Behavioral Grooves Podcast

John Bargh, PhD is a Professor of Psychology and Management at Yale University. His name may be familiar because of the replication crisis, but there is so much more to John Bargh than a couple of experiments that were challenged during replication. John has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed articles, chapters in over 30 books, and he founded The ACME lab at Yale in order to research the unconscious and implicit influences on social judgment, motivation, and behavior. 

Over the years, his research has focused on embodied cognition effects, or how physical experiences (such as washing one’s hands or holding something warm or rough) influence metaphorically related social variables (like how physical warmth leads to feelings of physical warmth, for example). 

Recently, he’s been focused on how social goals and political attitudes can be influenced by the satisfaction of underlying physical-level motivations; for example, how immunization against the flu virus influences attitudes towards immigration as ‘invaders’ of one’s ‘cultural body.’

We feel fortunate to have such a wide-ranging and fun conversation with John and we’re pleased to share his insights and humor with our listeners.

If you’ve not subscribed to our Patreon site, please check it out at www.patreon.com/behavioralgrooves.

© 2020 Behavioral Grooves

John Bargh, PhD: https://psychology.yale.edu/people/john-bargh

ACME Lab: https://acmelab.yale.edu/

Bargh & Williams’ Coffee Study: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/suppl/2008/10/23/322.5901.606.DC1/Williams.SOM.pdf

Jeff Simpson, PhD: https://twin-cities.umn.edu/content/faculty-profile-jeffry-simpson

John Bowlby, PhD: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bowlby

Dante Alighieri “The Divine Comedy”: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divine_Comedy

Priming: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priming_(psychology)

Richard Nisbett, PhD: https://lsa.umich.edu/psych/people/emeriti-faculty/nisbett.html

Tim Wilson, PhD: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_Wilson

Gary Latham, PhD: https://www.rotman.utoronto.ca/FacultyAndResearch/Faculty/FacultyBios/Latham

Peter Gollwitzer, PhD: https://as.nyu.edu/psychology/people/faculty.peter-m-gollwitzer.html

Howard Gardner, PhD “The Mind’s New Science”: https://www.amazon.com/Minds-New-Science-Cognitive-Revolution/dp/0465046355

“The Effect of Primed Goals on Employee Performance: Implications for Human Resource Management,” Shantz & Latham: https://www-2.rotman.utoronto.ca/facbios/file/37%20-%20Shantz%20&%20Latham%20HRM%202011.pdf

On Diederik Stapel’s bad data: “The case of Diederik Stapel”: https://www.apa.org/science/about/psa/2011/12/diederik-stapel

Jeff Greenberg, PhD on “Terror Management Theory”: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/terror-management-theory

Sigmund Freud: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigmund_Freud

William James: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_James

Susan Fiske, PhD: https://psych.princeton.edu/person/susan-fiske

Apocalypse of St. Paul: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apocalypse_of_Paul

The Zeigarnik Effect: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XHpBr0VFcaT8wIUpr-9zMIb79dFMgOVFRxIZRybiftI/edit

Feng Shui: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feng_shui

Chameleon Effect: https://acmelab.yale.edu/sites/default/files/1999_the_chameleon_effect.pdf

Lucien Stryk: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucien_Stryk

Adam Grant “Pre-Crastination”: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/17/opinion/sunday/why-i-taught-myself-to-procrastinate.html

Kristen Berman on Behavioral Grooves – Episode 149: https://behavioralgrooves.com/uncategorized/covid-19-crisis-kristen-berman-on-remote-work-quaranteams-and-marinades/

Wim Hof: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wim_Hof

Gary Latham on Behavioral Grooves – Episode 147: https://behavioralgrooves.com/episode/gary-latham-phd-goal-setting-prompts-priming-and-skepticism/

King Louie & Bo$$ Woo “Gumbo Mobsters” (Drill): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BA1XYIdz3TA&feature=emb_title

Jimmy Page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Page

Robert Plant: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Plant

Talking Heads “Fear of Music”: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear_of_Music

Alan Parsons Project “Sirius (Eye in the Sky)”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkC_oi0ksuw

YoYo Ma on Bach Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major Prelude: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1prweT95Mo0

Howard Friedman is a data scientist, health economist, and writer with decades of experience in both the private and public sectors, as well as academia. He is widely known for his work as a statistical modeler and he currently lives in New York City and teaches at Columbia University. 

Howard's new book, Ultimate Price: The Value We Place on Life, is about how the monetary values assigned to our lives by governments, medical professionals, and insurers can determine who will survive during times of crisis. 

We talked to Howard about different models for the valuation of human life and how the crisis has revealed many opportunities for improvement.  The conversation’s content is sobering, but Howard keeps things light, whenever possible. We hope you’ll enjoy listening as much as we did. 

© 2020 Behavioral Grooves

Connect with Kurt and Tim: 

Kurt Nelson, PhD: @WhatMotivates  e-mail: [email protected] 

Tim Houlihan: @THoulihan  e-mail: [email protected] 

Lantern Group: http://lanterngroup.com/

BehaviorAlchemy: https://www.behavioralchemy.com/

Behavioral Grooves: https://behavioralgrooves.com/

Weekly Grooves: https://weeklygrooves.podbean.com/

Common Biases & Heuristics: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XHpBr0VFcaT8wIUpr-9zMIb79dFMgOVFRxIZRybiftI/edit#

Patreon Site for Behavioral Grooves: https://www.patreon.com/behavioralgrooves

General Coronavirus Info: 

Daily Newsletter Summarizing data from Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security: http://www.centerforhealthsecurity.org/newsroom/newsletters/e-newsletter-sign-up.html

CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

Great videos on the science behind this by Dr. Peter Attia – this is the first in a series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNVhLyAlfA4

What is herd immunity?: https://www.technologyreview.com/s/615375/what-is-herd-immunity-and-can-it-stop-the-coronavirus/

A list curated by [email protected] 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/11GLhX7hLf64Bxkdpv5hvYHqOjS1imlcMQFjJBJ-9oUM/edit

Coronavirus & Behavioral Science: 

Selected Links: The Behavioral Sice of Coronavirus: https://behavioralscientist.org/selected-links-the-behavioral-science-of-the-coronavirus-covid-19/

Why no one is reading your coronavirus email: https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/13/opinions/coronavirus-emails-effective-messaging-rogers/index.html

Handwashing can stop a virus, so why don’t we do it?: https://behavioralscientist.org/handwashing-can-stop-a-virus-so-why-dont-we-do-it-coronavirus-covid-19/

The behavioral science of handwashing: https://think.ing.com/articles/the-behavioural-science-of-hand-washing/ 

Ideas 42: The Behavioral Side of COVID-19 here: https://ideas42.org/covid19/ 

Greater Good: https://twitter.com/GreaterGoodSC

How We Can Cope During This Crisis: 

Tip Sheet from HUMU: https://humu.com/remote-nudges/

Resources for learning at home: https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/commentary/resources-learning-home-during-covid-19-school-closures?utm_source=join1440&utm_medium=email&utm_placement=etcetera

General Behavioral Science Links: 

Common Biases and Heuristics: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XHpBr0VFcaT8wIUpr-9zMIb79dFMgOVFRxIZRybiftI/edit#

Jonathan Haidt – 5 Moral Foundations: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_foundations_theory

Annie Duke’s “How To Decide”: https://www.amazon.com/How-Decide-Simple-Making-Choices/dp/0593084608

“16 Ways To Promote Hand Washing With Behavioral Science” article by Aline Holzwarth: https://www.forbes.com/sites/alineholzwarth/2020/03/25/handwashing-with-behavioral-science/#261b4b9f768d

Aline Holzwarth’s Playlist on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0H5fsQRrqslGdBhhx8d4Aw?si=0jra0rU1Qu2vQNtqjbRvZA

Deontological and Consequential Moralities: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-deontological/#DeoTheKan

Difference between descriptive and injunctive norms: https://psychology.stackexchange.com/questions/6193/whats-the-difference-between-injunctive-norms-and-descriptive-norms

Emotion Research from FinalMile: http://finalmile.in/research/

Pandemic Playbook from FinalMile: https://www.playbookforpandemic.com/

Irrational Labs Bootcamp: https://irrationallabs.com/learn/

Claire Bidwell Smith “Anxiety: The Missing Stage of Grief”: https://clairebidwellsmith.com/

On May 25, 2020, a white Minneapolis police officer killed George Floyd, an unarmed black man, by holding him down with a knee on his neck for over 8 minutes. This was done while three other officers either helped in holding down Mr. Floyd down or stood by watching. 

Mr. Floyd’s death is an unimaginable horror as it was not the result of a split-second or hair-trigger decision, but a callous, calculated effort that lasted more than 8 minutes.  

This killing kicked off a week of protests which grew darker as the nights went on.  As many as 81 buildings in Minneapolis have been burned, with 25 of them completely destroyed, and 270 businesses have been vandalized since Mr. Floyd’s death.

This hits home for Tim and Kurt. Tim lives only a few miles from the epicenter but has had people racing down his street, as they were deterred from the closed freeways by roadblocks – some of them threatening his neighbors with harm.  Kurt lives only blocks away from where some of the protests occurred and could smell the smoke and tear gas in the air, hear the chants of protesters, and see the police and national guard units patrolling up and down his street in the middle of the night as they stood watch to protect the neighborhood. The bank and post office that were burned down is where Kurt did his banking and sent his mail from. 

The loss of property in no way compares to the loss of human life – that is, Mr. Floyd’s life – and in no way compares to the hundreds of years of black suppression. These are terrible tragedies on many levels.

We’ve decided to talk about this on this podcast because it is personal for us – we have gone through a range of emotions and we thought that many of you might have been going through the same.  There have been similar incidents of outrage and protests in the past – Eric Garner and Michael Brown are just two that come to mind – but this one seems different.  Maybe it’s different because we live here and it’s so close…but maybe it’s different because it was the last straw that finally tipped the scales…let’s hope so.

Tally of Buildings Damaged in Minneapolis: https://www.startribune.com/these-minneapolis-st-paul-buildings-are-damaged-looted-after-george-floyd-protests/569930671/

Kareem Abdul Jabar – People Pushed to the Edge: https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2020-05-30/dont-understand-the-protests-what-youre-seeing-is-people-pushed-to-the-edge

“Psychological Research Explains Why People Protest” Forbes, May 20, 2020. By Nicole Fisher: https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicolefisher/2020/05/29/the-psychology-of-protests-reveals-why-americans-are-ready-for-action/#334d1f3bbbb6

White guy with AR-15 vs. Black guy with AR-15 video: https://www.facebook.com/KeithKuder/videos/866107570115697

Chris Pfeiffer is a Senior Business Analyst at Tegra Analytics. Chris specializes in salesforce effectiveness in the life science industry, which includes incentive compensation, targeting and segmentation, sales force sizing and optimization, statistical analysis, and business intelligence. 

Chris graduated from The Johns Hopkins University, where he received his Master of Science in Government Analytics, and La Salle University, where he received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (major in Finance with a minor in Economics). 

We spoke to Chris about some of the challenges brought on by the coronavirus crisis. We discussed sales quotas and sales compensation in an era where nearly nothing can be forecasted because there is nothing “business as usual” about our world today. He offered some excellent tips on how sales leaders can help manage their way through these uncharted waters. 

© 2020 Behavioral Grooves

Connect with Kurt and Tim: 

Kurt Nelson, PhD: @WhatMotivates  e-mail: [email protected] 

Tim Houlihan: @THoulihan  e-mail: [email protected] 

Lantern Group: http://lanterngroup.com/

BehaviorAlchemy: https://www.behavioralchemy.com/

Behavioral Grooves: https://behavioralgrooves.com/

Weekly Grooves: https://weeklygrooves.podbean.com/

Common Biases & Heuristics: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XHpBr0VFcaT8wIUpr-9zMIb79dFMgOVFRxIZRybiftI/edit#

Patreon Site for Behavioral Grooves: https://www.patreon.com/behavioralgrooves

General Coronavirus Info: 

Daily Newsletter Summarizing data from Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security: http://www.centerforhealthsecurity.org/newsroom/newsletters/e-newsletter-sign-up.html

CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

Great videos on the science behind this by Dr. Peter Attia – this is the first in a series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNVhLyAlfA4

What is herd immunity?: https://www.technologyreview.com/s/615375/what-is-herd-immunity-and-can-it-stop-the-coronavirus/

A list curated by [email protected] 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/11GLhX7hLf64Bxkdpv5hvYHqOjS1imlcMQFjJBJ-9oUM/edit

Coronavirus & Behavioral Science: 

Selected Links: The Behavioral Sice of Coronavirus: https://behavioralscientist.org/selected-links-the-behavioral-science-of-the-coronavirus-covid-19/

Why no one is reading your coronavirus email: https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/13/opinions/coronavirus-emails-effective-messaging-rogers/index.html

Handwashing can stop a virus, so why don’t we do it?: https://behavioralscientist.org/handwashing-can-stop-a-virus-so-why-dont-we-do-it-coronavirus-covid-19/

The behavioral science of handwashing: https://think.ing.com/articles/the-behavioural-science-of-hand-washing/ 

Ideas 42: The Behavioral Side of COVID-19 here: https://ideas42.org/covid19/ 

Greater Good: https://twitter.com/GreaterGoodSC

How We Can Cope During This Crisis: 

Tip Sheet from HUMU: https://humu.com/remote-nudges/

Resources for learning at home: https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/commentary/resources-learning-home-during-covid-19-school-closures?utm_source=join1440&utm_medium=email&utm_placement=etcetera

General Behavioral Science Links: 

Common Biases and Heuristics: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XHpBr0VFcaT8wIUpr-9zMIb79dFMgOVFRxIZRybiftI/edit#

Jonathan Haidt – 5 Moral Foundations: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_foundations_theory

Annie Duke’s “How To Decide”: https://www.amazon.com/How-Decide-Simple-Making-Choices/dp/0593084608

“16 Ways To Promote Hand Washing With Behavioral Science” article by Aline Holzwarth: https://www.forbes.com/sites/alineholzwarth/2020/03/25/handwashing-with-behavioral-science/#261b4b9f768d

Aline Holzwarth’s Playlist on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0H5fsQRrqslGdBhhx8d4Aw?si=0jra0rU1Qu2vQNtqjbRvZA

Deontological and Consequential Moralities: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-deontological/#DeoTheKan

Difference between descriptive and injunctive norms: https://psychology.stackexchange.com/questions/6193/whats-the-difference-between-injunctive-norms-and-descriptive-norms

Emotion Research from FinalMile: http://finalmile.in/research/

Pandemic Playbook from FinalMile: https://www.playbookforpandemic.com/

Irrational Labs Bootcamp: https://irrationallabs.com/learn/

Claire Bidwell Smith “Anxiety: The Missing Stage of Grief”: https://clairebidwellsmith.com/

Dan Hill, PhD is an internationally recognized expert on the role of emotions in politics, business, sports, and popular culture. He pioneered the use of facial coding (the analysis of facial expressions) in market research and has done work for over half of the world's top 100 consumer-oriented companies. He’s even received seven U.S. patents related to facial coding and he is an author on top of that.

We talked to Dan about one of his recent books called Famous Faces Decoded: A Guidebook for Reading Others. Unless you’ve never been lied to in your life, you know that words don’t tell the whole story: our faces often give away our true emotions. Frankly, we needed a break from our series on the coronavirus and Dan was just the balm we were looking for. 

Dan shares humous anecdotes and insights into the real emotions of the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Prince, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and you may imagine, Donald Trump. And in our grooving session, Kurt and Tim explore the potential evolutionary reasons for our conscious minds’ poor processing of facial expressions on others.

© 2020 Behavioral Grooves

Dan Hill, PhD: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-hill-emotionswizard/

Sensory Logic: https://www.sensorylogic.com/

Faces of the Week: https://emotionswizard.com/

Seven Emotions in Facial Coding: https://www.humintell.com/2010/06/the-seven-basic-emotions-do-you-know-them/

Soren Kierkegaard: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%B8ren_Kierkegaard

Donald Trump on Charlottesville: https://www.npr.org/2017/08/15/543743845/another-reversal-trump-now-says-counterprotesters-also-to-blame-for-charlottesvi

Wayne Gretzky: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayne_Gretzky

Michael Jordan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Jordan

Scottie Pippen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottie_Pippen

Dennis Rodman: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Rodman

“The Rational Animal”: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17290697-the-rational-animal

Kurt Nelson, PhD: @whatmotivates

Tim Houlihan: @THoulihan

Patreon Site for Behavioral Grooves: https://www.patreon.com/behavioralgrooves

The Beatles: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beatles

Johnny Cash: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Cash

Jimi Hendrix: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimi_Hendrix

Prince: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_(musician)

Claire Bidwell Smith is a licensed therapist specializing in grief and the author of three books of nonfiction, most recently ANXIETY: The Missing Stage of Grief. She has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, and a variety of other publications. 

She received her Master’s Degree in clinical psychology from Antioch University, and has recently transitioned her therapeutic practice to the East Coast of the United States while working with clients around the globe.

Our discussion with Claire focused on how a crisis is unique in its ability to generate grief, as well as anger and pain and anxiety. We talk about common problems that surface from not being able to grieve during the crisis in the same ways we would have traditionally. Claire shares some tips on how to manage grief during the pandemic and, interestingly, her list begins with “cut down on your screen time.”

In our grooving session, Kurt and Tim discuss anticipatory grief and how difficult this experience is with no reasonable end date. 

We hope you enjoy our conversation with Claire as much as we did. 

© 2020 Behavioral Grooves

Connect with Kurt and Tim: 

Kurt Nelson, PhD: @WhatMotivates  e-mail: [email protected] 

Tim Houlihan: @THoulihan  e-mail: [email protected] 

Lantern Group: http://lanterngroup.com/

BehaviorAlchemy: https://www.behavioralchemy.com/

Behavioral Grooves: https://behavioralgrooves.com/

Weekly Grooves: https://weeklygrooves.podbean.com/

Common Biases & Heuristics: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XHpBr0VFcaT8wIUpr-9zMIb79dFMgOVFRxIZRybiftI/edit#

Patreon Site for Behavioral Grooves: https://www.patreon.com/behavioralgrooves

General Coronavirus Info: 

Daily Newsletter Summarizing data from Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security: http://www.centerforhealthsecurity.org/newsroom/newsletters/e-newsletter-sign-up.html

CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

Great videos on the science behind this by Dr. Peter Attia – this is the first in a series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNVhLyAlfA4

What is herd immunity?: https://www.technologyreview.com/s/615375/what-is-herd-immunity-and-can-it-stop-the-coronavirus/

A list curated by [email protected] 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/11GLhX7hLf64Bxkdpv5hvYHqOjS1imlcMQFjJBJ-9oUM/edit

Coronavirus & Behavioral Science: 

Selected Links: The Behavioral Sice of Coronavirus: https://behavioralscientist.org/selected-links-the-behavioral-science-of-the-coronavirus-covid-19/

Why no one is reading your coronavirus email: https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/13/opinions/coronavirus-emails-effective-messaging-rogers/index.html

Handwashing can stop a virus, so why don’t we do it?: https://behavioralscientist.org/handwashing-can-stop-a-virus-so-why-dont-we-do-it-coronavirus-covid-19/

The behavioral science of handwashing: https://think.ing.com/articles/the-behavioural-science-of-hand-washing/ 

Ideas 42: The Behavioral Side of COVID-19 here: https://ideas42.org/covid19/ 

Greater Good: https://twitter.com/GreaterGoodSC

How We Can Cope During This Crisis: 

Tip Sheet from HUMU: https://humu.com/remote-nudges/

Resources for learning at home: https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/commentary/resources-learning-home-during-covid-19-school-closures?utm_source=join1440&utm_medium=email&utm_placement=etcetera

General Behavioral Science Links: 

Common Biases and Heuristics: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XHpBr0VFcaT8wIUpr-9zMIb79dFMgOVFRxIZRybiftI/edit#

Jonathan Haidt – 5 Moral Foundations: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_foundations_theory

Annie Duke’s “How To Decide”: https://www.amazon.com/How-Decide-Simple-Making-Choices/dp/0593084608

“16 Ways To Promote Hand Washing With Behavioral Science” article by Aline Holzwarth: https://www.forbes.com/sites/alineholzwarth/2020/03/25/handwashing-with-behavioral-science/#261b4b9f768d

Aline Holzwarth’s Playlist on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0H5fsQRrqslGdBhhx8d4Aw?si=0jra0rU1Qu2vQNtqjbRvZA

Deontological and Consequential Moralities: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-deontological/#DeoTheKan

Difference between descriptive and injunctive norms: https://psychology.stackexchange.com/questions/6193/whats-the-difference-between-injunctive-norms-and-descriptive-norms

Emotion Research from FinalMile: http://finalmile.in/research/

Pandemic Playbook from FinalMile: https://www.playbookforpandemic.com/

Irrational Labs Bootcamp: https://irrationallabs.com/learn/

Claire Bidwell Smith “Anxiety: The Missing Stage of Grief”: https://clairebidwellsmith.com/

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. They work focuses on the financial well-being of low-to-middle-income Americans.

She was also on the founding team for the behavioral economics group at Google and hosts one of the top behavioral change conferences globally, StartupOnomics. She co-authored a series of workbooks (with Dan Ariely) called Hacking Human Nature for Good: A Practical Guide to Changing Behavior.

Our conversation with Kristen began with some straightforward tips on boosting productivity while working in isolation, including intentional coordination and informal things like virtual lunch meetings. And she pointed out how too many emails and Zoom meetings crowd out time to think, analyze and, well, work. 

She also suggested a framework for creating “Quaranteams” and how we need to develop new social norms on how non-nuclear families can work and play together. 

We’re wondering if listeners have ideas on why SKYPE was blown out of the water by Zoom? Let us know!

We hope you enjoy the conversation with Kristen. 

© 2020 Behavioral Grooves

Connect with Kurt and Tim: 

Kurt Nelson, PhD: @WhatMotivates  e-mail: [email protected] 

Tim Houlihan: @THoulihan  e-mail: [email protected] 

Lantern Group: http://lanterngroup.com/

BehaviorAlchemy: https://www.behavioralchemy.com/

Behavioral Grooves: https://behavioralgrooves.com/

Weekly Grooves: https://weeklygrooves.podbean.com/

Common Biases & Heuristics: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XHpBr0VFcaT8wIUpr-9zMIb79dFMgOVFRxIZRybiftI/edit#

Patreon Site for Behavioral Grooves: https://www.patreon.com/behavioralgrooves

General Coronavirus Info: 

Daily Newsletter Summarizing data from Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security: http://www.centerforhealthsecurity.org/newsroom/newsletters/e-newsletter-sign-up.html

CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

Great videos on the science behind this by Dr. Peter Attia – this is the first in a series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNVhLyAlfA4

What is herd immunity?: https://www.technologyreview.com/s/615375/what-is-herd-immunity-and-can-it-stop-the-coronavirus/

A list curated by [email protected] 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/11GLhX7hLf64Bxkdpv5hvYHqOjS1imlcMQFjJBJ-9oUM/edit

Coronavirus & Behavioral Science: 

Selected Links: The Behavioral Sice of Coronavirus: https://behavioralscientist.org/selected-links-the-behavioral-science-of-the-coronavirus-covid-19/

Why no one is reading your coronavirus email: https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/13/opinions/coronavirus-emails-effective-messaging-rogers/index.html

Handwashing can stop a virus, so why don’t we do it?: https://behavioralscientist.org/handwashing-can-stop-a-virus-so-why-dont-we-do-it-coronavirus-covid-19/

The behavioral science of handwashing: https://think.ing.com/articles/the-behavioural-science-of-hand-washing/ 

Ideas 42: The Behavioral Side of COVID-19 here: https://ideas42.org/covid19/ 

Greater Good: https://twitter.com/GreaterGoodSC

How We Can Cope During This Crisis: 

Tip Sheet from HUMU: https://humu.com/remote-nudges/

Resources for learning at home: https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/commentary/resources-learning-home-during-covid-19-school-closures?utm_source=join1440&utm_medium=email&utm_placement=etcetera

General Behavioral Science Links: 

Common Biases and Heuristics: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XHpBr0VFcaT8wIUpr-9zMIb79dFMgOVFRxIZRybiftI/edit#

Jonathan Haidt – 5 Moral Foundations: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_foundations_theory

Annie Duke’s “How To Decide”: https://www.amazon.com/How-Decide-Simple-Making-Choices/dp/0593084608

“16 Ways To Promote Hand Washing With Behavioral Science” article by Aline Holzwarth: https://www.forbes.com/sites/alineholzwarth/2020/03/25/handwashing-with-behavioral-science/#261b4b9f768d

Aline Holzwarth’s Playlist on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0H5fsQRrqslGdBhhx8d4Aw?si=0jra0rU1Qu2vQNtqjbRvZA

Deontological and Consequential Moralities: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-deontological/#DeoTheKan

Difference between descriptive and injunctive norms: https://psychology.stackexchange.com/questions/6193/whats-the-difference-between-injunctive-norms-and-descriptive-norms

Emotion Research from FinalMile: http://finalmile.in/research/

Pandemic Playbook from FinalMile: https://www.playbookforpandemic.com/

Irrational Labs Bootcamp: https://irrationallabs.com/learn/

Stephen Curtis, PhD is a Clinical Psychologist with a doctorate in Neuroscience Experimental Psychology. He specializes in Performance Psychology with professional and college athletes, musicians, and corporate leaders to help them reach their highest levels of performance. 

Steve is the author of the proprietary Clarity Survey which has become a business research best practice instrument with Fortune 500 companies. Clarity uses common language answers to detect what consumers and employees consider their ideal CX and EX experiences, and in so doing, it offers tremendous insights for business leaders. 

In this episode, we focused on the ways in which our brain literally changes as we reinforce particular behaviors, as described by Hebb’s Law, and the enormous benefit of neuroplasticity. We also discussed the impact that BHAG’s (big hairy audacious goals) have on the frontal polar cortex of the brain and how it’s those monstrous goals that engage our imaginations, emotions, and as a result, our behaviors. 

Most importantly, Steve shared with us one of the greatest tips for life and work: practicing how to calm yourself. This was a terrific insight that upended years of rehearsing for musical performances and business presentations with a critical message: spend more time practicing how to be calm in uncertain situations. 

© 2020 Behavioral Grooves 

Connect with Kurt and Tim: 

Kurt Nelson, PhD: @WhatMotivates  e-mail: [email protected] 

Tim Houlihan: @THoulihan  e-mail: [email protected] 

Lantern Group: http://lanterngroup.com/

BehaviorAlchemy: https://www.behavioralchemy.com/

Behavioral Grooves: https://behavioralgrooves.com/

Weekly Grooves: https://weeklygrooves.podbean.com/

Common Biases & Heuristics: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XHpBr0VFcaT8wIUpr-9zMIb79dFMgOVFRxIZRybiftI/edit#

Patreon Site for Behavioral Grooves: https://www.patreon.com/behavioralgrooves

General Coronavirus Info: 

Daily Newsletter Summarizing data from Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security: http://www.centerforhealthsecurity.org/newsroom/newsletters/e-newsletter-sign-up.html

CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

Great videos on the science behind this by Dr. Peter Attia – this is the first in a series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNVhLyAlfA4

What is herd immunity?: https://www.technologyreview.com/s/615375/what-is-herd-immunity-and-can-it-stop-the-coronavirus/

A list curated by [email protected] 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/11GLhX7hLf64Bxkdpv5hvYHqOjS1imlcMQFjJBJ-9oUM/edit

Coronavirus & Behavioral Science: 

Selected Links: The Behavioral Sice of Coronavirus: https://behavioralscientist.org/selected-links-the-behavioral-science-of-the-coronavirus-covid-19/

Why no one is reading your coronavirus email: https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/13/opinions/coronavirus-emails-effective-messaging-rogers/index.html

Handwashing can stop a virus, so why don’t we do it?: https://behavioralscientist.org/handwashing-can-stop-a-virus-so-why-dont-we-do-it-coronavirus-covid-19/

The behavioral science of handwashing: https://think.ing.com/articles/the-behavioural-science-of-hand-washing/ 

Ideas 42: The Behavioral Side of COVID-19 here: https://ideas42.org/covid19/ 

Greater Good: https://twitter.com/GreaterGoodSC

How We Can Cope During This Crisis: 

Tip Sheet from HUMU: https://humu.com/remote-nudges/

Resources for learning at home: https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/commentary/resources-learning-home-during-covid-19-school-closures?utm_source=join1440&utm_medium=email&utm_placement=etcetera

General Behavioral Science Links: 

Common Biases and Heuristics: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XHpBr0VFcaT8wIUpr-9zMIb79dFMgOVFRxIZRybiftI/edit#

Jonathan Haidt – 5 Moral Foundations: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_foundations_theory

Annie Duke’s “How To Decide”: https://www.amazon.com/How-Decide-Simple-Making-Choices/dp/0593084608

“16 Ways To Promote Hand Washing With Behavioral Science” article by Aline Holzwarth: https://www.forbes.com/sites/alineholzwarth/2020/03/25/handwashing-with-behavioral-science/#261b4b9f768d

Aline Holzwarth’s Playlist on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0H5fsQRrqslGdBhhx8d4Aw?si=0jra0rU1Qu2vQNtqjbRvZA

Deontological and Consequential Moralities: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-deontological/#DeoTheKan

Difference between descriptive and injunctive norms: https://psychology.stackexchange.com/questions/6193/whats-the-difference-between-injunctive-norms-and-descriptive-norms

Emotion Research from FinalMile: http://finalmile.in/research/

Pandemic Playbook from FinalMile: https://www.playbookforpandemic.com/

Gary Latham, PhD is the Secretary of State Professor of Organizational Behaviour at the Rotman School of Management in the University of Toronto. His research in the field of organizational psychology has yielded over 200 peer-reviewed publications and he has written several books on the topic of goal setting. He and his lifelong research partner, Ed Locke PhD, are responsible for Goal Setting Theory, prized by both the scientific community and sales leaders around the world.

He is the only recipient of both the Distinguished Contributions to Science award and the Practice award from SIOP. Top it off, he is only the second researcher we’ve talked to on Behavioral Grooves that was cited in Kurt’s dissertation.

In our discussion with Professor Latham, we reviewed Goal Setting Theory, specific goals, participatory goals and talked about the relative importance of inductive and deductive reasoning. More importantly, we covered some of our favorite research on priming and were able to have a discussion about Kurt’s socks: are they prompts or primes? (You’ll have to listen to find out.)

If you like what you hear, please feel free to give us a quick review or sign up for cool rewards on our Patreon site (link below). Thanks for your support.

NOTE: We encountered some technical challenges while recording our conversation with Professor Latham and it’s audio quality is slightly below our standards. We considered a re-do, but we decided to stick with our original conversation, which is what we present in this episode. We hope you enjoy it.

© 2020 Behavioral Grooves

Gary Latham, PhD: https://www.rotman.utoronto.ca/FacultyAndResearch/Faculty/FacultyBios/Latham

Ed Locke, PhD: https://edwinlocke.com/

“Effects of goal setting and supervision on worker behavior in an industrial situation” (pulpwood industry study): https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1974-28825-001

“The effect of priming goals on organizational‑related behavior: My transition from skeptic to believer”: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2017-56606-020

Amanda Shantz, PhD: https://www.tcd.ie/business/people/amanda-shantz.php

John Bargh, PhD: https://psychology.yale.edu/people/john-bargh

Scott Jeffrey, PhD: https://www.monmouth.edu/directory/profiles/scott-a-jeffrey/

Ron Piccolo, PhD: https://business.ucf.edu/person/ron-piccolo/

Farrah Fawcett Poster: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farrah_Fawcett

Jana Gallus, PhD and Bruno Frey, PhD: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0001839218777229

Victoria Shaffer, PhD: https://psychology.missouri.edu/people/shaffer

“The Influence of In-Store Music on Wine Selections”: https://mindhacks.com/2006/02/06/music-wine-and-will/

Kurt Nelson, PhD: @whatmotivates

Tim Houlihan: @THoulihan

Patreon Site for Behavioral Grooves: https://www.patreon.com/behavioralgrooves

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 behavioral research, primarily in the financial services sector and public policy arena. She holds a Master of Public Policy degree from Duke University and her previous work experience includes a variety of nonprofits and charitable foundations.

As the leader of Common Cents Lab, she often develops partnerships with financial institutions to put behavioral science to good use through improving products, services and experiences for low-to-moderate households. 

We talked to Mariel about their work with low-to-middle-income households and the way the crisis is impacting them in ways that are not making headlines. Specifically, short-term savings rates are changing because so many households were caught flat-footed by mass layoffs, furloughs, and pay reductions. We also talked about how behavioral science helps us all to see problems better and gives us the tools to make better changes. 

We also discussed upward and downward social comparisons that occur when peeking into the homes of coworkers on video calls, and about expectations for productivity might change as a result of our massive work-from-home experience. 

We hope you enjoy our conversation with Mariel. 

© 2020 Behavioral Grooves

Connect with Kurt and Tim: 

Kurt Nelson, PhD: @WhatMotivates  e-mail: [email protected] 

Tim Houlihan: @THoulihan  e-mail: [email protected] 

Lantern Group: http://lanterngroup.com/

BehaviorAlchemy: https://www.behavioralchemy.com/

Behavioral Grooves: https://behavioralgrooves.com/

Weekly Grooves: https://weeklygrooves.podbean.com/

Common Biases & Heuristics: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XHpBr0VFcaT8wIUpr-9zMIb79dFMgOVFRxIZRybiftI/edit#

Patreon Site for Behavioral Grooves: https://www.patreon.com/behavioralgrooves

General Coronavirus Info: 

Daily Newsletter Summarizing data from Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security: http://www.centerforhealthsecurity.org/newsroom/newsletters/e-newsletter-sign-up.html

CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

Great videos on the science behind this by Dr. Peter Attia – this is the first in a series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNVhLyAlfA4

What is herd immunity?: https://www.technologyreview.com/s/615375/what-is-herd-immunity-and-can-it-stop-the-coronavirus/

A list curated by [email protected] 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/11GLhX7hLf64Bxkdpv5hvYHqOjS1imlcMQFjJBJ-9oUM/edit

Coronavirus & Behavioral Science: 

Selected Links: The Behavioral Sice of Coronavirus: https://behavioralscientist.org/selected-links-the-behavioral-science-of-the-coronavirus-covid-19/

Why no one is reading your coronavirus email: https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/13/opinions/coronavirus-emails-effective-messaging-rogers/index.html

Handwashing can stop a virus, so why don’t we do it?: https://behavioralscientist.org/handwashing-can-stop-a-virus-so-why-dont-we-do-it-coronavirus-covid-19/

The behavioral science of handwashing: https://think.ing.com/articles/the-behavioural-science-of-hand-washing/ 

Ideas 42: The Behavioral Side of COVID-19 here: https://ideas42.org/covid19/ 

Greater Good: https://twitter.com/GreaterGoodSC

How We Can Cope During This Crisis: 

Tip Sheet from HUMU: https://humu.com/remote-nudges/

Resources for learning at home: https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/commentary/resources-learning-home-during-covid-19-school-closures?utm_source=join1440&utm_medium=email&utm_placement=etcetera

General Behavioral Science Links: 

Common Biases and Heuristics: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XHpBr0VFcaT8wIUpr-9zMIb79dFMgOVFRxIZRybiftI/edit#

Jonathan Haidt – 5 Moral Foundations: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_foundations_theory

Annie Duke’s “How To Decide”: https://www.amazon.com/How-Decide-Simple-Making-Choices/dp/0593084608

“16 Ways To Promote Hand Washing With Behavioral Science” article by Aline Holzwarth: https://www.forbes.com/sites/alineholzwarth/2020/03/25/handwashing-with-behavioral-science/#261b4b9f768d

Aline Holzwarth’s Playlist on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0H5fsQRrqslGdBhhx8d4Aw?si=0jra0rU1Qu2vQNtqjbRvZA

Deontological and Consequential Moralities: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-deontological/#DeoTheKan

Difference between descriptive and injunctive norms: https://psychology.stackexchange.com/questions/6193/whats-the-difference-between-injunctive-norms-and-descriptive-norms

Emotion Research from FinalMile: http://finalmile.in/research/

Pandemic Playbook from FinalMile: https://www.playbookforpandemic.com/