Consumer Insights
Overwhelmed by Choice (1/2): Consumers and Green Energy
The behavioral science of the "bandwagon effect" can be leveraged to help turn more communities toward greener energy sources.
How (Not) to Use Behavioural Economics to Influence Consumer Decisions
How does Viagogo, an online marketplace for ticket resale, apply behavioural economics to influence consumer decisions?
Does Knowing Your FICO Score Change Financial Behavior?
A simple email may prove an effective mechanism for helping consumers up their financial game.
Three Thought Patterns Which Let Advertisers Influence You on Social Media
How (and and to what end) might advertisers be aiming to manipulate us on social media?
A Better Explanation Of The Endowment Effect
The endowment effect is presumed to have a famous cause: loss aversion. This article proposes a better explanation for the effect.
Why Is the Backward Research Method So Effective?
So far, it has been used mainly by market researchers, but any applied psychological researcher will benefit from designing research the "backward" way.
How Does Anchoring Impact Our Decisions?
Anchoring is among the most prevalent and impactful cognitive biases that we encounter in our daily lives, particularly when making decisions under uncertainty.
Are We Happier Than We Think We Are?
Would you like to feel happier? Shortly before his death, University of Chicago professor Hillel Einhorn weighed in on this issue in a rare interview.
The Game That Keeps On Giving
How can we distinguish between altruistic donors that give without any expectation of reciprocation versus ‘warm-glow’ donors who give to receive rewards?
Mind Your Heart: Irrationally Giving
Research shows that identifiable aid recipients elicit more empathy than otherwise unidentified individuals in need. In this article, the implications of an emotional nudge are discussed further.
The Weight Of The Anchor Effect
Basic economic theory informs us that prices are set by a persons willingness to pay. But, what is behind a persons willingness to pay? The answer may astonish you.
Why Overheads Go Over Our Heads
Donors’ aversion to overheads significantly impedes charitable contributions. In this article, solutions sourced from behavioral insights are offered.
Why More Choice Means Less Freedom
Many corporations abstractly uphold that more choice leads to more customer utility. Upon closer inspection, the inadequacies of this line of thinking begins to unfold.
Consumer Patterns Of The New American
US consumers feel better about their financial situation than they did a year ago, but they’re still hesitant to spend too much.
The Impact Of FREE On Consumer Decision-Making
A Turkish and Russian proverb says that “Vinegar that is free, is sweeter than honey”.