Interview: Nick Chater on the illusion of stable preferences and how decisions are shaped in the moment

MichaelAaron and Richard explore why charity donations are especially resistant to typical marketing tactics. They unpack behavioral studies on anchoring, present preference bias, reciprocity, and overhead aversion that show small shifts in framing and timing can raise donations by double digits.

Harvard professor Michael Norton, author of The Ritual Effect, joins MichaelAaron and Richard to explore why identical actions feel meaningful to one person and trivial to another. They cover how Oreo, Stella Artois, and Guinness turn consumption into ritual, and what marketers should watch for ...

Guinness made you wait, Avis was second, VW was small. Andy Nairn and Richard unpack why owning a flaw beats hiding one, and how the same instinct led Lucky Generals to raise its own size in pitches before a prospect could ever hold it against them. 

MichaelAaron and Richard explore why half of chronic-illness patients skip their medication, and why scaring them into compliance backfires. They cover a study on avoiding bad medical news, a simple diagram that cut medication errors in half, and two studies showing doctors are swayed by menu or ...