• What In The Heck Is The Zeigarnik Effect?

    You’ve had a long day at work yet here you are, working late to cross a few things off your list. Why are you doing this? It’s probably the Zeigarnik Effect. What’s the Zeigarnik Effect? It’s those intrusive thoughts reminding you of all the things you’ve started but haven’t quite finished. Whether rationally-speaking it’s something you want to finish it or not, it’s your mind’s sometimes incomprehensible but……

  • I like the parallel here

    I like the parallel here between what happens in the video and what happens when how or where we do business changes. Watch all the way to the end, or you’ll miss it. (Source: http://www.youtube.com/)

  • Strategic Illusions

    Have you noticed how optical illusions are similar to business strategy issues? Some, like the illusion to your left, are very obvious when you’re not investigating them closely. You know something is happening, but you can’t find an example to investigate. Some illusions become stronger as you closely investigate them. Others are seen more easily from a distance. Some can be……

  • Monday Morning Performance Booster

    The Neuroskeptic points out a recent study seeming to indicate that if someone replaced your normally caffeinated coffee with decaf this morning, you may not notice the difference, but your performance would decline. The researchers set out to determine if coffee’s impact on performance was more placebo effect than fact, and chose an interesting design……

  • Tampering With The Jury

    We attribute emotions and motives to others, and assign credit or blame based on our judgment. How do we do it? And can we change others’ assessments in a consistent way by interfering with their brain’s processing? Hear scientist Rebecca Saxe on reading others’ minds. (Source: http://video.ted.com/)

  • Determining Value

    Our perception and other intangibles can completely transform our behavior and the value we place on objects and services, from marketing value to life value. This is an excellent and entertaining TED talk from ad man Rory Sutherland. (Source: http://video.ted.com/)

  • Suppress That Thought (Not!)

    Have you ever had a song you just couldn’t get out of your head? Laid awake fretting about your need to fall asleep? Or had some other unwanted thought that simply wouldn’t go away? (…that you then tweeted or posted on FaceBook…? …you know who you are…) Does it feel a bit like, “I have met the enemy, and he is…me?” Thanks to this……

  • Have you ever been in PowerPoint H-E-#-#?

    Have you ever been in PowerPoint H-E-#-#? If so, chances are this Don McMillian presentation will make those memories come rushing back. Slide-reading Nauseous colors Bullet Points For Everything This video may not be focused on neuro-behavior or behaviorial economics, but it definitely shows how presentation can overwhelm content in decision-making. (Source: http://www.youtube.com/)

  • Your Friendlier Future

    “Of course they’ll like you! Just get out there, smile and be friendly.” Sound familiar? The scientifc version of this (or at least one scientific version of it) is known as the Acceptance Prophecy: If you expect people to like and accept you, they will. If you don’t, they won’t. I know, it hardly seems fair, right?……

  • Flu Season Rx: Be More Sociable

    Do people ever ask you, “How do you find the time?” Or maybe, “How did you meet so many people?” If this sounds even a little bit like you, I’m guessing you are healthier than most people. Why? We used to think that belonging to too many groups, being too sociable, was bad for you. It complicates……

  • True False Confessions

    Would you admit guilt for something you didn’t do, just because someone accused you? What if they told you they had video? In a recently published Applied Cognitive Psychology study, working with a large group of people, all of whom had done nothing wrong, 100% admitted guilt when told there was video evidence of them stealing – or were……

  • 230?

    Have you heard the big buzz about the awesome new Volt EREV scheduled to come out next year? Chances are if you’ve heard about it, it hasn’t been with a positive spin. I’ve heard about it on NPR, where its not-yet-EPA-verified 230 miles per gallon claims were questioned, and on a few marketing sites critiquing the……