I interviewed 60 Brits to debunk one of psychology’s greatest myths. Priming is one of the best-known biases in behavioural science. Kahneman mentions it 35 times in his best-selling book Thinking Fast and Slow. And yet, I’m not convinced it really works. In five separate experiments, I tested it. Does priming work, or is it a myth? 

The studies: 

Authenticity study: https://ibb.co/5W14DM2N

Creativity study: https://ibb.co/FbxxNMDf

Guilty study: https://ibb.co/XrTLXrY4

Anchoring + priming study: https://ibb.co/99LLw7G9

Reading time study: https://ibb.co/LDYc18yF

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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/

Learn more about Voxpopme: https://www.voxpopme.com/

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Sources: 

Bargh, J. A., Chen, M., & Burrows, L. (1996). Automaticity of social behavior: Direct effects of trait construct and stereotype activation on action. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71(2), 230–244.

Chernev, A. (2011). Semantic anchoring in sequential evaluations of vices and virtues. Journal of Consumer Research, 37(5), 761–774.

Doyen, S., Klein, O., Pichon, C. L., & Cleeremans, A. (2012). Behavioral priming: It's all in the mind, but whose mind? PLoS ONE, 7(1), e29081.

Fitzsimons, G. J., Chartrand, T. L., & Fitzsimons, G. M. (2008). Automatic effects of brand exposure on motivated behavior: How Apple makes you “think different”. Journal of Consumer Research, 35(1), 21–35.

Goldsmith, K., Cho, E., & Dhar, R. (2012). Priming creativity: The effects of subliminal priming on creative problem solving. In Z. Gürhan-Canli, C. Otnes, & R. Zhu (Eds.), Advances in Consumer Research (Vol. 40, pp. 472–473). Association for Consumer Research.

Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Kahneman, D. (2012, September 26). A letter to the priming research community [Open email].

Most marketers will remember Apple’s 1984 ad. 

Many consider it the “greatest ad of all time”. 

But you probably don’t know that just 12 months earlier, Apple released a similar ad that failed. 

Why? 

Today on Nudge, bestselling author and storytelling expert Will Storr explains why. 

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Access the bonus episode: https://nudge.kit.com/0d88279296

Read Will’s book: https://shorturl.at/yUGRC

Visit Will’s website: https://www.thescienceofstorytelling.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:

Bransford, J. D., & Johnson, M. K. (1972). Contextual prerequisites for understanding: Some investigations of comprehension and recall. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 11(6), 717–726.

Flock Associates – Recife Sport club: Immortal Fans. Integrated Campaign by Ogilvy Brazil. https://youtu.be/E99ijQScSB8?si=TS3poMArJIqb-FtE

Muth, C., Pepperell, R., & Carbon, C.-C. (2013). Give me Gestalt! Preference for cubist artworks revealing high detectability of objects. Leonardo, 46(5), 488–489.

Walker, R., & Glenn, J. (2009). Significant Objects. Retrieved from https://significantobjects.com/

Wiessner, P. W. (2014). Embers of society: Firelight talk among the Ju/’hoansi Bushmen. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, 111(39), 14027–14035. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1404212111

Instagram wasn’t always a runaway success. The first version of the app flopped. 

However, the Instagram founders were taught a behavioural science model that transformed their work. 

Today on Nudge, Bas Wouters, an expert behavioural science practitioner, explains Instagram's changes and how you can follow their model to improve your online marketing.

You’ll learn: 

How a simple question can increase reviews by 400% 

Why “The World’s Deepest Trash Can” decreased littering by 81%

How I increased email open rate by 4.5% (using Bas’s advice) 

And how Airbnb, Beer52, and Instagram use psychology to persuade you

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Sign up to Online Influence Academy: https://shorturl.at/vNYOU

Bas’s book Online Influence: https://www.onlineinfluence.com/book-online-influence/

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/

My email a/b test results: https://ibb.co/TBjBxTNr

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Sources: 

Fogg BJ (2019). Tiny habits: the small changes that change everything. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Wouters, B., & Groen, J. (2020). Online influence: Boost your results with proven behavioral science.

Zeigarnik BW (1927). Das Behalten erledigter und unerledigter Handlungen. Psychologische Forschung, 9:1-85.

I gave this marketing expert one hour to create an unforgettable ad. 

I showed his ad to 30 Brits and measured exactly how memorable it was. 

Does his marketing advice work? 

Or is it a waste of time? 

Listen to find out. 

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Learn more about Voxpopme: https://www.voxpopme.com/

Kopi Luwak control ad: https://ibb.co/NgXY0HZ0

Kopi Luwak ad Louis’s variant version: https://ibb.co/ymQG433V

Buy Louis's book: https://link.stfo.io/amazon

Sign up for STFO: https://www.stfo.io/newsletter

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/

This behavioural scientist spent one year doing a new thing every week.

He tried acupuncture, gambling, day-trading and dancing.

He visited Just Stop Oil meetups, cuddle workshops, and psychic readings.

He killed a chicken, drank breastmilk, and bungee jumped.

Did it make him happy? (And is there science to back up his ideas?

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Access the bonus episode: https://nudge.kit.com/64d1602e73

Follow Patrick’s newsletter: https://www.justdostuff.co.uk/

Read Patrick’s book: https://shorturl.at/pAy2h

Visit Patrick’s website: https://www.patrickfagan.co.uk/

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: 

Aronson, E., & Mills, J. (1959). The effect of severity of initiation on liking for a group. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 59(2), 177–181.

Boothby, E. J., Clark, M. S., & Bargh, J. A. (2014). Shared experiences are amplified. Psychological Science, 25(12), 2209–2216.

Van Boven, L., & Gilovich, T. (2003). To do or to have? That is the question. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85(6), 1193–1202.

Yang, Y., Liu, R.-D., Ding, Y., Lin, J., Ding, Z., & Yang, X. (2024). Time distortion for short-form video users. Computers in Human Behavior, 150, 107192.

Access the bonus episode: https://nudge.kit.com/64d1602e73

In just 27 minutes, you can learn 7 scientifically backed marketing tactics to apply to your website today. 

You’ll learn: 

How one word increased my email open rate by 6.4%.

The tiny reward that helped a cafe generate 1,276 5-star reviews.

Why adding steps increased job applicants by 20%.

How “you’ll lose X” reduced customer cancellations by 90%.

The irrelevant reason that boosted conversions by 41%.

And the irrational addition that increased conversions by 2x.

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Sign up for the Bas's community Online Influence: https://shorturl.at/vNYOU

My social proof a/b test results: https://ibb.co/mCsdwFVb

Kia Ora Cafe surprise reward: https://shorturl.at/YdG4q

Bas’s book Online Influence: https://www.onlineinfluence.com/book-online-influence/

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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Sources: 

Berridge KC, Kringelbach ML (2015). Pleasure systems in the brain. Neuron 6;86(3):646-64.

Behavioural Insights Team. (2014). EAST: Four simple ways to apply behavioural insights. Behavioural Insights Ltd.

Gonzales MH, Aronson E, Costanzo M (1988). Increasing the effectiveness of energy auditors: a field experiment. Journal of Applied Social Psychology 18:1046-66.

Langer, E. J., Blank, A., & Chanowitz, B. (1978). The mindlessness of ostensibly thoughtful action: The role of "placebic" information in interpersonal interaction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 36(6), 635–642. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.36.6.635

Grieser S (2014). Is too much choice killing your conversion rates? [Case studies] Unbounce. Via: www.unbounce.com/conversion-rate-optimization/psychology-of-choice-conversion-rates

Oatly, Tony’s, Ecosia and more all use behavioural science to persuade you. Today, author and founder Chris Baker explains how. 

You’ll learn about: 

Tony’s viral advent calendar. 

Oatly’s tiny change that transformed the coffee industry. 

Ecosia's smart nudge to keep users hooked. 

And one behavioural science principle Chris used to launch his brand. 

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Use code Obsolete25 for 25% off Chris’s book: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/obsolete-9781399416658/

Follow Chris on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cjpbaker/

Oatly’s old and new packaging: https://im.ge/i/image.vcr5tq

Sign up to 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: 

Baker, C. (2024). Obsolete: How change brands are changing the world. Bloomsbury Business.

Ferster, C. B., & Skinner, B. F. (1957). Schedules of reinforcement. New York, NY: Appleton-Century-Crofts.

Mohan, B., Buell, R. W., & John, L. K. (2020). Lifting the veil: The benefits of cost transparency. Marketing Science, 39(6), 1048–1062. https://doi.org/10.1287/mksc.2019.1200

Norton, M. I., Mochon, D., & Ariely, D. (2011). The IKEA effect: When labor leads to love. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 22(3), 453–460. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcps.2011.08.002

Raghunathan, R., Naylor, R. W., & Hoyer, W. D. (2006). The unhealthy = tasty intuition and its effects on taste inferences, enjoyment, and choice of food products. Journal of Marketing, 70(4), 170–184. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.70.4.170

Why did Charles Darwin, Virginia Woolf, and Henri Poincaré all follow the same four-hour rule? In this episode, bestselling author Oliver Burkeman returns to explain why three to four hours of focused work might be the secret to productivity and peace.

Access the bonus episode: https://nudge.kit.com/d4e55ac69d

You’ll learn:

The 3–4 hour rule: why it worked for Darwin, Trollope, and Dickens and still works today.

How to tackle overwhelming tasks with a simple mental trick called “just go to the shed.”

Why keeping a “done list” might be more motivating than a to-do list (feat. Marie Curie).

How inboxes, perfectionism, and productivity guilt trap us in modern-day Sisyphus cycles.

The two-part system Oliver uses to stay focused, without feeling overwhelmed by the chaos of life.

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Access the bonus episode: https://nudge.kit.com/d4e55ac69d

Sign up to 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/

Oliver’s book Four Thousand Weeks: https://www.oliverburkeman.com/fourthousandweeks

Oliver’s book Meditation for Mortals: https://www.oliverburkeman.com/meditationsformortals

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Sources: 

Burkeman, O. (2021). Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Burkeman, O. (2024). Meditations for Mortals: Four Weeks to Embrace Your Limitations and Make Time for What Counts. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Could staring at a painting for three hours make you more productive? 

In this episode, I try a strange experiment inspired by bestselling author Oliver Burkeman.

Based on lessons from his book Four Thousand Weeks, I stare at Picasso’s Guernica for three hours.

No phone, no distractions, just a notepad and mic.

Did I go mad? 

Access the bonus episode: https://nudge.kit.com/d4e55ac69d

You’ll learn:

Why investing time and effort can increase our appreciation (feat. the Mauritian ritual study).

How control impacts happiness, health, and even longevity (feat. nursing home experiment).

Why AI and “life-optimising” tools often leave us feeling more stressed, not less.

The power of patience (and how to cultivate it in a hyper-distracted world).

What happens when you do nothing for three hours…

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Access the bonus episode: https://nudge.kit.com/d4e55ac69d

Watch the 3-hour time lapse: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paKup2BuN38

Sign up to 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/

Oliver’s book Four Thousand Weeks: https://www.oliverburkeman.com/fourthousandweeks

Oliver’s book Meditation for Mortals: https://www.oliverburkeman.com/meditationsformortals

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Sources:

Burkeman, O. (2021). Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Burkeman, O. (2024). Meditations for Mortals: Four Weeks to Embrace Your Limitations and Make Time for What Counts. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Langer, E. J., & Rodin, J. (1976). The effects of choice and enhanced personal responsibility for the aged: A field experiment in an institutional setting. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 34(2), 191–198.

Xygalatas, D., Mitkidis, P., Fischer, R., Reddish, P., Skewes, J., Geertz, A. W., Roepstorff, A., & Bulbulia, J. (2013). Extreme rituals promote prosociality. Psychological Science, 24(8), 1602–1605.

How did a marketing campaign lead to one of the worst public health disasters in American history? 

In this episode, I investigate the rise and fall of the Sackler family, the pharmaceutical empire they built, and the marketing tactics that got millions addicted to opioids.

You’ll learn:

How reframing turned OxyContin from a last resort into a “safe” everyday drug.

Why a vague letter (not a study) became the foundation for Purdue’s 1% addiction claim.

How the Sacklers used doctors, pain groups, and celebrities to exploit authority bias.

Why repeating a false claim makes it more believable (feat. the mere exposure effect).

How behavioural science helped sell a deadly drug—and what we can learn from it.

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Shatterproof non-profit: https://shatterproof.org/

Empire of Pain: 

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/612861/empire-of-pain-by-patrick-radden-keefe/

Sign up to 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:

ABC News. (2025). Purdue Pharma, Sackler family to pay $7.4 billion opioid settlement [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1n2uuX1NaQo

LastWeekTonight. (2016). Opioids: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pdPrQFjo2o

CBS News. (2019). OxyContin maker facing over 2,000 opioid death-related lawsuits [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwGGlEFKrSs

ABC News. (2019). Local governments file lawsuit against the family behind OxyContin [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlSDhuhLedg

CBS News. (2022). Trump Organization’s accounting firm cuts ties over financial statements [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csAS4WLvMao

BBC News. (2013). Serpentine Sackler Gallery Opening [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YThcpSZIN0c

CBS New York. (2021). Metropolitan Museum Of Art Will Remove Sackler Name From Galleries [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_u29BL2CQE

CBC News. (2019). Dozens Storm The Guggenheim Museum In Protest Of Donor [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ci_yOI3Wyto

CBS News. (2019). Protestors stage a “Die In” at the Guggenheim Museum in New York [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYVvIwbxX2I

CNBC Television. (2020). Would have done ‘nothing’ differently in opioid crisis: Kathe Sackler says [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRl-Zjyf2UE

STAT. (2017). 1998 Purdue Pharma marketing video [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaxlJXpwkzs

GoLocal LIVE. (2019). Purdue Pharmaceutical Commercial 1998-Oxycontin [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCOl1exq3IM

CBS News. (2017). Behind Purdue Pharma’s marketing of OxyContin [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-jxKPpMvmA

LastWeekTonight. (2019). Opioids III: The Sacklers: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaCaIhfETsM

LastWeekTonight. (2021). McKinsey: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiOUojVd6xQ

CBS News. (2018). Whistleblower: Purdue Pharma continued deceptive sales practices after guilty plea [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5qQf3Po31M

Washington Post. (2019). Inside the opioid industry’s marketing machine [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIlpd40CpT0

CBC News. (2018). How One Man Made The Opioid Crisis Possible [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2AUIBB34nI

CBC News. (2019). Nan Goldin ‘Blizzard of Prescriptions’ Sackler Pain Guggenheim Protest & Die-In 2/9/19 [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2A4Tb8cOxE

Keefe, P. R. (2021). Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty. Doubleday. 

Cialdini, R. B. (2006). Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion (Revised ed.). Harper Business.