In 2020, the UK government told its citizens not to meet in groups of more than two. 

Despite this rule, the UK government were caught holding lockdown-breaking parties, which involved the Prime Minister. 

This ultimately led to Boris Johnson’s resignation in July 2022, but why? 

Why did this specific scandal make voters so angry? 

Today, with the Chief Behavioural Scientist at the Behavioural Insights Team, Michael Hallsworth, we uncover the psychology behind hypocrisy. 

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Read the Hypocrisy Trap: https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262050944/the-hypocrisy-trap/ 

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Today’s sources: 

Alicke, M., Gordon, E., & Rose, D. (2013). Hypocrisy: What counts? Philosophical Psychology, 26(5), 673–701.

Laurent, S. M., & Clark, B. A. (2019). What makes hypocrisy? Folk definitions, attitude/behavior combinations, attitude strength, and private/public distinctions. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 41(2), 104–121.

Powell, C. A. J., & Smith, R. H. (2012). Schadenfreude caused by the exposure of hypocrisy in others. Self and Identity, 12(4), 413–431.

Wagner, T., Lutz, R. J., & Weitz, B. A. (2009). Corporate hypocrisy: Overcoming the threat of inconsistent corporate social responsibility perceptions. Journal of Marketing, 73(6), 77–91.

Kipp Bodnar is HubSpot’s CMO. He’s also an AI expert. Today, I interview him about how he uses AI, how he expects marketing teams to change, and his four tips to help you adopt AI in your business.

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The Loop Marketing Playbook: https://clickhubspot.com/45054c

Kipp’s podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@MATGpod

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Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phill-agnew-22213187/

Watch Nudge on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@nudgepodcast/

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Today’s sources: 

HigherVisibility. (2025, February 7). New study from HigherVisibility reveals how search behavior is changing in 2025 [Press release].

Terwiesch, C. (2023). Would ChatGPT Get a Wharton MBA? A prediction based on its performance in the operations management course (White paper, Mack Institute for Innovation Management, The Wharton School).

Nightingale, S. J., & Farid, H. (2022). AI-synthesized faces are indistinguishable from real faces and more trustworthy. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119(8), e2120481119

In 2011, Coca-Cola introduced a white version of their Coca-Cola can. The drink inside was identical to original Coca-Cola, but customers drinking from this white can hated the taste. 

The white can made buyers think the Cola tasted worse. 

To explain why, I need to delve into the science of sensehacking. With Professor Adrian North, I’ll explain why tennis players grunt loudly, why cars smell different when new, how a tablecloth alters our taste, and that music changes what you buy. 

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Today’s sources 

Bschaden, A., Dörsam, A., Cvetko, K., & Stroebele-Benschop, N. (2020). The impact of lighting and table linen as ambient factors on meal intake and taste perception. Food Quality and Preference, 79, 103797.

Cañal-Bruland, R., Müller, F., Lach, B., & Spence, C. (2018). Auditory contributions to visual anticipation in tennis. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 36, 100–103.

Garber, M. (2012, July 26). The future of advertising will be squirted into your nostrils as you sit on a bus. The Atlantic.

Golan, M., & Fenko, A. (2015). Toward a sensory congruence model: Matching sounds with material properties. Food Quality and Preference, 46, 33–43.

Guéguen, N., Jacob, C., Lourel, M., & Pascual, A. (2012). When drivers see red: Car color and driving behavior. Color Research & Application, 37(5), 452–455.

Hanss, D., Steger, D., & Giesel, F. (2012). The influence of car color on driver behavior and perceptions of speed. Color Research & Application, 37(4), 304–309.

Hirsch, A. (1991, February 4). Preliminary results of olfaction Nike study. Marketing News, 25, 1–2.

Horswill, M. S., & Plooy, A. M. (2008). Auditory feedback influences perceived driving speed. Perception, 37(7), 1037–1043.

Leenders, M. A. A. M., Smidts, A., & El Haji, A. (2019). Ambient scent as a mood inducer in supermarkets: The role of scent intensity and time-pressure of shoppers. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 48, 270–280.

Milliman, R. E. (1982). Using background music to affect the behavior of supermarket shoppers. Journal of Marketing, 46(3), 86–91.

North, A. C., Hargreaves, D. J., & McKendrick, J. (1999). The influence of in-store music on wine selections. Journal of Applied Psychology, 84(2), 271–276.

Spence, C. (2021). Sensehacking: How to use the power of your senses for happier, healthier living. Viking.

Wall Street Journal. (2012, October 23). Why consumers doubt silent vacuum cleaners. Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970203406404578074671598804116

Zellner, D., Geller, T., Lyons, S., Pyper, A., & Riaz, K. (2017). Ethnic congruence of music and food affects food selection but not liking. Food Quality and Preference, 56, 126-129.

Is the classic forming, storming, norming, performing model wrong? In this episode of Nudge, Professor Colin Fisher challenges one of the most famous team-building frameworks and reveals what really drives teams to succeed.

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Read Colin’s book: https://colinmfisher.com/

Reading the Mind In the Eyes: https://embrace-autism.com/reading-the-mind-in-the-eyes-test/#test

Sign up for my newsletter: https://www.nudgepodcast.com/mailing-list 

Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phill-agnew-22213187/ 

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Today’s sources: 

Hackman, J. R., & Oldham, G. R. (1976). Motivation through the design of work: Test of a theory. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 16(2), 250–279.

Riedl, C., Kim, Y. J., Gupta, P., Malone, T. W., & Woolley, A. W. (2021). Quantifying collective intelligence in human groups. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(21), e2005737118 

Sherif, M. (1936). The psychology of social norms. Harper.

Staw, B. M. (1975). Attribution of the "causes" of performance: A general alternative interpretation of cross-sectional research on organizations. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 13(3), 414–432.

Ever felt like your team isn’t pulling its weight or sat through a meeting where nothing gets done? In this episode of Nudge, Professor Colin Fisher reveals why sometimes it’s actually better to work alone than in a group.

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Read Colin’s book: https://colinmfisher.com/

Sign up for my newsletter: https://www.nudgepodcast.com/mailing-list 

Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phill-agnew-22213187/ 

Watch Nudge on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@nudgepodcast/ 

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Today’s sources: 

Almaatouq, A., Alsobay, M., Yin, M., & Watts, D. J. (2021). Task complexity moderates group synergy. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(36), e2101062118

Darley, J. M., & Bats on, C. D. (1973). “From Jerusalem to Jericho”: A study of situational and dispositional variables in helping behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 27(1), 100–108.

Wuchty, S., Jones, B. F., & Uzzi, B. (2007). The increasing dominance of teams in production of knowledge. Science, 316(5827), 1036–1039.

Most people prefer AI art until they know it’s AI-generated. 

Today on Nudge, Professor of Consumer Psychology Matt Johnson explains why. 

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Watch the bonus episode: https://nudge.kit.com/5fa3398dfb  

More on Matt's books, work and newsletters: https://www.neuroscienceof.com/

Sign up for my newsletter: https://www.nudgepodcast.com/mailing-list 

Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phill-agnew-22213187/ 

Watch Nudge on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@nudgepodcast/ 

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Sources: 

Bellaiche, L., Shahi, R., Turpin, M. H., Ragnhildstveit, A., Sprockett, S., Barr, N., & Seli, P. (2023). Humans versus AI: Whether and why we prefer human-created compared to AI-created artwork. Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications, 8(1), 42.

Glenn, J., & Walker, R. (Eds.). (2012). Significant objects: 100 extraordinary stories about ordinary things. Fantagraphics.

Lecamwasam, K., & Ray Chaudhuri, T. (2025). Exploring listeners’ perceptions of AI-generated and human-composed music for functional emotional applications. arXiv preprint arXiv:2506.02856.

Oasis. (2002, April 15). Oasis – The Hindu Times (Official Video) [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/Wp5zZ5cdu98

Oasis – Lost In The Clouds (AI Song). (2024, approximate). Oasis – Lost In The Clouds (AI Song) [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/ZmC9RYRitLs

What determines who you vote for? 

You probably think it's due to rational reasons.

Economy. Sustainability. Immigration. Growth. 

But research shows that your choice of vote isn’t as logical as you might expect. 

In fact, all of our votes can be swayed by a largely irrelevant factor. 

And this factor can be used to change what we eat, wear, drink and buy. 

Hear how, on today’s episode of Nudge with Phil Graves.

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Phil’s book: https://shorturl.at/kzAta

Phil’s consultancy: https://www.philipgraves.net/consultancy/

Subscribe to the (free) Nudge Newsletter: https://nudge.ck.page/profile 

Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phill-agnew-22213187/ 

Watch Nudge on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@nudgepodcast/

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Today’s sources:

Cialdini, R. B., Reno, R. R., & Kallgren, C. A. (1990). A focus theory of normative conduct: Recycling the concept of norms to reduce littering in public places. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58(6), 1015–1026.

Davis, C. J., Bowers, J. S., & Memon, A. (2011). Social influence in televised election debates: A potential distortion of democracy. PLoS ONE, 6(3), e18154.

Latané, B., & Darley, J. M. (1968). Group inhibition of bystander intervention in emergencies. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 10(3), 215–221.

Martin, S. J. (2024). Influence at work: Capture attention, connect with others, convince people to act. The Economist Books (Pegasus Books).

Tanner, R. J., Ferraro, R., Chartrand, T. L., Bettman, J. R., & Van Bagren, R. (2008). Of chameleons and consumption: The impact of mimicry on choice and preferences. Journal of Consumer Research, April.

Trott, D. (2023). Crossover creativity: Real-life stories about where creativity comes from. Harriman House.

Have businesses become less accountable?

If something goes wrong with your flight, train, or takeaway, you’ll probably struggle to get a helpful response from someone.

Today’s guest on Nudge, economist Dan Davies, says this is by design.

He calls them Unaccountability Machines, and they’re taking over.

He explains that they’ve caused the world’s largest defamation settlement against Fox News, almost destroyed Boeing, and even massacred 400 Chinese squirrels.

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Dan’s book: https://profilebooks.com/work/the-unaccountability-machine/ 

Dan’s Nudgestock talk: https://youtu.be/W-2He-YzjRg?si=Gqk30nCPLDxxEh52

Subscribe to the (free) Nudge Newsletter: https://nudge.ck.page/profile 

Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phill-agnew-22213187/ 

Watch Nudge on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@nudgepodcast/

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Today’s sources: 

BBC News. (1999, April 15). Dutch airline in squirrel shredding row. BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/320721.stm

Davies, D. (2024). The Unaccountability Machine: Why big systems make terrible decisions—and how the world lost its mind. Profile Books.

I joined The Hustle Daily Show to chat about NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani's and how his campaign cracked the code of modern political psychology by embracing vulnerability, leading with policy over aesthetics, and masterfully triggering psychological reactance against establishment dismissal. I chatted with The Hustle Daily Show's Jon Weigell about attention economy, authenticity and psychological factors that made the Mamdani campaign win out. Plus: Superman soars at the box office and Snoop Dogg cashes in on soccer.
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Subscribe to the (free) Nudge Newsletter: https://nudge.ck.page/profile 

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A few weeks back I debunked five studies on priming.

But did I get it wrong? 

Today’s guest on Nudge thinks I missed something. 

Tune in to hear consumer behaviour expert Philip Graves explain his view on priming. 

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Phil’s book: https://shorturl.at/kzAta

Phil’s consultancy: https://www.philipgraves.net/consultancy/

Subscribe to the (free) Nudge Newsletter: https://nudge.ck.page/profile 

Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phill-agnew-22213187/ 

Watch Nudge on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@nudgepodcast/

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Today’s sources: 

Li, W., Moallem, I., Paller, K.A. & Gottfried, J.A. (2007) Subliminal smells can guide social preferences, Psychological Science, 18(12): 1044-9.

Plassmann, H., O' Doherty, J., Shiv, B., & Rangel, A. (2008) Marketing actions can modulate neural representations of experienced pleasantness, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 105(3).

Spence, C., & Wang, Q. (2017). Assessing the impact of closure type on wine ratings and mood. Beverages, 3(4), 52.

University of Georgia. (2008). Simple recipe for ad success: Just add art. ScienceDaily.

Wansink, B., & van Ittersum, K. (2007, August 6). Bad wine can ruin a good meal [Press release]. Cornell University.

Yoon, S.-O. & Simonson, I. (2008) Choice set configuration as a determinant of preference attribution and strength, Journal of Consumer Research, 35(2): 324.