Bespoke Workshops

Introduction to Behavioural Science

We can introduce you to some of the foundational concepts in behavioural science, and how understanding the psychological basis of decision making can be put to good use in business settings. We can cover concepts such as rationality, transitivity in choices, and whether people have introspective insight into the reason they behave the way they do. We can show how relying on people to explain their behaviour or preferences can sometimes lead us astray, and we can illustrate how simple experimental tools can be used to better isolate the motives underpinning decisions and behaviour.

Heuristics & Biases

We can show how the way information is presented can influence how people behave in different settings (i.e. framing effects) , and illustrate the power of salient anchor points in price setting and value estimation.  We can introduce some classic heuristics or shortcuts to decision-making and how they sometimes can lead to people acting “irrationally”.

Decisions Under Risk & Uncertainty

We can introduce the most well-known model describing how people make decisions under risk and uncertainty (Prospect Theory), drawing out lessons for understanding our own decision making (e.g., how an aversion to losses pervades much of our decision making). We can introduce a process model (Decision by Sampling), explaining how humans make decisions in line with Prospect Theory, with considerable implications for marketing. We can show how information can be gleaned from the way the information is presented, as well as what is presented. Such an understanding is important when applying behavioural science insights.

Causal Thinking

Decision making is often underpinned by our causal beliefs. Many of the crucial questions in organisational settings require us to estimate the effects of our actions. For example, we want to know whether paying for advertising will increase page clicks and revenue; or how different hiring decisions might affect team performance. We might also want to reflect on decisions or actions we have taken and to estimate how things might have been different if we had acted differently, or if the market conditions (for example) had been different. To address these kinds of questions we need causal models, which allow us to predict the consequences of interventions and to explore what-ifs and counterfactuals. We can show you how to harness your natural propensity for causal thinking and also how to avoid some of the common pitfalls in establishing and exploiting causal relations.

Social Heuristics

Most of the behaviours we are interested in observing or influencing occur within a social setting and are thus amenable to be influenced by the social environment. We can show you how people’s decisions, preferences and actions are affected by other people or by information about how other people behave. We can explore the powerful influence of groups and social identity, illustrating how connection to others can affect our most basic evaluations of what we like and how we act.

Neuromarketing

You can't learn everything you need to know about consumers simply by asking them. We can highlight the potential (and the pitfalls) of using neuroscience to get a better handle on why people behave as they do and how consumers feel about your products. We can show you how neuroscience is changing market research, as well as arming you with the tools to spot neuro-hype and implausible claims.

Social Relationships

Discover the rules of relationships and why brands, as well as people, have to follow them. After introducing you to some of the basic findings in the cooperation science field, we can show when people are likely to behave cooperatively and why this is often beneficial. We don’t have dedicated cognitive machinery for evaluating brands and, instead, we often co-opt the heuristics we use to interact with other people when we are deciding whether and how to interact with brands. This means that successful brands also have to abide by the same social rules as humans. We can show which brands do this well - and when and why they fail.

Decisions in Teams

Good decision making in teams begins with gathering the honest and considered opinions of team members, especially those who disagree with the majority. There are many reasons why team members may not wish to voice dissenting opinions, and in this session we will discuss what constitutes good and bad team cultures. Cultural change takes time, and in the shorter term we will consider a range of techniques for eliciting opinions from your team to minimize the impact of issues such as Groupthink. We can also consider how these moments can be used to improve that culture and help your team members feel safer voicing dissenting opinions in future.

Mental Models and Team Culture

We first look at how the human mind builds impressions e.g. of other people, or situations, and the ways in which this can go wrong, or lead to confirmation bias. We then look at the importance of other people for challenging our own thinking and uncovering faulty assumptions, and how to best gather honest and considered opinions from your team and improve your team culture, while avoiding falling into groupthink.

Behavioural Science extended course: World Resources Institute:
Arya, National Climate Action, WRI: "The Changing Minds course helped me see that my actions can affect not only those I directly engage with but also have additional impacts on the connecting systems at large…Explanations of key concepts was very clear and concise, and interactive approach was helpful...The Changing Minds course has opened my eyes to the different ways that stimuli affect my every day decisions. I have learned to be more conscious of the causal mechanisms in my routine as well as in my work."
Ananya Chakraborty, Climate Resilience Practice, WRI: "I enjoyed the Changing Minds course immensely and have learnt several concepts which can be implemented in my research with private sector, governments and communities.”
Ariadne Samios, Active Mobility Coordinator, WRI Brazil: "Enjoyed learning the different strategies to apply for changing behaviours. It was very interesting to learn because of the social impact projects I have been working on WRI...This course is an opportunity to open your mind to new knowledge. For people working in different areas, I believe the course teaches many interesting techniques that can really improve projects that aim to have an impact on people's behavior." 
Paula Santos, Urban Mobility Manager, WRI Brazil: Enjoyed "coaching sessions where I was able to apply lessons learned in a case related to my daily work."
Former attendee, WRI: "I like the dynamics of the course, varying from explanations to discussions in groups - it fits the complexity of the content for a lay group. The Professors are very didactic."
Former attendee, WRI: "This course allows you to understand how our behaviors can shape our understanding of the world, but specially how to use them to drive changes to accelerate transitions in the context of sustainable development."
Former attendee, WRI: "Good sessions with the UCL team, who are patient and knowledgeable about BSA [Behavioural Science applications]."
Former attendee, WRI: "A complete curriculum has been prepared and each lesson is accompanied by reference materials to help students better understand the content of the lesson. It is helpful for the project design and implementation."
Former attendee, WRI: "To better understand the behavioral   theory is beneficial for your project inception, design and implementation."

Mental Models and Team Culture workshop: UCL Department: 
Former attendee, UCL: "I loved the practical elements at the end, it was so interesting and I think a lot of managers took something away"
Former attendee, UCL: "Stephen [Dewitt] made the session interesting and engaging and I kept my full concentration during the whole session."

Behavioural Science extended course: global marketing company:
George: "Really enjoyed it - loved the session on building relationships. The three pillars of all human interaction: reciprocity, generosity and authenticity. It is helping me better understand the world around me." 

An 60-minute seminar delivered remotely to a global management consultancy at their company away day. We covered the power of incentives, group decision-making and the diversity paradox. The seminar was attended by around 60 international employees.

A course of 12 hours over 4 sessions, delivered in-person to a global technology company. We covered basic behavioural science, heuristics & biases, risk & uncertainty, causal thinking, social heuristics, neuromarketing, social relationships, and decisions in teams. Attended by 25 London-based employees.

In-person seminar on the psychology of charitable giving delivered to a UK-based charity at their team away day. 20+ attendees.

One-day workshop delivered to a global online social platform for giving, where we delivered content on the psychology of charitable giving and then designed specific interventions that the organisation could use to increase donations. 20+ attendees.

Lunch & Learn online session on EDI in the workplace. Research has consistently shown that diverse organisations are more profitable and efficient. However, current approaches to diversity in organisations often back-fire. The session outlined a novel approach to alleviating biases in the workplace that have had positive impact on diversity in educational settings. The workshop also delved into the relationship between diversity and organisational culture more broadly.40+ attendees.

A 3 hour workshop delivered in person. This looked at how the human mind builds impressions e.g. of other people, or situations, and the ways in which this can go wrong, or lead to confirmation bias. It then moves to the importance of other people for challenging our own thinking and uncovering faulty assumptions, and how to best gather honest and considered opinions from your team and improve your team culture, while avoiding falling into groupthink.