when it counts: A 7-year analysis of Olympic and World Championships performance. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance.

Nicolau, J. L., Mellinas, J. P., & Martín-Fuentes, E. (2020). The halo effect: A longitudinal approach. Annals of Tourism Research, 83, 102938.

Nisbett, R. E., & Wilson, T. D. (1977). The halo effect: Evidence for unconscious alteration of judgments. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 35(4), 250–256.

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 1933 German study explains why Octopus stands out

- Why brands from McDonald's to KFC give their logos human faces

- And what happened when researchers asked people to turn off a robot 

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Subscribe to my newsletter: https://www.nudgepodcast.com/mailing-list 

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Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phill-agnew/ 

Read Aaron’s book: ⁠https://thethingswelove.com/⁠

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Today’s sources: 

Bartneck, C., Van Der Hoek, M., Mubin, O., & Al Mahmud, A. (2007). "Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do!": Switching off a robot. Proceedings of the 2nd ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction, 217–222.

Shotton, R. (2017). The choice factory: 25 behavioural biases that influence what we buy. Harriman House.

Shotton, R. (2023). The illusion of choice: 16½ psychological biases that influence what we buy. Harriman House.

Von Restorff, H. (1933). Über die Wirkung von Bereichsbildung im Spurenfeld. Psychologische Forschung, 18, 299–342.