The Mere Exposure Effect Read online Loyal fans of Nudge will have heard me talk about the mere exposure effect. In 1969, psychologist Robert Zajonc¹ found that students rated unfamiliar Turkish words more favourably when they had seen them more often. It's not a revolutionary finding. We prefer things we're familiar with. And many great inventors knew this instinctively. Edison and the electric light bulb Thomas Edison understood that while the lightbulb was revolutionary, new inventions...
8 days ago • 1 min read
Specific Goals > Unspecific Goals Read online Unspecific goals don't work. Psychologists¹ Locke and Latham proved it. In 1975, the two researchers set up a real-world experiment at a logging company. Drivers were only loading trucks to 60% capacity. For the control, all staff members were given an unspecific goal: Unspecific goal = “Do your best.” Performance did not increase. The researchers then asked staff what a hard but fair goal would be. They said 94%. That became their new specific...
15 days ago • 1 min read
Differential Price Framing Read online Want people to go premium? Don’t show them the full price. Show them the difference. That’s the idea behind differential price framing. In 2019, David Hardisty¹ at UBC tested it with New York Times subscriptions. Group A saw this: – $9.99/month for web + app – $16.99/month for web, app, print, podcast, crossword Group B saw this: – $9.99/month for web + app – +$7/month for all the extras Same total price. Different framing. But in Group B, twice as many...
22 days ago • 1 min read
Veblen Effect Read online Last week, I wrote about how Blue-Emu successfully sells pain relief cream (that doesn't actually cure pain). It indicated that perception trumps reality and reminded me of this study 👇 Rory Sutherland described this eloquently in a recent talk, saying: “I don’t have a $0.79 headache—I’ve got a $3.99 headache!” It's not just painkillers that benefit from higher prices. Eco-products do too. Research¹ cited in the brilliant Science Says measured sales of sustainable...
29 days ago • 1 min read
Operational Transparency Read online Voltarol is the world's number one pain relief gel. Unlike almost every other gel on the market, Voltarol actually works. Clinical tests have been done to prove that the gel penetrates the skin to supply pain relief. And yet, there are dozens of other very successful paom relief creams that don't supply real pain relief. Take Blue-Emu, an over-the-counter cream with $42 million in annual sales. So, why is Blue-Emu successful in a world where Voltarol...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
The Ringelmann Effect Read online In 1882, French engineer Maximilien Ringelmann studied effort.¹ He measured how much weight each man could pull. Individually, the men could pull 85 kg. But in groups of seven, they averaged just 65 kg, a 24% drop. This became known as the Ringelmann Effect. Put simply, it proved that as group size increases, individual effort decreases. Most of us will have seen this in the workplace, typically in bloated meetings where nothing gets done. But it's not...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
The Effort Illusion Read online In 2003, two researchers¹ proved the illusion of effort. It means we value things more if we believe it took a lot of time to create. Chinander and Schweitzer had groups watch identical presentations. Groups were told one of two things: "This presentation took 8 hours and 34 minutes to prepare." "This presentation took 37 minutes to prepare." Those told the presentation took longer to prep rated it significantly higher. Can I prove this works? On Nudge, I like...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
The Nature Effect Read online Are you happier outside? In one 2013 study¹ one million iPhone notifications were sent to 20,000 Brits at various times of day, over a six-month period. The app prompted participants to report their happiness. The app used in the study The phone's GPS determined if the participant was outside or inside. Turns out, those outdoors were much happier. Compared to those inside, participants outside were "significantly and substantially happier", according to the...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
The Framing Effect Read online Many plant-based products are failing due to bad naming. In 2018¹, a study was conducted with 727 Brits who already ate meat. Renaming the “𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐭-𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭” to “𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝-𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭” made diners 200% more likely to pick the plant-based option. Similarly, renaming “𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐭-𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐡” as “𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝-𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐬𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐡” made it twice as popular. The paper went on to find that a Veggie Burger will be more popular if it’s called a “𝐋𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐫”. And...
2 months ago • 1 min read
