We have launched Beyond Nudge Labs!!
Beyond Nudge Labs provide an excellent infrastructure for researchers from across the globe to conduct surveys and experimental research with our Indian participants. We take pride in ensuring global ethical standards and fair compensation for the participants. Do you wish to take part in our studies and get paid for your time?
Want to conduct an experiment or survey? Write to us at info@iben.co.in
New to behavioural experiments? Experimental Design: The Complete Pocket Guide by Bryn Farnsworth from iMotions has everything to get you started with the experimental methods in Behavioural Science. The author legibly explains the main steps with examples, the three types of experimental design with their strengths and limitations, and how you can measure human behaviour. The article also explains three measurements to avoid bias. It can certainly help you kick-start your journey to experimental design.
Moving on, let us take a look at the famous Violinist at the metro experiment. This study was conducted by the Washington Post to test how observant people are of their surroundings. During the study, pedestrians rushed by without realising that the musician playing at the entrance to the metro was a Grammy-winning musician, Joshua Bell. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars. In the 45 minutes, the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. Do we perceive beauty and pause to appreciate it? It concluded that many of us are not nearly as perceptive to our environment as we might like to be.
Online Experiments (ft Jo Evershed) - Pandemic moved everything online, even Behavioural Experiments! But will it have the same data quality as in-person experiments (lab or field)? What are the tools and options available to Behavioural scientists? To know more about these questions listen to this episode of Questioning Behavior featuring Jo Evershed, where innovation in Online Experiments, democratising the field of Behavioural Science, and many more things are discussed. (Listen here)
In Applied Behavioral Science: A four-part model, Matt Wallaert explains Behavioral Strategy, Insights, Design, and Impact Evaluation. Together these processes become Applied Behavioral Science which is explicitly concerned with changing behaviour as opposed to the academic behavioural sciences, which further our understanding of the basic principles underlying human behaviour.
Mistaken judgments and unfortunate decisions? Was it biased or noisy?
“Society has devoted a lot of attention to the problem of bias — and rightly so. But there is another type of error that attracts far less attention: noise.” In their article Bias is a big problem. But so is ‘Noise’ in The New York Times, Daniel Kahneman, Olivier Sibony and Cass R. Sunstein explain the crucial difference between the two and discuss the error from noise in detail. A case for giving more attention to the noise!
Is it customer loyalty or simply their habit?
“Customer is King” is an age-old business mantra that states the crucial importance of retaining customers for business success. But instead of an emotional commitment to remain loyal to a product, customers may simply stick to it out of habit. Evidence of the Status Quo Bias aka Default bias? I think so. In “Is It Loyalty or Habit?”, Ashok Sethi explores this question in terms of Habit Science by considering the rationale of creating habits and the impact of the variability of rewards to retain customers.
Star rating or customer reviews, which is better?
Matthew Rocklage et al. (2021) explored how online ratings of movies, restaurants, books, commercials, etc., and the language people use in reviews, particularly the level of emotion related to that thing’s success. In “Too Much of a Good Thing—Overly Positive Online Ratings—Makes for Difficult Decisions”, Evan Nesterak explains the concept of the positivity problem and gives an account of his conversation with Rocklage regarding their latest work.
Observing the non-obvious: How to spot trends around you - What's the difference between a fad and a trend? What is non - obvious thinking and why should we know about it? What is speed understanding and how to become good at it? To find out answers to these questions and more, listen to this episode of Behavioral Grooves Podcast featuring Rohit Bhargava. (Listen here)
Why our brains crave negativity- Why do negative events and emotions stick with us longer than positive ones? Why are we drawn to negative news/events more than positive ones? And how do marketers, politicians, journalists, and others leverage this aspect into their work? To know more about this and the negativity bias listen to this episode of Nudge: A Consumer Psychology Podcast featuring Adam Ferrier. (Listen here)
BE GOOD! Featuring Katy Milkman - How to recognise our internal barriers and implement strategies to minimise them - which is tailor-made for us? What are elastic habits and how can they help us? To know more about these and on temptation bundling, fresh start effects, and more listen to this episode from BE Good! By BVA Nudge Unit featuring Katy Milkman and her conversation on her newly released book "How To Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be" (Listen here)
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Brought to you by India Behavioural Economics Network
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Editors: Divya Purohit, Simran Odrani, Junofy Anto Rozarina