Nudge

Join the Nudge Unit: https://maven.com/nudge-unit/course-cohort Why does a $5 Uber voucher turn angry customers into loyal fans? In this episode, Eva van den Broek and Tim den Heijer share actionable insights from their book The Housefly Effect, revealing seven marketing psychology tips you can use to grow your business. You’ll learn: How scarcity drives demand, from pineapple rentals to volume-limited products. Why a $5 apology voucher boosted Uber’s revenue (feat. reciprocity principle). How Tropicana’s rebrand taught marketers a costly lesson about habits. Why "95% fat-free" yoghurt sells better than "5% fat" (feat. framing effect). The clever way airlines manage flight-time expectations to keep customers happy. ---- Get the book: https://bedfordsquarepublishers.co.uk/book/the-housefly-effect Sign up to my newsletter: https://www.nudgepodcast.com/mailing-list Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phill-agnew-22213187/ Watch Nudge on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@nudgepodcast/ ---- Sources: van den Broek, E., & den Heijer, T. (2024). The Housefly Effect. Bedford Square Publishers. Bundesliga study | Brandes, L., & Franck, E. (2012). Social preferences or personal career concerns? Field evidence on positive and negative reciprocity in the workplace. Journal of Economic Psychology, 33(5), 925–939 McFlurry sales boosted by 55% | Walsh, N. (2024). Tune in: How to make smarter decisions in a noisy world. Bedford Square Publishers. Uber $5 apology | Halperin, B., Ho, B., List, J. A., & Muir, I. (2019). Toward an understanding of the economics of apologies: Evidence from a large-scale natural field experiment (No. w25676). National Bureau of Economic Research. https://doi.org/10.3386/w25676 Berger, J. (2013). Contagious: Why things catch on. Simon & Schuster. Gu, Y., Botti, S., & Faro, D. (2013). Turning the page: The impact of choice closure on satisfaction. Journal of Consumer Research, 40(2), 268–283. Martin, S. J. (2024). Influence at work: Capture attention, connect with others, convince people to act. [Paperback]. Economist Edge. Yuan, Y., Liu, T. X., Tan, C., Chen, Q., Pentland, A., & Tang, J. (2020). Gift contagion in online groups: Evidence from WeChat red packets.

Join the Nudge Unit: https://maven.com/nudge-unit/course-cohort Can tiny nudges dramatically change our behaviour? In this episode, Eva van den Broek and Tim Houwerzijl explore the subtle yet powerful psychological tools that influence daily decisions, often without us realising it. You’ll learn: Why doubling the size of a plate made kids eat 41% more (feat. the Delboeuf illusion). Why Schiphol Airport painted a fly in the urinals (“The Housefly Effect”). The role of defaults in organ donation, student loans, and fast food orders. How loss aversion turned teachers into top performers, improving student grades by 10%. Why IKEA sell cheap ice cream (feat. the peak-end rule). ---- Get the book: https://bedfordsquarepublishers.co.uk/book/the-housefly-effect Sign up to my newsletter: https://www.nudgepodcast.com/mailing-list Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phill-agnew-22213187/ Watch Nudge on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@nudgepodcast/ ---- Sources: Carmon, Z., & Kahneman, D. (1996). The experienced utility of queuing: Experience profiles and retrospective evaluations of simulated queues. Dai, H., Milkman, K. L., Hofmann, D. A., & Staats, B. R. (2015). The impact of time at work and time off from work on rule compliance: The case of hand hygiene in health care. Journal of Applied Psychology, 100(3). Holden, S. S., Zlatevska, N., & Dubelaar, C. (2016). Whether smaller plates reduce consumption depends on who’s serving and who’s looking: A meta-analysis. Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, 1(1), 134. Kahneman, D., Fredrickson, B. L., Schreiber, C. A., & Redelmeier, D. A. (1993). When more pain is preferred to less: Adding a better end. Psychological Science, 4(6), 401–405. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.1993.tb00589.x Kaur, S., Kremer, M., & Mullainathan, S. (2015). Self-control at work. Journal of Political Economy, 123(6), 1227–1277. Levitt, S. D., List, J. A., Neckermann, S., & Sadoff, S. (2016). The behavioralist goes to school: Leveraging behavioral economics to improve educational performance. American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 8(4), 183–219. van den Broek, E., & den Heijer, T. (2024). The Housefly Effect. Bedford Square Publishers.

Join the Nudge Unit: https://maven.com/nudge-unit/course-cohort

Business books are everywhere, offering seemingly simple solutions to complex problems—but are they truly helpful? In this episode, Alex Edmans explores the biases that make us fall for oversimplified advice and why many popular business books fail to deliver. You’ll learn: How black-and-white thinking fuels the success of books like Dr. Atkins’ Diet Revolution and Start With Why. Why confirmation bias leads us to believe unproven claims (feat. Simon Sinek’s “Why” theory). The dangers of ignoring nuance, such as in Angela Duckworth’s Grit and Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000-hour rule. Real-world examples of flawed reasoning, from the London Marathon tragedy to corporate missteps. How to critically evaluate the advice offered in bestsellers and avoid falling for universal “truths.” ---- Download the Reading List: https://nudge.kit.com/readinglist Sign up to my newsletter: https://www.nudgepodcast.com/mailing-list Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phill-agnew-22213187/ Watch Nudge on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@nudgepodcast/ Alex’s book May Contain Lies: https://maycontainlies.com/ ---- Sources: Edmans, A. (2024). May contain lies: How stories, statistics, and studies exploit our biases—and what we can do about it. University of California Press. Atkins, R. C. (1972). Dr. Atkins' diet revolution: The high calorie way to stay thin forever. New York: Bantam Books. Seidelmann, Sara B. et al. (2018): ‘Dietary carbohydrate intake and mortality: a prospective cohort study and meta-analysis’, Lancet Public Health 3, E419–E428 DeLosh, Edward L., Jerome R. Busemeyer and Mark A. McDaniel (1997): ‘Extrapolation: the sine qua non for abstraction in function learning’, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition 23, 968–86. Fisher, Matthew and Frank Kiel (2018): ‘The binary bias: a systematic distortion in the integration of information’. Psychological Science 29, 1846–58 Sinek, S. (2009). Start with why: How great leaders inspire everyone to take action. Portfolio. Gladwell, M. (2008). Outliers: The story of success. Little, Brown and Company. Duckworth, A. (2016). Grit: The power of passion and perseverance. Scribner.

I explore the truth behind the famous 10,000-hour rule, popularized by Malcolm Gladwell. Today, Prof Alex Edmans uncovers why the rule persists despite its flaws and dives into the psychological biases that make misinformation so believable. You’ll learn: Why the 10,000-hour rule isn’t as universal as it seems (feat. insights from Alex Edmans). How confirmation bias shapes beliefs—from the Atkins diet to Deepwater Horizon. The dangers of narrative fallacy in explaining success (feat. 1975 Barry Staw study). Real-world examples of misinformation, from Belle Gibson’s cancer cure claims to Volkswagen’s diesel scandal. A simple mental trick to fight confirmation bias and save yourself from misleading ideas. ---- Download the Reading List: https://nudge.kit.com/readinglist Sign up to my newsletter: https://www.nudgepodcast.com/mailing-list Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phill-agnew-22213187/ Watch Nudge on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@nudgepodcast/ Alex’s book May Contain Lies: https://maycontainlies.com/ ---- Sources: Gladwell, M. (2008). Outliers: The story of success. Little, Brown, and Company. Edmans, A. (2024). May contain lies: How stories, statistics, and studies exploit our biases—and what we can do about it. University of California Press. Kaplan, Jonas T., Sarah I. Gimbel and Sam Harris (2016): ‘Neural correlates of maintaining one’s political beliefs in the face of counterevidence’, Scientific Reports 6, 39589. Wong, Nathan Colin (2015): ‘The 10,000-hour rule’, Canadian Urological Journal 9, 299. Staw, Barry M. (1975): ‘Attribution of the “causes” of performance: a general alternative interpretation of cross-sectional research on organizations’, Organizational Behavior and Human Performance 13, 414–32.

Neil Rackham’s groundbreaking research uncovered what separates skilled negotiators from the average. Drawing insights from real-world negotiation sessions involving union disputes, management decisions, and high-stakes contracts, this episode unpacks the actual behaviour of skilled negotiations. You’ll learn: The specific ways skilled negotiators prepare differently from average negotiators (feat. 48 skilled negotiators). Why immediate counterproposals can ruin a negotiation (feat. insight from 102 negotiations). The critical role of long-term thinking in effective negotiations. Key behaviours that skilled negotiators use to foster collaboration and transparency. Practical tips you can use. ---- Sign up to my newsletter: https://www.nudgepodcast.com/mailing-list Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phill-agnew-22213187/ Watch Nudge on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@nudgepodcast/ ---- Sources: Rackham, N. (2003). The behavior of successful negotiators. McGraw Hill/Irwin, New York. Reb, J., Luan, S., & Gigerenzer, G. (2024). Smart management: Why successful leaders must embrace simple strategies in an increasingly uncertain and complex world. MIT Press. https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262548014/smart-management/

75% of us expect to spot the unexpected. But we’re wrong. Today on Nudge, Dan Simons shares his results from perhaps the world’s best-known psychology experiment: the Invisible Gorilla. Listen, and you’ll take part in our own audio version of his experiment, and I'll dig into research papers to learn how Dan’s findings apply to marketing. Dan’s book Invisible Gorilla: https://www.theinvisiblegorilla.com/ Dan’s book Nobody’s Fool: https://dansimons.com/NobodysFool.html Outdoor Advertising Recall study: https://tinyurl.com/5e8s5nwv Subscribe to the (free) Nudge Newsletter: https://nudge.ck.page/profile

The Francesca Gino scandal shook the academic world, exposing fraudulent research practices at one of the world’s most prestigious institutions, Harvard Business School. This episode unpacks the details of the case, from the initial discoveries to the implications for science. You’ll learn: How a PhD student uncovered data manipulation in a high-profile study (feat. Zoe Xani’s investigation). The critical role of whistleblowers in exposing fraud (feat. Data Colada’s analysis). Key findings from Harvard’s 1,300-page report on research misconduct. Which studies were faked and what they claimed to find. How self-correcting mechanisms can strengthen trust despite scandals. ---- Sign up to my newsletter: https://www.nudgepodcast.com/mailing-list Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phill-agnew-22213187/ Watch Nudge on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@nudgepodcast/ ---- Sources: Data Colada. (2023). [109] Data falsificada (Part 1): “Clusterfake”. https://datacolada.org/109 Data Colada. (2023). Data falsificada (Part 1): Evidence that Francesca Gino fabricated data. Data Colada. Retrieved from https://datacolada.org/110 Data Colada. (2023). Data falsificada (Part 3): The cheaters are out of order. Data Colada. Retrieved from https://datacolada.org/111 Data Colada. (2023). Data falsificada (Part 4): Forgetting the words. Data Colada. Retrieved from https://datacolada.org/112 Data Colada. (2024). [116] Our (first?) day in court. https://datacolada.org/116 Data Colada. (2024). [118] Harvard’s Gino Report Reveals How A Dataset Was Altered, Data Colada. https://datacolada.org/118 Dalton, R. (2023, October 18). Embattled Harvard honesty professor accused of plagiarism. Science. Retrieved January 6, 2025, from https://www.science.org/content/article/embattled-harvard-honesty-professor-accused-plagiarism Dubner, S. J. (2024). Why is there so much fraud in academia? (Update) [Audio podcast episode]. In Freakonomics Radio. Freakonomics, LLC. https://freakonomics.com/podcast/why-is-there-so-much-fraud-in-academia-update/ Dubner, S. J. (2025). Can academic fraud be stopped? (Update) [Audio podcast episode]. In Freakonomics Radio. Freakonomics, LLC. https://freakonomics.com/podcast/can-academic-fraud-be-stopped-update/ Gino, F., Kouchaki, M., & Galinsky, A. D. (2015). The moral virtue of authenticity: How inauthenticity produces feelings of immorality and impurity. Psychological Science, 26(7), 983–996. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797615575277 Gino, F., & Wiltermuth, S. S. (2014). Evil genius? How dishonesty can lead to greater creativity. Psychological Science, 25(4), 973–981. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797614520714 Gino, F., Kouchaki, M., & Casciaro, T. (2020). Why connect? Moral consequences of networking with a promotion or prevention focus. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fpspa0000226 Harari, Y. N. (2024). Nexus: A brief history of information networks from the Stone Age to AI. Fern Press. Judo, P. (2024). It’s over – Gino vs Harvard fake data scandal [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/Q9tgyVPytBk Konnikova, M. (2023). They studied dishonesty. Was their work a lie? The New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/10/09/they-studied-dishonesty-was-their-work-a-lie Lewis-Karus. (2024). How a scientific dispute spiraled into a defamation lawsuit. The New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/how-a-scientific-dispute-spiralled-into-a-defamation-lawsuit Shu, L. L., Mazar, N., Gino, F., Ariely, D., & Bazerman, M. H. (2012). Signing at the beginning makes ethics salient and decreases dishonest self-reports in comparison to signing at the end. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 109(38), 15197–15200. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1209746109

I put AI to the test at one of the world’s largest marketing conferences, Inbound 2024. This episode dives into the surprising results of my experiment and what they mean for the future of marketing. You’ll learn: Why AI-generated content is seen as error-free (feat. 2022 study by Henestrosa et al.). How AI compares to humans in persuading consumers (feat. 2023 meta-analysis). Why strong positioning, like Wistia’s, is key to beating AI at its own game. The marketing tasks most at risk of being taken over by AI (feat. 2024 survey). A senior marketer’s take on whether AI could ever replace humans (feat. Richard Truncale). ---- Sign up to my newsletter: https://www.nudgepodcast.com/mailing-list Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phill-agnew-22213187/ Watch Nudge on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@nudgepodcast/ ---- Sources: Henestrosa, A. L., Greving, H., & Kimmerle, J. (2022). Automated journalism: The effects of AI authorship and evaluative information on the perception of a science journalism article. Computers in Human Behavior, 138, 107445. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2022.107445 Huang, G., & Wang, S. (2023). Is artificial intelligence more persuasive than humans? A meta-analysis. Journal of Communication, 73(6), 552–562. https://doi.org/10.1093/joc/jqad024 Kasumovic, D. (2024). Artificial intelligence (AI) marketing benchmark report: 2024. Influencer Marketing Hub. https://influencermarketinghub.com/ai-marketing-benchmark-report/ Shotton, R. (2023). The illusion of choice: 16 ½ psychological biases that influence what we buy. Harriman House. Chan, W. T. Y., & Leung, C. H. (2018). An empirical study on reverse psychology applied in advertising messages. Asian Journal of Empirical Research, 8(9), 321–329. https://doi.org/10.18488/journal.1007/2018.8.9/1007.9.321.329

From curing scurvy to shaping billion-dollar business strategies, this is the story of the most important experiment in science and its profound impact on our world. ---- Sign up to my newsletter: https://www.nudgepodcast.com/mailing-list Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phill-agnew-22213187/ Watch Nudge on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@nudgepodcast/ ---- Inspired by the insights and storytelling of May Contain Lies How Stories, Statistics, and Studies Exploit Our Biases – And What We Can Do About It, authored by Alex Edmans.

I spoke to the leading behavioural science authors, researchers and practitioners in 2024. Here are their top lessons. It features insights from Tali Sharot, Todd Rodgers, Rory Sutherland, Prof. Sarah Moore, and Chris Voss. Plus, some big news for 2025. You’ll learn: Why our happiness fades, no matter how good life gets (feat. Tali Sharot). How shorter emails can drastically improve response rates (feat. Todd Rogers). Why our behaviours often shape our attitudes—rather than the other way around (feat. Rory Sutherland). The surprising persuasive power of swear words in reviews and advertising (feat. Sarah Moore). A hostage negotiator’s secret for winning arguments (feat. Chris Voss). ---- Sign up to my newsletter: https://www.nudgepodcast.com/mailing-list Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phill-agnew-22213187/ Watch Nudge on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@nudgepodcast/ ---- Sources: Epstein, Leonard H., Katelyn A. Carr, Meghan D. Cavanaugh, Rocco A. Paluch, and Mark E. Bouton (2011): “Long-term habituation to food in obese and nonobese women,” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 94(2), 371–376. Adams, Gabrielle S., Benjamin A. Converse, Andrew H. Hales, and Leidy E. Klotz (2021): “People systematically overlook subtractive changes,” Nature, 592, 258–261. Rogers, Todd, and Jessica Lasky-Fink (2020): “Write shorter messages,” Harvard Kennedy School. Boomerang (2016): “7 Tips for Getting More Responses to Your Emails—Backed by Data,” Boomerang Blog. Rosset, Evelyn (2008): “It's No Accident: Our Bias for Intentional Explanations,” Psychological Science, 19(6), 566–572. Lafreniere, Katherine C., Sarah G. Moore, and Robert J. Fisher (2022): “The Power of Profanity: The Meaning and Impact of Swear Words in Word of Mouth,” SAGE Open. Westerholm, Jim (2017): “Damn good coffee: Swear words and advertising,” Mälardalen University. van Kleef, Gerben A., Carsten K. W. De Dreu, and Antony S. R. Manstead (2004): “The Interpersonal Effects of Anger and Happiness in Negotiations,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 86, No. 1, pp. 57–76. This episode contains swear words.

I’ve scoured his 38-year career and documented every persuasion tactic he’s used. Here’s how Steve Jobs became the most successful CEO of all time. Sign up to the (free) Nudge Newsletter: https://nudge.ck.page/profile Subscribe to Nudge on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@nudgepodcast

I tested a fairly unknown persuasion principle on 96 loyal Nudge listeners. It made my message 20% more effective. To hear how and why, listen to the latest episode of Nudge with the fantastic Bas Wouters, best-selling author and CEO of the Cialdini Influence. Bas’s book Online Influence: https://www.onlineinfluence.com/book-online-influence/ Cialdini’s latest edition of Influence: https://tinyurl.com/2sdz9524 Join the Nudgers: https://forms.gle/wyKZB9SrHKnFks7G6 Subscribe to the (free) Nudge Newsletter: https://nudge.ck.page/profile

I’ve spent weeks writing handwritten letters rather than emails. I’m running an experiment inspired by today’s guest, Harvard Professor Mike Norton. Mike’s the scientist behind the IKEA Effect, and in today’s Nudge, he explains how that bias could help me gain more reviews. Did it work? Find out on today’s episode of Nudge. Mike’s book Ritual Effect: https://tinyurl.com/mwbvws3n Watch Nudgestock: https://www.youtube.com/@nudgestock Control emails: https://im.ge/i/Control-emails.fEPKZW Handwritten emails: https://im.ge/i/handwritten-emails.fEPfX0 Stats for the control email: https://im.ge/i/Control.fEP9YK Stats for the handwritten email: https://im.ge/i/Handwritten-variant.fEP5hF Subscribe to the (free) Nudge Newsletter: https://nudge.ck.page/profile

This is one of my favourite interviews of the year. Listen, and you’ll learn why you should go last in a job interview, why you should pay incentives out in regular but smaller sums, and how you should always list your benefits in threes. Steve’s book: https://tinyurl.com/23u5aysv Steve’s website: https://influenceatwork.co.uk/ Subscribe to the Nudge Newsletter: https://nudge.ck.page/profile

I spent four hours watching 300 ads back to back. Today, I reveal how they use psychological principles to persuade you. Subscribe to the (free) Nudge Newsletter: https://nudge.ck.page/profile

In today’s episode, I use a marketing psychology principle to try to go viral on YouTube. Did it work? Listen to find out. Effortful YouTube video: https://youtu.be/L6ueaBYDop8?si=5kHrlW66Fdzk6yTb Effortless YouTube video: https://youtu.be/bhMCGaRsyUQ?si=LSXqZExxOZX7gIji Sign up for the Nudge Newsletter: https://nudge.ck.page/profile

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