Eric Oliver, PhD is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago. Although the majority of his work is squarely in the realm of how we view our political systems and make political decisions, some of his work echoes moral psychology and sociology, and we find it fascinating. And, frankly, some of it is just downright fun to talk about. Eric’s observations come from more than 20 years of research, dozens of peer-reviewed papers, and he is the author of 5 books on political science. We specifically talked about how liberals and conservatives name their children, the rise of intuitionism, having dinner with a sports star rather than a rock star, and of course, he spoke in-depth about conspiracy theories. Most importantly, he walked us through some key aspects of how to have a conversation with someone who is on the opposite side of the conspiracy-theory belief system and, interestingly enough, it begins with empathy. Listen to the entire episode to hear all his insights and research anecdotes. They’ll put a smile on your face as well as fresh ideas into your brain! We have been fans of his work for some time and are grateful that Eric shared his insights with us. We think you’ll become a fan, too, if you’re not already one. © 2020 Behavioral Grooves   Links Eric Oliver, PhD: https://political-science.uchicago.edu/directory/eric-oliver Jonathan Haidt, PhD: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Haidt James Frazer, “The Golden Bough”: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Golden_Bough Katherine Surma on Credulity: https://www.jericoliver.com/uploads/1/1/8/9/118973414/surmaoliver3.5.18-final.pdf Laurie Santos, PhD: The Joe Effect: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GimHHAID_P0 Steve Kerr: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Kerr Colin Kaepernick: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_Kaepernick Charles Manson: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Manson   Musical Links LCD Sound System: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqq3BtGrpU8 Kurt Weil: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_Weill Phillip Glass: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M73x3O7dhmg Keith Richards and Chuck Berry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERVLy-ltjHs

Roy Baumeister, PhD is a world-renowned researcher known for his work on the subjects of willpower, self-control, and self-esteem and how they relate to human morality and success. Most recently, he is the author of The Power of Bad, with John Tierney, which explores how powerful bad experiences can be and how life is better when we seek out the good. We discussed a bit of the new book as well as some of his highly researched topics. Roy’s peer-reviewed papers have been cited more than 200,000 times and he’s published more than 30 books. As one might imagine, our conversation was packed with insights into how we feel, think and act based on the complex ways we view and experience the world. We felt like we were starting a master class when we hit the record button and we love sharing this conversation with you. Suffice it to say, we thoroughly enjoyed our conversation with this pioneer and we hope you do too. © 2020 Behavioral Grooves   Links Roy Baumeister, PhD: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Baumeister George Loewenstein, PhD: https://www.cmu.edu/dietrich/sds/people/faculty/george-loewenstein.html “The Power of Bad”: https://roybaumeister.com/books/ Dan Gilbert, PhD: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Gilbert_(psychologist) John Gottman, PhD: https://www.gottman.com/author/john-gottman-ph-d/ Suzanne Segerstrom, PhD: https://psychology.as.uky.edu/users/scsege0 Mark Maraven, PhD: https://www.albany.edu/psychology/faculty/mark-muraven John Cacioppo, PhD: https://news.uchicago.edu/story/john-t-cacioppo-pioneer-and-founder-field-social-neuroscience-1951-2018   Musical Links YoYo Ma: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1prweT95Mo0 Louis Armstrong: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmfeKUNDDYs John Coletrane: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsBbM5PIAHk Miles Davis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqNTltOGh5c Cannonball Adderley: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mN1SwOdbdBU Big Bands: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGq-eCoPSwA Bix Beiderbeck: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oW7YYt0F-K4 John McLaughlin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHbLq694PoU Stan Getz: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqQWVrfjatA  Snarky Puppy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kk0WRHV_vt8 Ministry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXCh9OhDiCI  

Susan Hunt Stevens is the Founder and CEO of WeSpire, a technology platform that helps achieve the company’s goals through better employee engagement. WeSpire delivers applications at scale including sustainability, diversity and inclusion; moreover, they enable employees to be recognized for shaping a welcoming community both inside and outside the firm. We talked to Susan about her observations on the value of building diverse teams, the creation of the psychologically safe workplace, and most importantly, the ethical application of behavioral science. She shared seven simple questions, created by Amy Edmonson, PhD at Harvard, to identify the levels of psychological safety within her client organizations. We encourage you to consider them for yourself. If you make a mistake on this team, it is often held against you. Members of this team are able to bring up problems and tough issues. People on this team sometimes reject others for being different. It is safe to take a risk on this team. It is difficult to ask other members of this team for help. No one on this team would deliberately act in a way that undermines my efforts. Working with members of this team, my unique skills and talents are valued and utilized. Susan’s insightful comments mix a passion for the application of good research and a desire to help build productive, profitable organizations that treat their people with respect. We also want to give a special shout to Emily Wagner for turning us on to Susan’s work. Thank you, Emily! © 2020 Behavioral Grooves   Links Susan Hunt Stevens: https://www.linkedin.com/in/huntstevens/ WeSpire: https://www.wespire.com/ Amy Edmondson, PhD: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/profile.aspx?facId=6451 Nir Eyal “Hooked”: https://www.nirandfar.com/hooked/ How to Measure Psychological Safety on Your Team: https://www.business2community.com/strategy/measure-psychological-safety-team-01730787 “I Hired a Wife” article: https://medium.com/@chrismorgan_1657/i-hired-a-wife-and-my-career-took-off-16dc8ae481fe Cass Sunstein Ethics Guide: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2526341 Susan Cain “Quiet”: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8520610-quiet Google’s Project Aristotle: https://www.inc.com/michael-schneider/google-thought-they-knew-how-to-create-the-perfect.html     Musical Links Irish Step Dancing from Riverdance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B718RsboGEI Drop Kick Murphys: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-64CaD8GXw Abba “Dancing Queen”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFrGuyw1V8s  

[NOTE: Republished in its entirety from original episode #104 on December 15, 2019.] Eugen Dimant, PhD is a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Master of Behavioral and Decision Sciences Department and a Senior Research Fellow at the Identity and Conflict Lab, Political Science Department – both at the University of Pennsylvania. His research is rooted in economics and sits at the crossroads of experimental behavioral economics, behavioral ethics, crime, and corruption, with much of his recent work focusing on the ways “bad apples” (people will malintent) can be thwarted. This is also manifest in his research on behavioral contagion of pro- and anti-social behavior among individuals and groups. Because we met up with him presenting a paper at NoBeC, a social norms conference, we also discussed the role of social norms in pro- and anti-social behaviors. We are inspired by Eugen’s work with social nudges and what can be done to minimize the impact of people who are out to corrupt systems and communities. And, we had a great time talking with this incredibly passionate researcher about his wide variety of interests. We are grateful to Eugen for reaching out to us as we were planning our 100th Episode celebration in Philadelphia. He invited us to the University of Pennsylvania’s NoBeC Conference – the Norms and Behavioral Change Conference – that was happening the same days that we were recording our 100th Episode. Eugen, along with his colleague Chris Nave, PhD, helped us arrange conversations with many researchers and speakers at the conference and we are forever grateful. Finally, we invite you to keep listening after our discussion with Eugen to hear Kurt and Tim’s Grooving Session and then the Bonus Track where we recap the key insights from the episode. © 2020 Behavioral Grooves LINKS: Eugen Dimant, PhD: https://www.sas.upenn.edu/lps/graduate/mbds/faculty/eugen-dimant NoBeC (Norms and Behavior Change Conference): https://web.sas.upenn.edu/nobec/ Cristina Bicchieri, PhD: https://upenn.academia.edu/CristinaBicchieri Gary Bolton, PhD: https://personal.utdallas.edu/~gxb122130/ Nudge: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nudge_theory Social Norms: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/social-norms/ Injunctive and Descriptive Norms: https://study.com/academy/lesson/injunctive-and-descriptive-group-norms-definitions-differences-examples.html Pluralistic Ignorance: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pluralistic_ignorance Peer Effects: https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences/applied-and-social-sciences-magazines/peer-effects Coleman’s Boat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGaz0xKG060 Chris Nave, PhD: https://www.sas.upenn.edu/lps/graduate/mbds/contact/christopher-nave Bobo Doll Effect: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobo_doll_experiment Robert Cialdini, PhD: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Cialdini Kiki and Bouba: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bouba/kiki_effect Pollstar: https://www.pollstar.com/   Musical Links Drake: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drake_(musician) Bushido: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bushido_(rapper) U2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U2 Ed Sheeran: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Sheeran Eagles: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eagles_(band) Rolling Stones: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rolling_Stones Fleetwood Mac: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fleetwood_Mac  

Nicole Fisher, DrPH is the president of Health and Human Rights Strategies and is a regular contributor to Forbes magazine on social justice issues. Her piece in Forbes about “The Psychology of Protests” is an excellent analysis of why people take to the streets. Nicole earned a Master’s in Public Health from the University of Chicago, then her Doctorate of Public Health from Chapel Hill, and she was also an Economics Fellow at George Mason University. We felt we could go wide and deep on our conversation with her and that’s exactly what happened. In our discussion, we talked about the need for grace and understanding, a concept called peer permission, the psychology of protests (from a piece that was written prior to George Floyd’s murder and the global outpouring of peaceful dissent throughout the world), and how the heart of the matter with a pandemic is public health. In the Grooving Session, Kurt and Tim also discussed the Peace Prayer of St. Francis and recommended, in the Bonus Track, to consider sidling up to someone you don’t see eye to eye with and learn about how and why they feel the way they do. You just might learn something! We hope you enjoy this episode and we encourage you to take a moment to give us a review as ratings go a long way in introducing us to new listeners. © 2020 Behavioral Grooves   Links Nicole Fisher, DrPH: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicole_Fisher   Nicole-related links:  Health & Human Rights Strategies: https://www.hhrstrategies.com Dr. Nicole Fisher Forbes Column: https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicolefisher/ YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYU0m9Esz1rFzx6pqvP0OIA Twitter: https://twitter.com/nic_fisher Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicfisher/?hl=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nicole.f.fisher   Groups and things we chatted about (that I remember...):  NOCOVID: https://nocovid.us NPR CodeSwitch: https://www.npr.org/2020/06/16/878963732/why-now-white-people Mythunderstood Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/69yTv2hOdUqmPe6tybNLCy?si=1hFJmcX8SfW5D2oXx1FAww Second Story Books: https://www.secondstorybooks.com/ Chris Graves: https://www.ogilvyconsulting.com/people/chris-graves/ John Barry, PhD: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_M._Barry The Prayer of St. Francis: https://www.loyolapress.com/catholic-resources/prayer/traditional-catholic-prayers/saints-prayers/peace-prayer-of-saint-francis/ Sheriff who walked with protesters: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6j1k9459pYk

Tara Austin is a strategist and was recently the Chief Strategy Officer for Kindred in London. Many of us know her for her public speaking events, like her presentation at Nudgestock in June 2020, and the amazing work she did with Rory Sutherland, Sam Tatam, and Jez Groom at Ogilvy over many years. We discussed a project she did with Ogilvy Change referred to as the Babies in the Borough. On the heels of the London riots in 2011, Tara wanted to see how a paper she’d read a few years earlier might apply to reduce crime in England. With the help of a master street painter, Ben Eine, the team gathered photos of babies from locals in the neighborhood and had them rendered on the security doors of businesses. After the babies’ faces were added to the shop shutters, the city saw declines in theft, vandalism and public urination year-over-year. We also talked about Edward de Bono, his development of lateral thinking and the six thinking hats. De Bono’s work can help us improve our decision making, which is likely to lead to greater happiness in our lives, and that’s always a win. Thank you for checking out our conversation with Tara, and if you like it, please leave us a review. © 2020 Behavioral Grooves   Links Tara Austin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tara-austin-78b2a780/ HOME Creative Consultancy: https://www.homeagency.co.uk/ The Grocer magazine: https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/ Ben Eine, street artist: https://beneine.co.uk/ Pinkie Campaign: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hWxU_ICoHM Edward DeBono, PhD: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_de_Bono “Six Thinking Hats”: https://www.debonogroup.com/services/core-programs/six-thinking-hats/ The “Cute Matters” paper is actually “Baby Schema in Infant Faces Induces Cuteness Perception and Motivation for Caretaking in Adults”:  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3260535/  Glocker, Melanie L et al. “Baby Schema in Infant Faces Induces Cuteness Perception and Motivation for Caretaking in Adults.” Ethology: formerly Zeitschrift fur Tierpsychologie vol. 115,3 (2009): 257-263. doi:10.1111/j.1439-0310.2008.01603.x Lateral Thinking: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lateral_thinking Jaywalking: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaywalking Beggar’s Banquet Records: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beggars_Banquet_Records Common Biases & Heuristics: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XHpBr0VFcaT8wIUpr-9zMIb79dFMgOVFRxIZRybiftI/edit Ozan Varol: https://ozanvarol.com/   Musical Links Dolly Parton “9  to 5”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbxUSsFXYo4 The Killers “Human”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIZdjT1472Y Lou Reed “Satellite of Love”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FH2EgYq_NCY U2 “Satellite of Love”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8q1zWNITuyg Gretchen Peters: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r07tGdLpKIQ Loretta Lynn “The Pill”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DcdONaKSQM Loretta Lynn “Coalminers Daughter”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlHJ9Tp24yY&list=PLsZQ89o7KvqJPUf2oKv8iHDhb25Puqbpd&index=28 “Pan Pipes of the Andes”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNCuRpdemew Spice Girls: “Who Do You Think You Are": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YriinrRGug

Elspeth Kirkman is responsible for BIT’s work on health, education, and local government. Prior to this role, she oversaw the establishment and growth of BIT’s North American office from New York. She has taught behavioral science at Harvard, acts as an expert advisor to a number of global institutions, and serves as a Senior Fellow for Casey Family Programs, advising on the applications of behavioral and decision science to child welfare systems. Prior to joining BIT in 2013, Elspeth was a management consultant working with government clients around the world. Due to some technical challenges, we weren’t able to record a full hour of conversation. However, in the time we had available we discussed how important models can be in helping us solve problems, especially the COM-B model. (COM-B focuses on three aspects of behavior change and they are Capability, Opportunity and Motivation.) We also discussed the central pillars for good application of behavioral science. Elspeth used words like, “context” and “pragmatism” and “actual impact” and it made us happy to hear those words. Finally, we talked about the future of behavioral science and Elspeth laid out a couple of important themes. On one hand, she suggested we study behavioral sciences in order to integrate the findings into the mainstreams of business and government policy. On the other hand, she imagines a future with more crossover of behavioral science with fields like AI and how Quantitative and Qualitative tools might work better together. We hope you enjoy our conversation with Elspeth as much as we did! © 2020 Behavioral Grooves   Links Elspeth Kirkman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elspethkirkman/ And…https://www.bi.team/people/elspeth-kirkman/ Co-Author with Michael Hallsworth: “Behavioral Insights” book: https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/behavioral-insights Katy Milkman Episode # 99 “Behavior Change for Good”: https://behavioralgrooves.com/episode/katy-milkman-behavior-change-for-good/ EAST Framework: https://www.bi.team/publications/east-four-simple-ways-to-apply-behavioural-insights/ COM-B Model: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3096582/     Musical Links Joni Mitchell: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAxjPfWOiqI Smashing Pumpkins: https://www.smashingpumpkins.com/ Violent Femmes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHapDS2fcFE James Taylor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfJWqjoekow Rolling Stones: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kl6q_9qZOs Paul Simon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fmf9ZJ_Yn0A David Bowie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZ_wnJSRFso Michael Jackson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOnqjkJTMaA U2 “Achtung, Baby”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdXczOeDVbw U2 “Joshua Tree”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AOQysQKE8A

Shlomi Ron is the CEO of the Visual Storytelling Institute. He co-founded the institute after 20 years of digital marketing with some of the largest brands in the world. Its purpose is to help business leaders rise above the noise through the power of storytelling and the effectiveness of visual media.   Shlomi is an author and his latest book is “Total Acuity: Tales with Marketing Morals.”  In it, he offers readers relatable real-world stories that reinforce the powerful visual storytelling principles.   We talked to Shlomi in the days just prior to Miami’s 2nd wave in the Coronavirus pandemic about the value that visual storytelling can have on pro-social initiatives such as homelessness. We also discussed the challenges advertisers and brands have at capturing our attention and some tips for accomplishing that.   We were also introduced to the concept of Social Semiotics, the way communication tools vary in social settings and context.   Links Shlomi Ron: http://www.shlomiron.com Visual Storytelling Institute: http://www.visualstorytell.com 1000 Miami Stories: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/hashtag/?keywords=%231000MiamiStories “Total Acuity: Tales with Marketing Morals”: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07ZCCM11F?ref_=pe_3052080_276849420 Dove Beauty Sketches: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=litXW91UauE Justin Trudeau Pause: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79nHwsqQNBA Audi 3-Hour Ambient Travel Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqYFgqN_q-w Scrubs Television Show on Hand Washing: https://www.deseret.com/entertainment/2020/3/18/21184967/coronavirus-covid-19-scrubs-clip-infection-spreads Death of George Floyd: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/31/us/george-floyd-investigation.html “Visual Grammar: A Design Handbook” by Christian Leborg: https://www.amazon.com/Visual-Grammar-Design-Briefs-Christian/dp/1568985819 Social Semiotics: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_semiotics Snapchat Logo: https://support.snapchat.com/en-US/a/ghost-logo-usage Avenue3 Miami 1001 Stories: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRtM2mTjoH8&feature=youtu.be “The Good The Bad & The Ugly”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1PfrmCGFnk Common Biases & Heuristics: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XHpBr0VFcaT8wIUpr-9zMIb79dFMgOVFRxIZRybiftI/edit?usp=sharing Music vs. Words for Memory: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2004-13047-013 Call and Response Songs: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Call_and_response_(music)   Musical Links Tori Amos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ipCKIxdHTs  

Stephen Wendel, PhD is an applied behavioral scientist who studies how digital products can help people take action more effectively. He currently serves as Head of Behavioral Science at Morningstar, leading a team of behavioral scientists and practitioners who conduct original research on saving and investment behavior.   Steve has authored “Designing for Behavior Change,” “Improving Employee Benefits,” and “Spiritual Design.” He is also a co-founder of the non-profit Action Design Network that focuses on educating the public on how to apply behavioral research to product development with monthly events in fifteen cities.   In our conversation, we talked about epistemic humility, which is a cool concept that was new to both Kurt and Tim. We also discussed a few of our favorite topics including the role of behavioral science in the corporate world, the ethical application of behavioral science, and how important context is to … well, everything.   We hope you enjoy our conversation with Steve and encourage you to take a moment to leave a review or check out our Patreon page at www.patreon.com/behavioralgrooves.   © 2020 Behavioral Grooves   Links Stephen Wendell, PhD: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sawendel/ BehavioralTechnology.co: https://www.behavioraltechnology.co/ Stephen Wendell, PhD, “Designing for Behavior Change”: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B089VDCG8C/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=sawendel-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B089VDCG8C&linkId=9eb146b1f7ac7c968bc2bc2c2bdeb6c1#ace-6308736939 Cass Sunstein: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cass_Sunstein Wendy Wood, PhD: https://www.marshall.usc.edu/personnel/wendy-wood Dan Ariely, “Honest Truth About Dishonesty”: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Honest_Truth_about_Dishonesty Irish Bohnet, “What Works”: https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674089037   Musical Links Shakira: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUT5rEU6pqM Daddy Yankee: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGIm0-dQd8M Raggaeton: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJXkYF-Oscg Christian Contemporary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjzLN8uYCig Johnny Cash: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5126CibNsk Merle Haggard “She Still Thinks I Still Care”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Dx3rS2N8yE  

[NOTE: This episode is republished from #50 in January 2019.] Robert Cialdini, PhD is counted among the greatest psychological researchers alive today and his published works have been cited thousands of times. His New York Times best-selling book, Influence, from 1984, is considered a classic for classroom and corporate use alike. He is an ardent author and a passionate professor, and his work has impacted millions. In short, Bob Cialdini has shaped the landscape of how sales and marketing workers do their jobs and how researchers frame their studies. In this episode of Behavioral Grooves, Bob took a few minutes to discuss some of his most underappreciated research and some of the new things he’s working on. We began with a study that used littering as a way to predict, before the polls closed, the outcome of an election by watching how voters treated candidate fliers left on their cars. One of the very elegant aspects of this study was that it required no surveys – merely the observation of behaviors in the parking lots of the polling places. The question the researchers sought to answer was this: How do voters treat the fliers of candidates they favor and of those they oppose? More specifically, do voters keep fliers from candidates they like and litter with the fliers of candidates they dislike?   Then, our conversation moved to a line of research that he’d investigated for over a decade: the motivations for pro-social behavior, such as giving to those in need. Bob reminds us that there are many motivators at play when one person helps out another, as when a passerby gives money to some asking for money on the street, but there is one motivator that stands out: egoism. Many of us believe that being charitable is an obligation or is driven by guilt, and while that is true to some degree, Bob’s collective research over more than a dozen years revealed that egoism, that selfish desire to feel good about ourselves, is at the heart of helping others. Then we went a step farther. Bob noted that helping others is more likely to occur when the person in need appears to be in-group or in-tribe. In other words, we’re more likely to be charitable if it appears the person asking for help is “like me.” The primary way we decide if someone is like us is to look at how they’re dressed. What kind of clothes are they wearing? In his studies, Bob found that soccer (football) fans were more likely to assist someone on the street if they were wearing the jersey of their favorite team. It’s unnerving to think that the clothes you wear could determine whether someone helps you or not. In our grooving session, Kurt and Tim discussed the impact of social identity and self-identity. We discussed articles by Michael Hogg and Roy Baumeister. We brought in books by Harvard Professor Teresa Amabile and Dan Levitan’s great treatise on the neurological effects of music. And on music, we chatted about how music makes us feel and we cited Semisonic’s “Closing Time” and Beethoven’s 5th Symphony as examples. Lastly, Bob is interested in hearing from YOU! He’d like listeners to send reports on how the principles of influence are being used in the real world to be included in his next book. If you’d like to be considered for his next work, please send your stories to info@influenceatwork.com We hope you enjoy our discussion with Bob Cialdini © 2020 Behavioral Grooves   Sponsor: The Creative Group, Inc. This episode is brought to you by Creative Group Inc.  Kurt and Tim have worked with CGI and have found that their process of co-creation of incentive program provides clients with more robust solutions.  Because their incentive and employee engagement programs are co-created, they reflect the truest aspects of the client’s organization and culture. CGI shares our belief that incentives and rewards shouldn’t be used to create brand mercenaries – but instead, should be about creating brand missionaries.  Check them out at https://www.creativegroupinc.com/.   A Note of Gratitude We are grateful to Bob for sharing his insights with us in this very fun conversation. However, it wouldn’t have happened without the concerted effort of Bobette Gordon. We thank her for her coordination and support to make put make our conversation with Bob a reality.   Links Robert Cialdini, PhD and Influence at Work: https://www.influenceatwork.com/ The Principle of Continuation in Gestalt Psychology. The Continuity Principle: http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Gestalt_principles#Continuity_principle Daniel Levitin: This is Your Brain on Music. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_Is_Your_Brain_on_Music Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1995). “The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation,” Psychological Bulletin, 117, 497–529. Festinger, L. (1954). “A theory of social comparison processes,” Human Relations, 7, 117–140. Hogg, M. A. (2001). “Social categorization, depersonalization, and group behavior. In M. A. Hogg & R. S. Tindale (Eds.), Blackwell handbook of social psychology: Group processes (pp. 56–85). Malden, MA: Blackwell. Walton, G., Cohen, G., Cwir, D., and Spencer, S. (2012) “Mere Belonging: The Power of Social Connections,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,, Vol. 102, No. 3, 513–532. Amabile, T., Kramer, S., Williams, S. (2011) The Progress Principle, Harvard Business Review Press. Aretha Franklin: “Think” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsL9UL9qbv8 Semisonic: “Closing Time” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGytDsqkQY  Ludwig von Beethoven: “5th Symphony” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxF7hDsU-HY Cassette tape: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassette_tape