For two days this week Behavioural
Exchange, the International Behavioural Insights Conference made London the global epicentre of behavioural economics as applied to policy
and practice. Or, if you prefer, behavioural science. Or behavioural insight.
Or, as Daniel Kahneman memorably (and acerbically put it) when video-linked for
a transatlantic interview with Richard Thaler, “applied social psychology.”
Behaviour Workshops followed
the footsteps and soaked up two days of great talks and discussion sessions
from some of the greatest names in behavioural economics (and applied social
psychology!), with keynote sessions from Thaler and a virtual Kahneman (video linked from New York), as well
as Robert Cialdini, Steven Pinker, Dan Ariely, Max Bazerman and Eldar Shafir.
Plus a range of parallel sessions featuring experts from fields such as digital
behaviours, savings, education, crime, work, obesity, climate change and
international development.
It’s impossible to
summarise two such stimulating days - there's a lot of mental processing
still going on. In fact, there were so many great quotes that we will be
drip-feeding these into the blog over the next few postings.
As a taster, following are a
few of the great quotes from Richard Thaler’s conference appearance, starting
with his “Two Nudge Mantras”, notably:
1 If you want to nudge people to do something, make it easy.
2 We can’t do evidence-based policy without evidence.”
Another, memorable quote, which
he always puts in his book signings,
“Nudge for good.”
And here are a few more,
“It’s good to have policy where, 'if you do nothing, good things
happen.'”
“If you get great results, always replicate. If it looks too good to be
true, it probably is.”
“So far, nudge units have used a small amount of psychology and
virtually no economics.”
“People question the ethics when nudges are used in the public sector,
but not when they are used in the private sector...firms and government should
operate to the same standards of behaviour.”
“We didn’t invent nudging, it has been around forever. Private companies
do it. And we can’t control what people do with it.”
Plenty to engage System 2 and reflect upon there.
Speaking of which, here are some initial reflections on the conference.
Most Shocking Admission
A brilliant session on
Revealing Preferences, with Dan Ariely on trust and Google’s Chief Economist
Hal Varian on the rich data from search, was introduced by the Head of the UK
Government Economic Service, Sir Dave Ramsden. After noting how behavioural
economics was being incorporated into government economic policy making, he
admitted that, in his personal life, he had been using the same bank for the
last thirty plus years, ditto his car insurance, until last year. If the
government’s chief economist is such a victim of intertia bias and reluctance to
switch, it doesn’t portend well for the much-vaunted power of competition and consumer choice to drive market outcomes (a concept dear to HM Treasury)..
Most Terrifying Conference Workshop (Ever!)
One of the parallel
sessions, ‘You Are The Doctor’ investigated the how and why of medical errors – crucial, because these occur in around 10% of UK acute hospital
admissions, of which up to 75% are caused by cognitive errors and behavioural
biases. Workshop delegates played the role of doctor in an emergency room at
the end of a long shift. Using video with actors in key roles, and with a
prompt card to remind us of the cognitive and behavioural biases that lurk below our decision making, we had to make quick judgements with life-or-death
consequences for the patient. Responses were collected (thankfully,
anonymously) and aggregated, using electronic keypads. It’s a fair bet that pulse
rates, anxiety and blood pressure levels in the conference room were a lot
higher by the end of the workshop. Spoiler alert: we killed the patient.
Cognitive biases can kill!
The Corridors of Power
BIT CEO David Halpern noted
that behavioural economics and the impact of the Behavioural Insight Team had
gone “from the seminar table to the Cabinet table.” This was attested by the
presence of the head of the UK Civil Service, Cabinet Secretary Sir Jeremy
Heywood, and Matthew Hancock MP, Cabinet Office Minister, Paymaster General
(and co-author with Nadhim Zahwai MP of a book on the economic crash, ‘Masters of Nothing,’ which looks at the human
behaviour that caused the crash).
Lost In Translation: There Is No French word for Nudge
Look up Nudge in the
Collins online dictionary, and here’s what you get: 1. donner
un (petit) coup de coude à - to nudge each other se donner des coups de coude.
Noun : 1 (= push)
coup m de coude - to give sb a nudge donner
un (petit) coup de coude à qn. 2 (= gentle persuasion) coup m
de pouce - to
give sb a nudge in the right direction pousser doucement qn
dans la bonne direction. Or when, I
asked a French delegate, I learned that the nearest is apparently “incitation.” Despite
this, the French government does have a nudge unit. Only it's known as the Mission pour
“Methodes d’ecoute et d’innovation.” No doubt that helps to keep the Academie Francaise on
side.
My, How You’ve Grown
There were 800-900 of us in
the Westminster Plaza for the Behavioural Exchange 2015, from around 20
countries. According to BIT CEO David Halpern, this is more than double the
number of attendees at last year’s gathering in Sydney. It would have been hard
to imagine this even five years ago, when mention of the words “behavioural
economics” would normally generate a blank look.
Most Brilliant Conference Organisation
The BBC’s Home Editor, Mark
Easton, who hosted Day 2, commented that it had been the best-organised
conference he had ever attended. From a delegate’s perspective, that was also
true.
Penultimate Nudge
From the gent’s toilets at
the event. (Now there’s a tricky photo assignment).
Find Out More
Everything will be posted
online next week on storify
And Finally, A Behaviour Workshops
Nudge
To find out more about our
workshops, based on behavioural economics, behavioural science, behavioural
insight, applied social psychology and/or social marketing, please drop us an
email: behaviourworkshops@gmail.com. We offer workshops that
can be tailored to meet the needs of most organisations. Follow us on Twitter @BehaviourW
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