Laziness is one of humanity’s most powerful driving forces. It’s also perhaps the greatest insight from the field of behavioral science — or the one that’s been put to the most practical use, anyway. It goes by the fancy name “default bias,” and societies around the world are now using [Keep reading]
It’s the end of January, which probably means you’ve already forgotten about your New Year’s resolutions. That’s ok. I’m here to help with today’s annoying overly simple trick for getting past a psychological hurdle you are facing. Want to achieve that goal you’ve given up on? Move the finish line [Keep reading]
Many political …err Facebook….arguments today boil down to warring anecdotes. Like this: “I don’t feel sorry for government workers who aren’t getting paid. Why don’t they have any savings? I know a Fed worker with a really expensive car. Maybe he shouldn’t have spent so much on that car!” A [Keep reading]
A friend tells you he only drinks coffee made in a French press. Then, you see someone order a French press at your favorite coffee shop. Next, you’re at Target and you see a display with ornate French Press gadgets for sale. And you conclude: “This French press thing is everywhere! [Keep reading]
When I first approached this topic, I was using instant replay video reviews from sporting events as a METAPHOR. Turns out, I was being far more literal than I realized. Even with slow-mo, zoomed in, frame-by-frame analysis, people can’t agree on what they see from yesterday’s Donald Trump – CNN [Keep reading]
Want your employees or consumers to finish something? Give them a decent head start. It sounds too simple to be true, but it is. People are more likely to complete a task if they are given a jump start at the beginning. This behavioral phenomenon is called “endowed progress.” We all [Keep reading]
End on a high note! Hit your last shot before leaving the basketball court. Make sure you say good-bye when you leave. And yes, all’s well that ends well. In my continuing series for PeopleScience.com on cognitive biases, I recently took on the Peak-End rule. It’s a simple concept that [Keep reading]
“Free” is a very powerful word. Just look at the lines on National Ice Cream day and you know that’s true. Companies use the word “free” all the time to get your attention. If you’ve the Red Tape Chronicles for a while, you know this is often a bad thing [Keep reading]
When you put your own blood, sweat, and tears into something, you value it more. You probably know that, but you probably don’t know this tendency has a name — the IKEA Effect — and it has many applications in the workplace and on America’s store shelves. I’ve mentioned this [Keep reading]
It’s Memorial Day, the unofficial start of summer vacation season, which means it’s my annual chance to remind you that far too few of you are actually taking vacations. It’s also a good time to let you all know that I am now writing stories for a cool website named [Keep reading]
Bob Sullivan