Episodes | Behavioral Grooves

EPISODE 320

Visualize A Horse…But What If You Actually Can’t? Aphantasia Explained With Dr Adam Zeman

Close your eyes and visualize a horse. Most people can picture the outline of the body, the color of the horse and the unique…

EPISODE 319

Want to Know How Priming Works? It Starts With Your Conscious, Not Your Unconscious | John Bargh

“The primary source of unconscious priming…is your conscious experience.” Our consciousness is where we bring everything together, where we integrate and form a rich…

EPISODE 318

Rory Sutherland: The Opposite of a Good Idea is a Good Idea [Republish]

Rory Sutherland is a British advertising executive who became fascinated with behavioral science. Between his TED talks, books and articles, he has become one…

EPISODE 317

How Good People Fight Bias | Dolly Chugh [Republish]

Psychology and neuroscience have proven that our minds do things on autopilot. These shortcuts (or heuristics) are laden with unconscious biases, which are juxtaposed…

EPISODE 316

Groove Track | No, Short-Term Rewards Don’t Drain Long-Term Motivation

For many years, the general consensus by many researchers and practitioners was that providing people with short-term extrinsic rewards sapped their long-term motivation. This…

EPISODE 315

The Power of Unity: Robert Cialdini Expands His Best Selling Book Influence [Republish]

The GodFather of Influence, Robert Cialdini joins us on Behavioral Grooves to share his motivation for expanding his bestselling book Influence: The Psychology of…

EPISODE 314

Groove Track | 12 Words That Improve Company Performance

Priming studies have had some negative press over the past ten years – some of it justified, some of it not. In this groove…

EPISODE 313

Delusions Can Actually Be Useful: Hidden Brain’s Shankar Vedantam Reveals How [Republish]

Shankar Vedantam is the host of the wildly popular podcast, Hidden Brain and esteemed author of the book Useful Delusions: The Power and Paradox…

EPISODE 312

How To Find Meaning IN Life | Dr Brian Lowery PhD

Three things generate a sense of meaning IN life; Coherence – can you make sense of the world? Purpose – do you feel a…

EPISODE 311

How Do Incentives Actually Impact Motivation? | Dr Indranil Goswami PhD

Incentives can improve motivation. But what actually happens when the incentive is removed? An influential body of research previously suggested that extrinsic rewards have…

EPISODE 310

Why You Can’t Find a Cab When It’s Raining – Groove Track

Groove Track | Why can’t you find a cab in the rain? We take a deep dive exploring the 1997 study “LABOR SUPPLY OF…

EPISODE 309

Can You Really Love Things As Much As People? With Aaron Ahuvia

Love connects us to things in a deep way. But when we say we love our car, or we love our favorite beach, or…

EPISODE 308

The Loss of Common Sense: How To Gain A Little Perspective | Martin Lindstrom

Disembarking people from a plane, row by row during the height of COVID, but then cramming all the passengers into a bus to the…

EPISODE 307

Groove Track | Mind Over Milkshakes: Why Expectations Matter A Lot

A deep dive exploring the 2011 paper by Alia Crum, William Corbin, Kelly Brownwell, and Peter Salovey called “Mind Over Milkshakes: Mindsets, Not Just…

EPISODE 306

Trust Your Gut? Only If The Data Supports It | Seth Stephens-Davidowitz

When making big decisions, people often go with what feels right – who we marry, where we live, what career we pursue. We base…

EPISODE 305

Changing Our Mind: Exploring How Mental Illness Is Managed with Daniel Bergner

Over the last 50 years, little has changed for the pharmaceutical management of mental illness. This is troublesome, but not unsolvable, according to The…

EPISODE 304

Finding Out What Your Customers Want and Why It Matters | Andrea Belk Olson

Customer feedback lacks two fundamental pieces of information: context and behavior. Traditional methods of insight, like the Net Promoter Score (NPS) and customer feedback…

EPISODE 303

From Distracted To Focused: Nir Eyal’s Secrets On How To Be Indistractable

Utilizing the power of identity by proudly declaring yourself as indistractable can be a persuasive step in becoming the kind of person we want…

EPISODE 302

You Have Dignity Because You’re Human, Not Because You Work | Jonathan Malesic

Mitt Romney once mistakenly quipped that people were either “makers or takers” echoing a common sentiment among US politicians that by working we provide…

EPISODE 301

How To Fix Burnout (Hint: It Isn’t Another Yoga Session) | Jennifer Moss

We’ve been programmed to treat burnout as a self-care issue, as if we’re just one yoga session or a relaxation app away from fixing…

EPISODE 300

You Can Change Someone’s Mind But Are You Sure You Want To? | David McRaney

We all know someone who believes in conspiracy theories and we wish we could change their mind. It is possible. There are techniques that…

EPISODE 299

Changing The World with Persistent Optimism | Dr. Paul Zeitz

What if we were so optimistic, nothing ever felt like an obstacle, only an opportunity? As an unapologetic optimist, Dr. Paul Zeitz has overcome…

EPISODE 298

Want To Improve Your Kid’s Behavior? Start With Your Own | Sue Donnellan

Many of us struggle with the demands of parenting. Our response to feeling overwhelmed can be to try and control our kids’ behavior. But…

EPISODE 297

Three Easy Ways to Nurture A Child’s Brain Development | Dana Suskind MD

World-class pediatric surgeon, social scientist, and best-selling author Dr Dana Suskind MD talks about the Three T’s (tune in, talk more and take turns)…

EPISODE 296

Fail to Scale: Why Good Research Doesn’t Always Make Great Policy | John A. List

Lots of us have good ideas, some even back their ideas up with successful research. So why do these good ideas fail to scale…

EPISODE 295

For Revolutionary Solutions, Look To Evolutionary Ideas | Sam Tatam

Innovation doesn’t always require inventing new solutions to problems; chances are that evolution has already solved the issue with a unique design. This simple…

EPISODE 294

Why Mindset Matters Most: The Secrets of Achievement | Paul Szyarto

A goal is a stepping stone on the way to a higher achievement, not an end point. By reframing our expectations, we can transform…

EPISODE 293

Women Do Too Much Non-Promotable Work: How To Say No More with Linda Babcock

Women are more likely to volunteer for a non-promotable task at work, than men. But why do women volunteer themselves more? What repercussions does…

EPISODE 292

How The Invisible Influence of Culture Shapes Our Behavior | Michele Gelfand

The culture we live in has an invisible influence over our individual and collective behaviors. The tendency towards openness or order in a society…

EPISODE 291

The Psychological Benefits of Using a Process to Achieve an Outcome | Joseph Keebler PhD & Peter Krask

Processes decrease our cognitive load and increase our productivity. On Behavioral Grooves we have talked with out guests a lot about habits and routines,…

EPISODE 290

Transport Your Thinking; Why We Need To Reframe Travel | Rory Sutherland & Pete Dyson

Transporting humans from A to B is about more than just speed, efficiency and duration. Comfort, Wi-Fi access, entertainment and our habits, among many…

EPISODE 289

Why Not All Nudges Work ”In The Wild” | Nina Mazar PhD & Dilip Soman PhD

Read Nudge and you are inspired by how behavioral science works. But how can we translate and scale behavioral science effectively into policies and…

EPISODE 288

The Steps Needed To Empower the Powerless | Julie Battilana PhD

Personality or wealth are often assumed to be prerequisites to gaining power, something that is only garnered by having control over others. An organization…

EPISODE 287

Why Talking To Strangers Is Actually Good For Your Wellbeing | Nick Epley

Do you strike up a conversation with a stranger on a plane or while waiting in line? If you don’t already, you will after…

EPISODE 286

If You’re Wrong It’s Meaningless, But If I’m Wrong It’s Valuable | Peter Montoya

As the political divide between left and right widens in the US and around the world, we seem to spend increasing amounts of time…

EPISODE 285

The Three Phases of Growth and Learning | Whitney Johnson

We are always learning, whether it’s changing careers or learning a new instrument. But how do we transition from the curiosity stage, to completely…

EPISODE 284

Mindset Matters Most: Top Tips from The Sales Evangelist, Donald C. Kelly

Creating a motivating mindset is the most important component of any sales role. In fact, it’s a critical component of everything we do, but…

EPISODE 283

Is The Anus Really The Key To All Intelligent Life? | Henry Gee

Paleontologist Henry Gee humorously explains to us why the anus was the key to large animals evolving, how the large size of our “dangly…

EPISODE 282

Why Applying Behavioral Science to Public Policy Delivers Better Policy | David Yokum PhD

Connecting evidence-based behavioral science with public policy has been shown to deliver more effective government policies that strengthen communities. And there’s no-one better to…

EPISODE 281

Why Leaders Need To Care For People, Not Manage Them | Sesil Pir

Control is the opposite of caring. And a caring mindset is one of the most important things a leader can possess. In a caring…

EPISODE 280

Do We Judge Others By The Way They Speak? | Katherine Kinzler PhD

We gravitate to people who are like us; our “tribe”. One factor that we use to assume that others are like us, is by…

EPISODE 279

We Are Greater Together; The Power Of Belonging | Dominic Packer PhD

We all have an inherent need to belong. And the groups we feel part of actually shape our behavior, more than we realize. They…

EPISODE 278

How Can Smart, Kind People Harness Their Influence? | Zoe Chance

Influential is probably not a word you use to describe yourself if you are the quiet/smart/kind type of person. Furthermore, you probably have misconceptions…

EPISODE 277

No Regrets? Really? Why Regrets Actually Bring Us Hope | Daniel H. Pink

No regrets is a phrase thrown around like a badge of honor. Tattoos, songs and marketing taglines all boast this notion of curating a…

EPISODE 276

How To Stay Motivated So You Exceed Your Goals | Ayelet Fishbach PhD

When we set goals, we’re excited, engaged and motivated to complete them. But after a while, the momentum can slow, we lose enthusiasm and…

EPISODE 275

A Long, Happy Life? The Impacts of Increasing Our Longevity | Bradley Schurman

Societies around the world are getting older; a combination of people living longer and having fewer children. The 85+ population is now the fastest…

EPISODE 274

Why Finding Pleasure in Life is a Painful Journey | Paul Bloom

Why do people train for a marathon? Listen to sad music? Eat really spicy food? All of these activities induce a painful response, yet…

EPISODE 273

How Collaboration is Growing Behavioral Science: Learnings from BX Arabia

BX Arabia is a regional behavioral insights conference that started in 2018 to emphasize the application of behavioral science in the Global South. Kurt…

EPISODE 272

How To Turn Your Creative Dreams Into Reality | Jeff Madoff

If you have a creative vision, how do you focus your skills on making it happen? Can you turn your dream into a career?…

EPISODE 271

How To Create New Goals That Will Really Motivate You in 2022

It’s the time of year for setting New Year’s resolutions. But how can you set goals that you will actually achieve? Will you look…

EPISODE 270

The Behavioral Science Books We Just Couldn’t Put Down in 2021 With Louise Ward

What a year for books 2021 has been! It seems like authors, editors and publishers have all been working overtime this year to bring…

EPISODE 269

More Than Just A Checklist: How to Effectively Apply Behavioral Science | Torben Emmerling

Applying Behavioral Science insights at work takes more than just another checklist or document, it’s about creating an environment that enables people to make…

EPISODE 268

Our Love Of Music And The Influence Of The Pandemic With Mark Thorley

Where and how we listened to music shifted during the pandemic. But the music industry itself had to quickly adapt in 2020 to how…

EPISODE 267

Please Help Us by Voting for Behavioral Grooves – it takes 10 seconds

Habit Weekly, a wonderful organization founded by Samuel Salzer, is asking people to weigh in on their favorite podcast by casting a vote at…

EPISODE 266

Trust: The Four Key Steps to Genuinely Build It | Sandra Sucher

In 2021, people started to trust business organizations more than governments, NGOs or the media, according to global research by the Edelman Trust Baraometer….

EPISODE 265

Focus More on HOW to Think, and Less on WHAT to Think | Dr. Howard Rankin PhD

If we are open minded, we challenge our beliefs and accept that our thinking can, at times, be misguided. After all, our thoughts are…

EPISODE 264

Need a Laugh to Get Through Your Workday? Dan Hill

Need some respite from the work day grind? Join the fun on this episode for a light-hearted take on workplace humor. Dan Hill delivers…

EPISODE 263

Feeling Fearful: Why People Seek Out Conspiracy Theories | Eric Oliver

What makes us more likely to believe in conspiracy theories? Can our religious beliefs or political affiliations determine whether we’re less likely to believe…

EPISODE 262

Why We Are More Vulnerable To Harmful Conspiracy Theories Than We Think | Andy Norman

Misinformation is like a virus, spreading quickly and propagating in a way that doesn’t benefit its host. Andy Noman describes harmful ideas as acting…

EPISODE 261

Conspiracy Theories: How To Talk to A Science Denier | Lee McIntyre

How do you respond to someone who says “the earth is flat” or “Covid is a hoax”? Before we can try and reason with…

EPISODE 260

Conspiracy Theories: Hidden Brain‘s Shankar Vedantam | The Delusion of Nations

Host of Hidden Brain podcast, Shankar Vedantam talks with us about the powers: both useful and harmful, of our delusional thinking. Nations are an…

EPISODE 259

Halloween Special: Grooving on Scary Biases

Listen to Kurt and Tim’s spooky Halloween Special about some common biases that can seem a bit scary. But don’t fear, the scariest thing…

EPISODE 258

Why Does Rude Behavior Really Bother Us So Much? | Trevor Foulk PhD

Rudeness is contagious, in a similar way to a virus. When experiencing a rude encounter, our brain perceives it like a threat. And once…

EPISODE 257

Helping People To Assemble Better Decisions | Eric J. Johnson

How do we make decisions? What factors influence the final outcome? Do default settings change our preferences? Every decision we make; from choosing something…

EPISODE 256

Anxiety at Work: Why We Feel It and How To Manage It | Chester Elton

Anxiety in the workplace has always been present, even pre-pandemic but rates of anxiety, particularly among young employees, have worsened since 2020. So what…

EPISODE 255

The 5 Healthy Brain Habits Of A Neuroscientist | Dr Daniel Almeida

What life habits keep our brain healthy? How does our mind respond to trauma? And why does the way we talk about suicide and…

EPISODE 254

Money Does Boost Happiness, But Not The Way We Think It Does | Daniel Crosby

The clearest indicators of our financial solvency are based on the behaviors we exhibit with our investments. Dr. Daniel Crosby PhD is a psychologist,…

EPISODE 253

Why You Don‘t Need to be Powerful to be Influential | Vanessa Bohns

To be influential you do not require power, but wielding your influence is powerful. Vanessa Bohns, social psychologist and professor of organizational behavior at…

EPISODE 252

Leading Human™: How to Avoid Burnout and Create a Positive Organization

Employee burnout, The Great Resignation, Office Covid Regulations; these are all major concerns for leaders in the workplace right now. But how can managers…

EPISODE 251

Kwame Christian: On Compassionate Curiosity, Social Justice Conversations, and Cinnamon Toast Crunch [Republish Episode 178]

[NOTE: This episode is republished from #178 in October 2020.] Kwame Christian, Esq. is the author of “Nobody Will Play With Me: How to…

EPISODE 250

Vaccinating the World: How Behavioral Science Helps. With Michael Coleman

How can behavioral science aid the mammoth task of vaccination the world against Covid? What common barriers cause vaccine hesitancy in populations around the…

EPISODE 249

Can People Learn to be Better at Thinking? With Richard E. Nisbett

Few psychologists in the world have contributed more to scientific discovery than our guest Richard E. Nisbett. He joins us to discuss his latest…

EPISODE 248

Do We Control Situations or Do Situations Control Us? With John Bargh

Can we control our unconscious behavior? How much does the situation we’re in control us? Can we prime people to behave a certain way?…

EPISODE 247

Stanford Prison Experiment, 50 Years On: What Have We Really Learnt? With Dr Philip Zimbardo

The Stanford Prison Experiment has been the topic of movies, newspaper articles, textbooks and TV shows. Extensively published controversy has surrounded the social psychology…

EPISODE 246

[INTERVIEW] Are You More Honest with Google or Your friends? With Seth Stephens-Davidowitz

The truth is we divulge more information to Google that we do to our friends, our family or even our doctors. Our social media…

EPISODE 245

[GROOVING SESSION] Are You More Honest with Google or Your friends? With Seth Stephens-Davidowitz

This follow-up episode is a free-flowing Grooving Session where Tim and Kurt chat about their discussion with Seth Stephens-Davidowitz (Episode 246). You’re more than…

EPISODE 244

[INTERVIEW] Does Money Really Make You Happy? The Research with Johannes Haushofer

What link is there between happiness and income? Does winning the lottery make you happier? What does the research say about poverty and our…

EPISODE 243

[GROOVING SESSION] Does Money Really Make You Happy? The Research with Johannes Haushofer

Kurt and Tim discuss the links between poverty and mental health, how higher income is linked to better well-being, and the idea of a…

EPISODE 242

[INTERVIEW] Smart Behavioral Economics Secrets Every Marketer Needs with Melina Palmer

What does your customer want but can’t tell you? What effective marketing techniques use behavioral economics? If only you had a way of understanding…

EPISODE 241

[GROOVING SESSION] Smart Behavioral Economics Secrets Every Marketer Needs with Melina Palmer

How can your organization improve its marketing messaging using proven behavioral science techniques? As part of our series on Marketing & Employee Engagement this…

EPISODE 240

[INTERVIEW] Why Good, Honest Employees Really Do Steal With Kelly Paxton

Do honest people steal? Our guest, Kelly Paxton investigates and researches low level crimes such as book-keeping fraud; also known as Pink Collar Crime….

EPISODE 239

[GROOVING SESSION] Why Good, Honest Employees Really Do Steal With Kelly Paxton

Continuing our series on Marketing and Employee Engagement this month, we were joined by Kelly Paxton on our latest interview episode: Why Good, Honest…

EPISODE 238

Who Makes You Feel Grateful? Tell Them! With Chester Elton

When did a colleague last thank you for your work? Managers generally underappreciate their employees, but more importantly, they tend to undervalue the benefits…

EPISODE 237

[INTERVIEW] Attention: How to Capture It and Keep It with Ben Parr

What is the science behind capturing people’s attention? And what do you do after you have someone’s attention; what is your intention? Is our…

EPISODE 236

[GROOVING SESSION] Attention: How to Capture It and Keep It with Ben Parr

Continuing our series on Marketing and Employee Engagement this month, we were joined on our latest interview episode (#237) by Ben Parr, author of…

EPISODE 235

[INTERVIEW] Make Choice Rewarding: Behavioral Insights in Marketing with Matthew Willcox

Welcome to our series of episodes on Marketing and Employee Engagement. We’ll be sharing insights into how to apply behavioral science in business. And…

EPISODE 234

[GROOVING SESSION] Make Choice Rewarding: Behavioral Insights in Marketing with Matthew Willcox

We’re doing things a little differently this month on Behavioral Grooves. Instead of discussing Matthew Willcox’s interview in our Grooving Session at the end…

EPISODE 233

Katy Milkman: How to Make Healthy Habits that Actually Last [GROOVING SESSION]

We’re doing things a little differently this week. Instead of discussing Katy Milkman’s research at the end of our interview (Episode 232), we’ve decided…

EPISODE 232

[INTERVIEW] Katy Milkman: How to Make Healthy Habits that Actually Last

We all appreciate a fresh start. Time to start again. A clean slate. Maybe we want to go to the gym more often, eat…

EPISODE 231

Why We Work At Our Best, When We Feel At Our Best with Larry Senn

Today’s guest is Dr. Larry Senn, PhD, a pioneer in the field of corporate culture. He founded Senn Delaney as a culture shaping firm…

EPISODE 230

How Good People Fight Bias with Dolly Chugh

Dolly Chugh is an award-winning associate professor and social psychologist at the Stern School of Business at New York University. Her research focuses on…

EPISODE 229

From Holding the Mic to Theory of Mind: Rob Leonard’s Love of Language

Talk about a unique career path! From performing at Woodstock before Jimi Hendrix, with his band Sha Na Na, to now being a Forensic…

EPISODE 228

Getting to Yes, And…Behavioral Grooves: Two Podcasts in One

This episode is a Behavioral Grooves first: we bring you our first ever joint podcast! Mid-way through the episode the tables turn and our…

EPISODE 227

Get More from Reading your Favorite Books with Pique founder Bec Weeks

On this episode of Behavioral Grooves we chat with the founder of the engaging new app PIQUE. Bec Weeks is a behavioral scientist turned…

EPISODE 226

The Power of Unity: Robert Cialdini Expands His Best Selling Book Influence

The GodFather of Influence, Robert Cialdini joins us again on Behavioral Grooves to share his motivation for expanding his bestselling book Influence: The Psychology…

EPISODE 225

Behind NOISE and Beyond The Book: Linnea Gandhi Shares her New Course on Noise

Linnea Gandhi is one of our favorite people to talk with and we had the pleasure of welcoming Linnea back to Behavioral Grooves recently….

EPISODE 224

Why Is Noise Worse Than Bias? Olivier Sibony Explains

NOISE is set to be the next behavioral science bestseller. Daniel Kahneman, Cass Sunstein and Olivier Sibony describe noise as the unwanted variabilities in…

EPISODE 223

How Behavioral Science Can Impact Nonprofits: The Inspiring Story at Save The Children

Allison Zelkowitz seized the opportunity to use behavioral science at Save The Children to make a big impact on global projects. By building a…

EPISODE 222

How Delusions Can Actually Be Useful: Shankar Vedantam Reveals How

In this episode, we are delighted to welcome Shankar Vedantam, host of the wildly popular podcast, Hidden Brain and esteemed author of the new…

EPISODE 221

Donating Our Money Is Irrational, So Why Do We Do It? Tim Kachuriak Explains Our Motivations

Tim Kachuriak is the founder and Chief Innovation and Optimization Officer for NextAfter, a fundraising research lab and consulting firm that works with businesses,…

EPISODE 220

How Do You Become Influential? Jon Levy Reveals His Surprising Secrets

Our guest, Jon Levy, is arguably one of the most influential behavioral scientists in the world. Over 10 years ago, Jon founded The Influencers…

EPISODE 219

Why Music Makes You Feel Better with Pablo Ripollés and Ernest Mas Herrero

In this episode we are thrilled to be discussing our two favorite topics: human behavior and music. We learn that music, more than any…

EPISODE 218

Share, Like, Comment: Sandra Matz PhD Exposes The Truth Behind your Digital Footprint

Our guest this week, Sandra Matz PhD exposes the truth behind our online presence. In our conversation, Sandra reveals that with simple analytics, the…

EPISODE 217

3 Ways to have a Positive Chat About Vaccine Hesitancy with Friends and Family

Research is showing that there are four broad groups of people who are the most vaccine hesitant: African Americans Latinos Women between the ages…

EPISODE 216

How a Compelling Story Packs a Persuasive Punch with Melanie Green

Dr. Melanie Green is a professor at Ohio State University. She joined us on the podcast to explain how the power of a compelling…

EPISODE 215

Secrets of Subtraction: Donut Holes, Lego and Bruce Springsteen with Leidy Klotz

Leidy Klotz is the Copenhaver Associate Professor of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Virginia. His research fills in underexplored overlaps…

EPISODE 214

Observing the Non-Obvious: How to Spot Trends Around You with Rohit Bhargava

Rohit Bhargava is on a mission to help everyone in the world become a non-obvious thinker. In this episode, he talks with us about…

EPISODE 213

Why It’s Astoundingly Easy, But Not Better, to Be Tribal with Tim Ash

Tim Ash is a very interesting guy. He is both an authority on evolutionary psychology and digital marketing, which puts him in pretty rarified…

EPISODE 212

Scrutinizing Hype: Powerful lessons from The Hype Handbook with Michael F. Schein

Michael F. Schein is a hype specialist and the author of The Hype Handbook: 12 Indispensable Secrets from the World’s Greatest Propagandists, Self-Promoters, Cult…

EPISODE 211

A Thousand Thanks: A Lifetime of Experiments and Gratitude with AJ Jacobs

AJ Jacobs is an author, journalist, lecturer, and human guinea pig. He has written four New York Times bestsellers, including The Year of Living Biblically, that…

EPISODE 210

Linda Thunstrom: Are Thoughts and Prayers Empty Gestures to Suffering Disaster Victims?

Linda Thunstrom, PhD is a Swedish economist working as an assistant professor of economics at the University of Wyoming. (That’s in Laramie, Wyoming, not…

EPISODE 209

GAABS and Improving the Future for Every Applied Behavioral Scientist

GAABS is an organization that was recently founded to act as an accrediting body for applied behavioral scientists. GAABS is The Global Association of…

EPISODE 208

Dessa: The Attention Shepherd on the Curious Act of Being Deeply Human

Dessa is a singer, rapper, writer, speaker, science and philosophy connoisseur, podcast host, and ice cream flavor inventor. (Her flavor is Dessa’s Existential Crunch…

EPISODE 207

Jonathan Mann: Is it Possible to Design an Experience?

Can you design an experience for someone else? Jonathan Mann, the Vice President of User Experience at Renaissance Learning says, “Umm, not really.” Prior…

EPISODE 206

Why We Need Robots with Kind Faces with Bertram Malle

Bertram Malle, PhD teaches social cognitive science and social psychology at Brown University, he’s the author of dozens of articles and has focused his…

EPISODE 205

The Myth of the “Relationship Spark” with Logan Ury (featuring a guest appearance by Christina Gravert, PhD)

Logan Ury studied psychology at Harvard, was a TED Fellow, then became a behavioral scientist at Google, where she ran Google’s behavioral science team…

EPISODE 204

How Shellye Archambeau Flies Like an Eagle

Shellye Archambeau is the author of “Unapologetically Ambitious: Take Risks, Break Barriers, and Create Success on Your Own Terms.” It’s part memoir, part inspiration,…

EPISODE 203

On Fake Memories and Whistleblowers with Nuala Walsh

Nuala Walsh is a strategic adviser with MindEquity, working with organizations to create reputation, commercial and cultural change. She is a global leader, an…

EPISODE 202

How Chaning Jang Works Around Not Being WEIRD

Chaning Jang is the CSO of the Busara Center for Behavioral Economics and has helped lead the organization since 2013. He is responsible for…

EPISODE 201

The Counterintuitive Persuasion of The Catalyst with Jonah Berger

Jonah Berger is a marketing professor in the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and the internationally best-selling author Contagious and Invisible Influence….

EPISODE 200

Time is Money – How Do You Value It?

Recently, NPR’s Planet Money penned an article about how much our time is worth based on some research that was sponsored by the rideshare…

EPISODE 199

How Decision Making is Critical for Back Country Skiers and Sex

Have you ever been caught in an avalanche or spoken to someone who survived? In this episode, you’ll hear what living through an avalanche…

EPISODE 198

The Role of the Unconscious in Everyday Behaviors with Joel Weinberger

Joel Weinberger is a Professor of Psychology at the Derner Institute at Adelphi University with Postdoctoral training in motivation at Harvard University. He is…

EPISODE 197

Successful New Year’s Resolutions in 4 Quick Tips

If you’re like the rest of us, your new year’s resolutions don’t last beyond St. Valentine’s Day. That’s okay – it’s normal. The trouble…

EPISODE 196

Living Happier By Making the World Better with Max Bazerman

Max Bazerman is the Jesse Isidor Strauss Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School and is the author of “Better, Not Perfect.” It…

EPISODE 195

Reflecting on the Best Podcast Insights from 2020

This is THE episode to listen to if you have missed the last 90 episodes. We can all agree that 2020 has been one…

EPISODE 194

The 10 Best Behavioral Science Books for 2020

Pretty much everyone around the world agrees that 2020 was a challenging year and we’re glad it’s all but over. However, 2020 was a…

EPISODE 193

How to Deal With Anxiety Over COVID Vaccines

Are the new COVID-19 vaccines are safe? It will probably take time to know for sure; however, this week Kurt and Tim discuss the…

EPISODE 192

Amy Bucher on Participatory Design, Trust and Engaging Your Audience

Amy Bucher, PhD is the Vice President of Behavior Change Design at Mad*Pow and the author of “Engaged,” a new book on how to…

EPISODE 191

Evolving HR Using Behavioral Science with Ryan McShane

Ryan McShane is the President and CEO of HR Evolution, a consultancy that designs systems that support employee alignment to organizational purpose through HR…

EPISODE 190

Cornelia Walther on POZE: Pause, Observe, Zoom in, and Experience

Cornelia Walther has spent most of her professional career with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Program (WFP). She was…

EPISODE 189

Kevin Vallier: What to Do About Polarization

Kevin Vallier, PhD is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Bowling Green State University, where he directs their Philosophy, Politics, Economics, and Law programs….

EPISODE 188

Improve Productivity by Making Your Workforce Psychologically Safe

[NOTE: This episode was originally published as a Weekly Grooves podcast. We wanted to share it with our Behavioral Grooves listeners and we hope…

EPISODE 187

Bill von Hippel on The Social Leap, Context, and Max Weinberg

Bill von Hippel, PhD is an evolutionary psychologist from Alaska who has lived in Australia for more than 20 years. Bill teaches at the…

EPISODE 186

World Kindness Day Through a Behavioral Lens

World Kindness Day is November 13th and has been celebrated in many countries around the world since 1998. World Kindness Day was developed to…

EPISODE 185

How Do We Deal with Disinformation?

[NOTE: This episode was originally published under our sister-podcast, Weekly Grooves. We are republishing it here to share relevant behavioral science information. We hope…

EPISODE 184

Elspeth Kirkman and Michael Hallsworth on Designing Behavioral Interventions

CORRECTION: In this episode, we incorrectly state that Michael Hallsworth started the BIT North American team. In fact, the BIT North America team was…

EPISODE 183

Iowa Caucus Conspiracy Theories – How to Inoculate Yourself

[NOTE: This episode was originally published under our sister-podcast, Weekly Grooves. In our effort to share relevant behavioral science information, we are republishing it…

EPISODE 182

Rippling with Jez Groom and April Vellacott

Jez Groom and April Vellacott, our guests in this episode, are co-authors of “Ripple – The Big Effects of Small Behavior Changes in Business.”…

EPISODE 181

Grooving: The Single Largest Driver of Misinformation

[NOTE: This episode was originally published under our sister-podcast, Weekly Grooves. In our effort to share relevant behavioral science information, we are republishing it…

EPISODE 180

Vote Now (for Behavioral Grooves)

The presidential election is going full tilt in the United States and we want to emphasize the importance of acting on your constitutional rights…

EPISODE 179

Play, Reciprocity and Context: The Keys to Happy Communities with Jessica Mayhew

Jessica Mayhew, PhD teaches Biological Anthropology as well as Primate Culture & Cognition at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Washington. She got our attention…

EPISODE 178

Kwame Christian: On Compassionate Curiosity, Social Justice Conversations, and Cinnamon Toast Crunch

Kwame Christian, Esq. is the author of “Nobody Will Play With Me: How to Use Compassionate Curiosity to Find Confidence in Conflict.” He is…

EPISODE 177

Matt Johnson & Prince Ghuman on Mid-Liminal Marketing and the Ethics of Applied Neuroscience

Matt Johnson, PhD and Prince Ghuman are the authors of “Blindsight: the mostly hidden ways marketing shapes our brains.” We caught up with them…

EPISODE 176

Annie Duke on How to Decide

Annie Duke first guested on Behavioral Grooves on Episode 31, which was released on September 30, 2018. For some reason, the three of us…

EPISODE 175

Andy Luttrell: Pro’s and Con’s of Persuasion When Issues are Moralized

Andy Luttrell, PhD is an assistant professor of psychological science at Ball State University and the podcaster/host of Opinion Science, one of Kurt and…

EPISODE 174

Secrets to a Successful Marriage with Eli Finkel

Eli Finkel, PhD is a social psychology professor who studies interpersonal attraction, marriage, and how our social relationships influence our goal achievement. He is…

EPISODE 173

Grooving: Colleges and the Coronavirus

[NOTE: You may or may not know that Kurt and Tim host a sibling podcast called Weekly Grooves. We thought this was such an…

EPISODE 172

How to Talk to Your Friends About Their Conspiracy Theories with Eric Oliver

Eric Oliver, PhD is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago. Although the majority of his work is squarely in the…

EPISODE 171

Self Control, Belonging, and Why Your Most Dedicated Employees Are the Ones To Watch Out For with Roy Baumeister

Roy Baumeister, PhD is a world-renowned researcher known for his work on the subjects of willpower, self-control, and self-esteem and how they relate to…

EPISODE 170

Seven Questions to Assess the Psychological Safety of Your Teams with Susan Hunt Stevens

Susan Hunt Stevens is the Founder and CEO of WeSpire, a technology platform that helps achieve the company’s goals through better employee engagement. WeSpire…

EPISODE 169

Eugen Dimant, PhD: What To Do About Bad Apples

[NOTE: Republished in its entirety from original episode #104 on December 15, 2019.] Eugen Dimant, PhD is a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Master of…

EPISODE 168

The Stages of Grief, Pandemics and the Psychology of Protests with Nicole Fisher

Nicole Fisher, DrPH is the president of Health and Human Rights Strategies and is a regular contributor to Forbes magazine on social justice issues….

EPISODE 167

How Babies’ Faces on Shop Doors Can Reduce Crime: With Tara Austin

Tara Austin is a strategist and was recently the Chief Strategy Officer for Kindred in London. Many of us know her for her public…

EPISODE 166

Elspeth Kirkman: Best Models for Identifying a Problem

Elspeth Kirkman is responsible for BIT’s work on health, education, and local government. Prior to this role, she oversaw the establishment and growth of…

EPISODE 165

Shlomi Ron: Visual Storying Telling In a Time of Crisis

Shlomi Ron is the CEO of the Visual Storytelling Institute. He co-founded the institute after 20 years of digital marketing with some of the…

EPISODE 164

Steve Wendel, PhD: Designing for Behavior Change

Stephen Wendel, PhD is an applied behavioral scientist who studies how digital products can help people take action more effectively. He currently serves as…

EPISODE 163

Robert Cialdini, PhD: Littering, Egoism and Aretha Franklin

[NOTE: This episode is republished from #50 in January 2019.] Robert Cialdini, PhD is counted among the greatest psychological researchers alive today and his published…

EPISODE 162

Grooving: On the Principle of Scarcity

[NOTE: This episode is republished from #74 in June 2019.] This episode is a discussion on the principle of scarcity. Kurt and Tim attempt…

EPISODE 161

Katy Milkman, PhD: Using Behavior Change for Good

[NOTE: This is a republished episode from #99 in November 2019.] Katy Milkman is no ordinary behavioral scientist. She’s a Professor of Operations, Information…

EPISODE 160

Grooving: On Goals and Goal Setting

[NOTE: This episode is republished from #92 in October 2019.] Goals are often misunderstood. Goals are much more than just objectives that are handed…

EPISODE 159

Covid-19 Crisis: Caroline Webb, Senior Advisor at McKinsey, on The Value of Where We Place Our Attention and Amplifying Certainty

Caroline Webb, a Senior Advisor at McKinsey, is an executive coach, author, and speaker specializing in insights from behavioral science to improve our lives…

EPISODE 158

Covid-19 Crisis: Margaret Robinson Rutherford, PhD on Perfectly Hidden Depression

Margaret Robinson Rutherford, PhD, is a clinical psychologist in private practice with more than twenty-five years of experience treating individuals and couples for depression,…

EPISODE 157

Grooving: Where Will You Live if You WFH?

We saw an article in the Wall Street Journal titled “When Workers Can Live Anywhere, Many Ask: Why Do I Live Here?” and it…

EPISODE 156

Covid-19 Crisis: Elizabeth Gilbert, PhD on Adaptability, Imaginal Exposure and Lists

Elizabeth Gilbert, PhD is the Head of Research at PsychologyCompass, a content platform that uses insights from psychology and neuroscience to teach people how…

EPISODE 155

John Bargh: Dante, Coffee and the Unconscious Mind

John Bargh, PhD is a Professor of Psychology and Management at Yale University. His name may be familiar because of the replication crisis, but…

EPISODE 154

Covid-19 Crisis: Howard Friedman, PhD on The Value of Human Life

Howard Friedman is a data scientist, health economist, and writer with decades of experience in both the private and public sectors, as well as…

EPISODE 153

Grooving: Protests Sparked by the Death of George Floyd in Minneapolis

On May 25, 2020, a white Minneapolis police officer killed George Floyd, an unarmed black man, by holding him down with a knee on…

EPISODE 152

Covid-19 Crisis: Chris Pfeiffer on Tips for Adjusting Sales Comp Plans

Chris Pfeiffer is a Senior Business Analyst at Tegra Analytics. Chris specializes in salesforce effectiveness in the life science industry, which includes incentive compensation,…

EPISODE 151

Dan Hill, PhD: On the Facial Coding of Trump, Hendrix, Prince, Gretzky and the Beatles

Dan Hill, PhD is an internationally recognized expert on the role of emotions in politics, business, sports, and popular culture. He pioneered the use…

EPISODE 150

Covid-19 Crisis: Claire Bidwell Smith on Grief During the Crisis

Claire Bidwell Smith is a licensed therapist specializing in grief and the author of three books of nonfiction, most recently ANXIETY: The Missing Stage…

EPISODE 149

Covid-19 Crisis: Kristen Berman on Remote Work, Quaranteams and Marinades

Kristen Berman is the co-founder of Irrational Labs and co-founder and principal at Common Cents Lab, a non-profit behavioral consulting company, with Dan Ariely….

EPISODE 148

Covid-19 Crisis: Stephen Curtis on Neuroplasticity and Creating the Ideal

Stephen Curtis, PhD is a Clinical Psychologist with a doctorate in Neuroscience Experimental Psychology. He specializes in Performance Psychology with professional and college athletes,…

EPISODE 147

Gary Latham, PhD: Goal Setting, Prompts, Priming, and Skepticism

Gary Latham, PhD is the Secretary of State Professor of Organizational Behaviour at the Rotman School of Management in the University of Toronto. His…

EPISODE 146

Covid-19 Crisis: Mariel Beasley on Increasing Short Term Savings During the Crisis

Mariel Beasley is the Co-Director of the Common Cents Lab at the Center for Advanced Hindsight at Duke University. She works on applications of…

EPISODE 145

Samuel Salzer: Benefits and Perils of Streaks

Samuel Salzer is a leading behavioral strategist and habit expert, having worked with organizations across Europe, Australia, and North America. Among other things, he’s…

EPISODE 144

Covid-19 Crisis: Kaveh Yazdifard on Uniting Innovators from Tehran

Kaveh Yazdifard is the Chief Innovation Officer at Sahab Pardaz located in Tehran, Iran. He is also the Director of Urban Innovation for the…

EPISODE 143

Covid-19 Crisis: Gretchen Chapman, PhD on The Psychology of Vaccinations

Gretchen Chapman, PhD researches how we make decisions about vaccines. She is a Professor in the Social & Decision Sciences department at Carnegie Mellon…

EPISODE 142

Covid-19 Crisis: Jules Nolan on The Kids are Alright – Insights on Coping Through the Crisis

Jules Nolan, PhD is a psychologist, speaker, and author. She is the president of the Minnesota School Psychology Association and chairwoman for the Human…

EPISODE 141

Thanks For No Memories During the Coronavirus Pandemic

Our inspiration this week comes from an article written by Shayla Love for Vice titled, “You’ll probably forget what it was like to live…

EPISODE 140

Covid-19 Crisis: Greg Davies, PhD on the Fetish of Optimization

Greg Davies, PhD is a specialist in applied behavioral finance, decision science, impact investing, and financial wellbeing. He founded the banking world’s first behavioral…

EPISODE 139

Iris Tzafrir: A Kind Word

Iris Tzafrir is an inspirational and influential cross-functional leader in strategy and business development, deal-making, value actualization, and merger integration. She grew up in…

EPISODE 138

Covid-19 Crisis: Anurag Vaish on Risk is a Feeling, Not a Number

Anurag Vaish is the co-founder and director of The FinalMile in Mumbai, India. In building the company’s practice of Behavior Architecture, Anurag led the…

EPISODE 137

Artem Petakov: Our Biggest Competitor is the Couch

Artem Petakov is a co-Founder of Noom, a behavioral change and weight loss product that marries both psychology and AI to help people form…

EPISODE 136

Covid-19 Crisis: Michael Boden on How Field Sales Reps Are Adapting to the Crisis

Michael Boden is the Head of U.S. Crop Protection Sales at Syngenta, a global agrochemicals and seeds firm based in Basel, Switzerland. He joined…

EPISODE 135

Covid-19 Crisis: Alessandro del Ponte on Moral Dilemmas with Economic Consequences

Alessandro del Ponte is a research fellow at the National University of Singapore working in the Behavioral Change program at the Global Asia Institute….

EPISODE 134

Stuart King: On the “What The Hell” Effect

Stuart King designs evidence-based interventions for children and adults to change their behavior and manage their weight. He has worked with the UK’s NHS…

EPISODE 133

Covid-19 Crisis: Cristina Bicchieri – Messaging Rules For Improving Social Behavior

Cristina Bicchieri, PhD is the S. J. Patterson Harvie Professor of Social Thought and Comparative Ethics, a Professor of Philosophy and Psychology at the University…

EPISODE 132

Grooving: The Impact of Temporal Discounting

In this grooving episode, Kurt and Tim discuss Temporal Discounting and it’s closely related cousins. Temporal discounting is where we tend to value events…

EPISODE 131

Covid-19 Crisis: Aline Holzwarth on Our Behavioral Immune System

Aline Holzwarth is the head of Behavioral Science at Pattern Health in Durham, North Carolina and a writer who supplies work to Behavioral Scientist…

EPISODE 130

Covid-19 Crisis: Brad Shuck, PhD on Pausing, Building Capacity and “Not Business as Usual”

Brad Shuck, PhD is an Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership, Evaluation and Organizational Development at the University of Louisville. He is…

EPISODE 129

Covid-19 Crisis: Eugen Dimant, PhD on the Roles of Social Norms and Good Science

Eugen Dimant, PhD is an Associate Professor of Practice in Behavioral and Decision Sciences, which is part of the new Center for Social Norms…

EPISODE 128

Covid-19 Crisis: Wendy Wood, PhD on Habits, Productivity and Being Gentle with Yourself

Wendy Wood, PhD is a social psychologist whose research addresses the ways that habits guide behavior. She researches and teaches at USC both in…

EPISODE 127

Deborah Small, PhD: Processing Probabilistic Events and Making Donations

Deborah Small, PhD is a professor of marketing in the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Her research crosses the intersections of psychology…

EPISODE 126

Covid-19 Crisis: Rodd Wagner on The Zen of Staying Safe

Rodd Wagner is a Forbes columnist and bestselling author of books on leadership, employee engagement and collaboration. Rodd’s books have been published in 10…

EPISODE 125

Covid-19 Crisis: Annie Duke on Hedging and the Last Disaster Syndrome

Annie Duke is an author, corporate speaker, and consultant in the decision-making space. Her most recent book, Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When…

EPISODE 124

Covid-19 Crisis: Ali Fenwick, PhD on Leveraging the Crisis for Good

Ali Fenwick, PhD is a Professor of Organizational Behavior at Hult International Business School in London and Dubai. He specializes in applying behavioural traits…

EPISODE 123

Covid-19 Crisis: James Brewer on Changing His Mind

James Brewer is the Director of Marketing Platforms and Global Customer Operations for Eli Lilly and Company. Over the years, Kurt and Tim have…

EPISODE 122

Covid-19 Crisis: Don’t Outsource Your Critical Thinking with Christian Hunt

Christian Hunt is the founder of Human Risk, a Behavioral Science consulting and training firm specializing in risk, compliance, conduct & culture. Previously, Christian…

EPISODE 121

Covid-19 Crisis: Barry Ritholtz on Keeping Perspective

Barry Ritholtz is the CIO of Ritholtz Wealth Management and the host of the Bloomberg podcast Masters in Business, where he talks almost as…

EPISODE 120

Covid-19 Crisis: Emotional Impact of WFH with Liz Fosslien

Liz Fosslien was our guest on Episode 56 and we asked her back to kick off our series on the behavioral aspects of how…

EPISODE 119

Managing Coronavirus – An Introduction to Weekly Grooves

This is an episode originally produced for Weekly Grooves. We hope you enjoy! Coronavirus and the disease it’s created – Covid-19 – is alive…

EPISODE 118

Chiara Varazzani: Behavioral Science Needs More Neuroscience

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…

EPISODE 117

John Fuisz: Tracking Emotional Vectors

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…

EPISODE 116

Andrew Wagner: The Economics Inside Online Games

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…

EPISODE 115

Ethical Application of Behavioral Science in the Workplace

In this special edition, bestselling author and Forbes contributor, Rodd Wagner, organized a question-and-answer session with Kurt and Tim in front of a live audience to…

EPISODE 114

Adam Hansen: Beyond Innovation

As a new product and innovation professional, Adam Hansen has always believed in the power of possibility – accepting new approaches, questioning conventional wisdom,…

EPISODE 113

Caroline Webb: Still Having a Great Day

For this episode, we’re republishing a terrific conversation we had with economist and author, Caroline Webb, PhD (in episode 33). We loved her book, How…

EPISODE 112

Grooving: The Behavioral Diagnosis

In this grooving session, Kurt and Tim share how to conduct a behavioral diagnosis. A behavioral diagnosis is a tool we use to uncover…

EPISODE 111

Announcing Weekly Grooves

Kurt and Tim are producing a new podcast called Weekly Grooves, launching January 31, 2020. Weekly Grooves is the weekly podcast that offers insights…

EPISODE 110

Steve Martin and Joe Marks: The Messenger is the Message

Stephen Martin and Joe Marks, PhD dive deep into one of the most important eye-openers about communication in our world today: the importance of…

EPISODE 109

Melina Palmer: Using Behavioral Economics to Help Businesses

Melina Palmer is the host of The Brainy Business podcast and she has dedicated her career to seeking answers to these questions for herself…

EPISODE 108

Grooving on Our Favorite Podcast Episodes of 2019

Too often, in our estimation, people make recommendations to us with the intent to improve our life but the effect on us is the…

EPISODE 107

Rory Sutherland: The Opposite of a Good Idea is a Good Idea

Rory Sutherland is a British advertising executive who became fascinated with behavioral science. Between his TED talks, books and articles, he has become one…

EPISODE 106

Jana Gallus: The Role of Precision in Incentives

Jana Gallus, PhD is an Assistant Professor of Strategy and Behavioral Decision Making at UCLA’s Anderson School of Business and our discussion dissected the…

EPISODE 105

Reuben Kline: When Too Many Choices Might Be Just Right

The research that Reuben Kline, PhD is working on is focused on climate change mitigation. As an associate professor of political science and the…

EPISODE 104

Eugen Dimant: What to Do About Bad Apples

Eugen Dimant, PhD is a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Master of Behavioral and Decision Sciences Department and a Senior Research Fellow at the Identity…

EPISODE 103

Grooving: Kiki and Bouba Minds

Imagine that these two drawings are called Kiki and Bouba in some alien language. If you had to guess which one was Kiki and…

EPISODE 102

Cristina Bicchieri: Social Norms are Bundles of Expectations

Cristina Bicchieri, PhD is the S. J. Patterson Harvie Professor of Social Thought and Comparative Ethics, a Professor of Philosophy and Psychology at the…

EPISODE 101

Grooving: 2019 Reading List

Kurt and Tim like to read about behavioral science and a variety of related fields. To help those interested in the subject, but unsure…

EPISODE 100

The 100th Episode Celebration in Philadelphia

This is Behavioral Grooves’ 100th episode! Who would have thought when we started out two years ago without a clue about HOW to produce…

EPISODE 99

Katy Milkman: Behavior Change for Good

Katy Milkman PhD is no ordinary behavioral scientist. She’s a Professor of Operations, Information and Decisions at Wharton and has a secondary faculty appointment…

EPISODE 98

Chris Nave: Educating BeSci Practitioners at UPenn

Chris Nave, PhD is the Associate Director of the Master of Behavioral and Decision Sciences Program at the University of Pennsylvania. We caught up…

EPISODE 97

Chris Brown: Avalanches and System 1 Thinking

Chris Brown is in human risk management and practice is set in backcountry snow. He grew up outside of Philadelphia and after graduating with…

EPISODE 96

Zarak Khan and Erik Johnson: Action Design Network and Beyond

Sometimes things just go better in twos and that was the case regarding our guests for this episode. Zarak Kahn is the Behavioral Innovation…

EPISODE 95

Victoria Shaffer: End of Life Decision Tools

Victoria Shaffer is a researcher and professor at the University of Missouri. Victoria focuses on applying decision psychology and behavioral economics to medical decision…

EPISODE 94

Grooving: UPenn Norms and Behavioral Change Workshop

Kurt and Tim were invited to attend the Norms and Behavioral Change (NoBeC) workshop at the University of Pennsylvania on October 17 and 18,…

EPISODE 93

Paul Hebert: 7 Deadly Incentive Sins

Paul Hebert knows incentives. He is the Vice President of Individual Performance Strategy at Creative Group, Inc. and a writer, speaker and consultant and…

EPISODE 92

Grooving: On Goals

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…

EPISODE 91

Brad Shuck: Being Ignored is Worse Than Having a Stapler Thrown at You

Brad Shuck, PhD is an Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership, Evaluation, and Organizational Development at the University of Louisville. He is…

EPISODE 90

Jim Guszcza: Data Science AND Behavioral Science, New Wine in a New Bottle

Jim Guszcza is the chief data scientist at Deloitte Analytics. His title paints a picture that he’s a total numbers geek. And that would…

EPISODE 89

Gina Merchant: Combating Misinformation

Gina Merchant, PhD is a behavioral scientist who wound her way through academia and into the corporate world for the purpose of improving the…

EPISODE 88

Annie Duke: Revisiting the Matrix

We are re-sharing our original September 2018 discussion with Annie Duke to announce the Behavioral Grooves 100th Episode on the evening of October 17,…

EPISODE 87

Announcements: Minneapolis and Philadelphia Events

Groovers, a couple of announcements for you: 1. Kurt and I are hosting a meetup immediately after Customer Focus North in Minneapolis on September 19,…

EPISODE 86

Christian Hunt: Mitigating Human Risk and The Algorithmic Mind

Christian Hunt is the founder of Human Risk, a Behavioral Science Consulting and Training firm specializing in the fields of Risk, Compliance, Conduct &…

EPISODE 85

Brian Ahearn: Influencing People Ethically

Brian Ahearn is Behavioral Grooves’ first repeat guest. (He was first featured in Episode 39: The Heart of Reciprocity.) We recently reconnected with him…

EPISODE 84

Alex Blau: The Implementation-Intention Framework

Alex Blau is a vice president at ideas42 with projects in consumer finance, design and decision-making, and international development. In our discussion, we focused on…

EPISODE 83

Steven Sisler: Seeing People as We Are

Steven Sisler may not be a household name, but he should be. Steve is a Master Level Behavioral Profiler and the lead Behavioral Analyst…

EPISODE 82

Chris Matyszczyk: Listening to Music While You Work

Our guest in this episode is a prolific writer and observer of the human condition, Chris Matyszczyk (pronounced ma-TIS-chick). We talked with Chris about…

EPISODE 81

Scott Jeffrey: On Justifiability

Because we’re taking a little break, we are republishing one of our favorite episodes: a conversation with Scott Jeffrey, PhD from Monmouth University in…

EPISODE 80

Grooving: On Behavioral Songs

Kurt and Tim groove on where behavioral science shows up in popular music. Social norms, loss aversion…all at its best. The human condition is…

EPISODE 79

Grooving on Cognitive Dissonance

We met up with Kathleen Vohs, PhD at our Behavioral Grooves Meetup in Minneapolis on the evening that her op-ed article appeared in the…

EPISODE 78

Matt Loper: Helping Patients Adhere to Medication Plans

In this episode, we spoke with Matt Loper, CEO and Co-Founder of Wellth, an app that helps people with chronic conditions improve their health…

EPISODE 77

Grooving: On Liking

In this episode, Kurt and Tim explore Robert Cialdini’s Fifth Principles of Influence: Liking. In it, we groove on the very powerful tool for…

EPISODE 76

Nurit Nobel: De-Biasing the Recruiting Process

In this episode, we spoke with Nurit Nobel, who is living in Stockholm, Sweden where she’s working on her PhD. Nurit is a co-founder…

EPISODE 75

Jonathan Mann: Integrating Behavioral Science into User Experience

The role of the User Experience (UX) designer is growing in corporations around the world. UX Designers have a great deal of influence over…

EPISODE 74

Grooving: On Scarcity

This episode is a discussion on the principle of scarcity. Kurt and Tim illuminate the power of this very fundamental effect in behavioral science…

EPISODE 73

Terry Esau: Carbon Fiber Therapist

Terry Esau is the founder of Free Bikes 4 Kids, a non-profit based in Minneapolis that collects and distributes tens of thousands of bikes…

EPISODE 72

Roger Dooley: Friction and Engagement

Roger Dooley is the author of Friction, his newest book that summarizes great examples of companies do good things to reduce friction for customers…

EPISODE 71

Alex Imas: Clawback Incentives and Tom Waits

Alex Imas is an assistant professor of economics in the Social & Decision Sciences department at Carnegie Mellon’s Dietrich College. His research dovetails perfectly…

EPISODE 70

Grooving: The Uber Science Symposium

On May 3, 2019, Kurt and Tim attended an invitation-only Science Symposium featuring a track on behavioral science at the San Francisco headquarters of…

EPISODE 69

Russell Golman: On Information Avoidance

Russell Golman is an Assistant Professor of Behavioral Economics and Decision Sciences in the Social & Decision Sciences Department at CMU. His pioneering, interdisciplinary…

EPISODE 68

Julie Downs: From Sexual Health to the Sahel

Julie Downs, PhD is an associate professor of psychology in the Social and Decision Sciences department at Carnegie Mellon’s Dietrich College and fits perfectly…

EPISODE 67

George Loewenstein: On a Functional Theory of Boredom

George Loewenstein, PhD is the Herbert A. Simon Professor of Economics and Psychology in the Social and Decision Sciences Department in the Dietrich College…

EPISODE 66

Silvia Saccardo: Ethics of Decisions and Italian Rap

Silvia Saccardo, PhD is an Assistant Professor of Management in the Social and Decision Sciences department in the Dietrich College of Humanities & Social Sciences…

EPISODE 65

Grooving: Listeners, can you help us?

At this writing, we’ve recorded and published 64 episodes of Behavioral Grooves and we’d like to make sure we’re on the right course for…

EPISODE 64

Danny Oppenheimer: Governance and Helicopter Parenting

Daniel Oppenheimer, PhD, known to all as “Danny,” is a professor of psychology in the Social and Decision Sciences department in the Dietrich College…

EPISODE 63

Jeff Galak: High Heels and Hedonic Decline

Jeff Galak, PhD is a professor at the Social and Decision Sciences department in the Dietrich College of Humanities & Social Sciences at Carnegie…

EPISODE 62

Linda Babcock: Helping Women Build Better Careers at Carnegie Mellon

This is the first in a series featuring researchers from Carnegie Mellon University’s Social and Decision Sciences (SDS) department in the Dietrich College of…

EPISODE 61

Amit Sood: The Ultimate Happiness Doctor

Looking for a simple 5-step plan to be happier? Our guest has one. Amit Sood, PhD is an author and physician at the world-renowned…

EPISODE 60

Francesca Gino: Curiosity and Rebellion Makes Your Career

Imagine a company where 100% of the employees are rebels – would it be chaotic or wonderful? Our guest from the Harvard Business School,…

EPISODE 59

Jeanie Whinghter and Afra Ahmad: Balance vs. Harmony

In this episode, we had the pleasure of speaking with two guests: Jeanie Whinghter, PhD and Afra Ahmad, PhD. Jeanie is the Chair of…

EPISODE 58

Michael Kaplan: Seeking Naysayers

Michael Kaplan is a private equity and angel investor who was part owner and president of the wildly successful carpet cleaning franchise called Zerorez….

EPISODE 57

Grooving on Reciprocity

This is the second episode in a series on the 6 Principles of Persuasion as identified by Robert Cialdini, PhD, in his 1984 book,…

EPISODE 56

Liz Fosslien: The Smile File

Liz Fosslien is the co-author and illustrator of No Hard Feelings: The secret power of embracing emotions at work. The book is a wickedly…

EPISODE 55

Luke Battye: The Peak-End Effect and Fast Food

Luke Battye is a product/service consultant with a background in Experimental Psychology and innovation. Luke founded a behavioral design consultancy, called Sprint Valley in…

EPISODE 54

Saurabh Bhargava: A More Serene Path to Financial Wellbeing

Saurabh Bhargava, PhD is a professor and researcher at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, and he joined us in the Behavioral Grooves studio during…

EPISODE 53

John Sweeney: Everything Is a Story

John Sweeney is the author of Innovation at the Speed of Laughter: 8 Secrets to World Class Idea Generation, corporate keynote speaker, improvisational impresario,…

EPISODE 52

Rodd Wagner: This Episode Could Save Your Life

The safety insights from our guest could save your life! Rodd Wagner is The New York Times bestselling author of the book “Widgets: The 12…

EPISODE 51

Thomas Steenburgh: How to Sell New Products

Thomas Steenburgh, PhD is a senior professor of Business Administration and Senior Associate Dean at the Darden School of Business at the University of…

EPISODE 50

Robert Cialdini, PhD: Littering, Egoism and Aretha Franklin

Robert Cialdini, PhD is counted among the greatest psychological researchers alive today and his published works have been cited thousands of times. His New…

EPISODE 49

Grooving: Political Stalemates – Insights on Consistency

This episode is first in a series called Exploring the Principles of Influence, named for Robert Cialdini, PhD’s principles in his 1984 book, Influence….

EPISODE 48

Ori Brafman: On Starfish, Burning Man and Efficient Markets

In this episode, we had a discussion with Ori Brafman about decentralization and how our brains respond to cash and cocaine. Ori is a…

EPISODE 47

Barry Ritholtz: How to Reduce Evolutionary Panic

In this special edition, we sat down with Barry Ritholtz, a Wall Street investment maven, host of the podcast Masters In Business, a regular…

EPISODE 46

Grooving on Too Much Stuff

After the gift-giving holidays – Hanukkah and Christmas – homes and apartments are bursting at the seams with more stuff. Knick-knacks, novelties, gewgaws, tchotchkes,…

EPISODE 45

Grooving: Top 10 Podcasts of 2018

During 2018, Behavioral Grooves published 44 episodes and expanded our viewers into more than 90 countries. To celebrate our successful first year, Kurt and…

EPISODE 44

Sam Tatam: Smelling the Brand

Sam Tatam is the behavioral strategy director at Ogilvy in London. Sam helps his clients develop new ways to manage behavioral issues they have…

EPISODE 43

Will Leach: Marketing to Mindstates

Will Leach is a marketer, econometrician and author whose recent book, Marketing to Mindstates, captured our attention before it was even published. His clever,…

EPISODE 42

Grooving on: New Year’s Resolutions

Every year, millions of people make resolutions at the start of the new year and researchers indicate that 91% of those resolutions are sunk…

EPISODE 41

Michael Hallsworth: From MINDSPACE to EAST

In this episode, we spoke with Dr. Michael Hallsworth PhD, the Managing Director of the North American Behavioral Insights Team. We met up with…

EPISODE 40

Re-Grooving on Annie Duke

This is a special Re-Grooving session for your speedy listening enjoyment. In this re-grooving episode, we are re-sharing the Grooving Session (only the Grooving…

EPISODE 39

Brian Ahearn: The Heart of Reciprocity

Brian Ahearn is the Chief Influence Officer at Influence People, LLC, and one of only 20 Cialdini Method Certified Trainers in the world. Brian’s…

EPISODE 38

Linnea Gandhi: Crushing on Statistics

University of Chicago MBA professor Linnea Gandhi talked with Kurt and Tim recently about her consulting work, her passion for statistics, grading papers and…

EPISODE 37

Grooving on Civil Discourse at the Thanksgiving Table

Political discussions in many places around the world have become more contentious than at any time in our recent history. It seems almost impossible…

EPISODE 36

David Yokum: Science is Hard

David Yokum may not be a household name but that shouldn’t stop you from listening. If you’ve ever wondered about police officer body cameras…

EPISODE 35

Grooving on Waiting: Why we don’t like to be idle

While Kurt and Tim were waiting for a podcast interviewee to log in recently, we decided to discuss the behavioral and psychological aspects of waiting….

EPISODE 34

Koen Smets: The Altered Chord

Koen Smets is not a household name, but it ought to be. Pronounced KEWN, our guest in this episode is Belgian by birth and…

EPISODE 33

Caroline Webb: Having a Good Day

Caroline Webb is an overachiever. Oxford, Cambridge, Levy Economics Institute, McKinsey & Associates, Carnegie Hall performer, Davos World Economic Forum speaker. It’s an inspiring…

EPISODE 32

Grooving on Books: Our Top 10 Recommended books on Behavioral Science

In this grooving session, Kurt and Tim discuss books that they believe every behavioral science nerd should (yes: should) read. Kurt was limited to 5…

EPISODE 31

Leaving the Matrix: Annie Duke and Insights into how you can improve your thinking!

Annie Duke’s latest book, Thinking in Bets, Making Smarter Decisions When You Don’t Have All the Facts, is a masterful mash-up of her life…

EPISODE 30

Education: The Path to a More Prosperous Life with Sarita Parikh

Sarita Parikh is the Senior Director of Consumer Experience and Strategy at GED Testing Service, a business that helps adults use education as a…

EPISODE 29

Beyond a Framework featuring Bri Williams

Bri Williams is an Australian pioneer in the application of behavioral sciences. She was an early follower of Dan Ariely, BJ Fogg and Richard…

EPISODE 28

Grooving on Priming: How Your Socks Influence Your Behavior

Priming is a technique whereby exposure to one stimulus influences a response to a subsequent stimulus without conscious guidance or intention. In other words,…

EPISODE 27

Grooving on Goals: The Magic of Goals

Goals are as common and as misunderstood as mobile phones. We think we know how to use them, but we don’t get it right…

EPISODE 26

Ruchir Sehra on The Behavioral Effects of Sleep

Ruchir Sehra is an entrepreneur, cardio physiologist, MBA and a curious and caring human being. Our interview with Ruchir was set in the discussion…

EPISODE 25

Facial Muscles Speak Louder Than Words with author Dan Hill

Dan Hill, PhD, researcher, author and founder of Sensory Logic, shares his wit, wisdom and insights into behavioral sciences in our interview. Dan’s work is in…

EPISODE 24

April Seifert on Digital Exhaust Analysis and Gender Stereotyping

April Seifert, PhD considers herself a multi-passionate person. In this episode, our conversation with her covered skydiving, motherhood, data nerdery, implicit bias assessments, gender…

EPISODE 23

Grooving on Self Identity

In this episode on the mysterious world of self-identity and self-schema, we offer 4 tips on how you make the most of your self-identity….

EPISODE 22

Grooving on Cash vs. Non-Cash

Kurt and Tim have experience in designing and implementing rewards programs for sales reps, channel partners and loyal customers as well as corporate recognition programs. In…

EPISODE 21

Grooving on Applying Behavioral Sciences at Your Office

Kurt and Tim have decades of experience applying BS (behavioral sciences) in corporate environments (and non-profits) and this episode walks through some tips that…

EPISODE 20

The Teaspoon Hustle – Part 2 with Rob Burnet

This podcast is Part 2 of a 2-part podcast. Our interview with Rob Burnet, founder of Well Told Story in Nairobi, Kenya went so well and so long that…

EPISODE 19

The Teaspoon Hustle – Part 1 with Rob Burnet

This podcast is Part 1 of a 2-part podcast. Our interview with Rob Burnet, founder of Well Told Story in Nairobi, Kenya went so well…

EPISODE 18

Stars – Cores – Laggards – Better Incentives for Your Sales Reps featuring Dr. Michael Ahearne

In this episode, we spoke with Michael Ahearne PhD, a professor and researcher at the University of Houston. Mike is an expert in sales…

EPISODE 17

The Accidental Behavioral Scientist with David Hussman

From being a recording engineer at Prince’s Paisley Park studios, to playing with the big-hair metal band Slave Raider to founding a successful Agile…

EPISODE 16

Nudge-A-Thon with Dr. Christina Gravert

Dr. Christina Gravert is a Post-Doc at the University of Gothenburg and Chief Behavioral Economist of Impactfully, a behavioral science consultancy. We talked to…

EPISODE 15

A New Leadership Model with Bain & Company’s Mark Horwitch

In this episode, we spoke to Mark Horwitch, Partner for Co-Creation ~ Flexibility ~ Openness ~ Vision at Bain & Company about his remarkable new…

EPISODE 14

Grooving with Kurt & Tim – The 4 Drive Model

When Kurt and Tim founded the Behavioral Grooves, we wanted to glean insights into the applications of behavioral sciences from world-renowned researchers and practitioners….

EPISODE 13

When Marketing Is Good, You Don’t See It

This episode’s guest is Kyle Simenson, a marketing consultant who noted that ‘When marketing is good, you can’t see it.’ His comment instantly brought…

EPISODE 12

Mapping the Influence of Corporate Cultures – Silke Brittain

When we started our conversation with Silke Brittain by talking about her thrill-seeking nature and her background in gymnastics, we couldn’t have predicted the deep conversation…

EPISODE 11

Growth Tribes and Pirate Funnels – Bernardo Nunes

Bernardo Nunes, PhD believes that applying behavioral sciences to startups is the fastest way to get entrepreneurs up and running in a fast-changing world. At…

EPISODE 10

Changing the World One View at a Time – with Reddit superstar Kal Turnbull

“One begins with a judgment and ends with a judgment, and the purpose of facts and figures is to come in between them is to…

EPISODE 9

Don’t Be Creepy – Data Transparency with Charlotte Blank

Charlotte Blank, Chief Behavioral Officer at Maritz, says her job is ‘selling science.’ In this interview, held immediately before our meetup gathering in Minneapolis…

EPISODE 8

The Value of Understanding Microexpressions for Leaders

Todd Fonseca is an executive in clinical research and communication for Medtronic and holds an interesting array of certifications including Certified Body Language Trainer….

EPISODE 7

The Employee Value Proposition at the NSA

Chris Dobyns, the Human Capital Strategic Consultant in the Office of Human Resource Strategy & Program Design at the NSA (the National Security Agency),…

EPISODE 6

Applying the 4 Drive Model to Rewards & Recognition

Many firms use rewards and incentives to motivate their reps. However, it was only when a complete audit of all the rewards and recognition tools…

EPISODE 5

Using Behavioral Science to Save Lives with Anurag Vaish,TheFinalMile

In this episode, we talk with Anurag Vaish, Co-Founder of TheFinalMile, one of the largest behavioral science consultancies in the world. TheFinalMile has offices in Mumbai…

EPISODE 4

Grooving on Branding with Aaron Snyder, PhD from Lexicon

In this episode, we spoke with Aaron Snyder, Director of Special Projects at Lexicon. Lexicon is one of the largest branding companies in the world. They are…

EPISODE 3

BG 3: Scott Jeffrey, PhD, Monmouth University

In this episode, we discuss the concept of justifiability with one of its earliest researchers, Scott Jeffrey, PhD. Scott was early among researchers, including…

EPISODE 2

Behavioral Grooves 2: Chad Emerson, President of The 421

Chad Emerson founded The 421 to help people with addictions make better decisions. He focuses his comments on being “change ready” and the importance…

EPISODE 1

Behavioral Grooves 1: James Heyman, PhD

In the Behavioral Grooves first podcast, Kurt Nelson, PhD and Tim Houlihan interview James Heyman, PhD, a professor and researcher at the University of…

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