Biases

  • The Pratfall Effect

    The Pratfall Effect is when someone becomes more likeable after making a small mistake. This idea comes from a study by a psychologist named Elliot Aronson in the 1960s. He found that if a smart or skilled person makes a little blunder, like spilling coffee, people actually like them more. It shows that nobody is…

  • The Labour Illusion Effect

    When we are looking to get value from a high-ticket purchase we tend to see quality in the time something is in our lives. When in fact not all things provide value in this way and we are left a bit underwhelmed with the experience. Say you booking a flight, you jump on Flight Centre…

  • Which Bias Would I Leverage First?

    Got asked the other night at dinner, which lever I would pull first in any business when it came to behavioural science. As this is general advice. I would say Social Proof. The status game gets more and more insane the older I get, so without a doubt that one. But if you are a…

  • Removing Obstructions is Better Than Encouraging Change

    There’s plenty of modern experimental evidence to show the importance of removing obstructing forces. For example, a 2017 study by Peter Bergman and Todd Rogers monitored the impact of friction on sign-up rates for a new educational service offering parents advice on children’s revision. The psychologists randomly assigned parents to one of three sign-up routes: