Nudge

The British government recently announced a ban on all social media usage for children up to the age of 16. 

But will the ban work? 

Today on Nudge, I explore the psychology of restrictions, bans and friction. 

Warning: this show is restricted to those aged 16 or over. 

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Today’s sources: 

Driscoll, R., Davis, K. E., & Lipetz, M. E. (1972). Parental interference and romantic love: The Romeo and Juliet effect. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 24(1), 1–10.

Freedman, J. L. (1965). Long-term behavioral effects of cognitive dissonance. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 1(2), 145–155.

Mazis, M. B., Settle, R. B., & Leslie, D. C. (1973). Elimination of phosphate detergents and psychological reactance. Journal of Marketing Research, 10(4), 390–395.

Spence, C., & Wang, Q. J. (2017). Assessing the impact of closure type on wine ratings and mood. Beverages, 3(4), 52.

Zellinger, D. A., Fromkin, H. L., Speller, D. E., & Kohn, C. A. (1975). A commodity theory analysis of the effects of age restrictions upon pornographic materials. Journal of Applied Psychology, 60(1), 94–99.

Zhang, K., Allard, T., & Bagchi, R. (2025). The token-effort effect: Trivial redemption effort increases price promotion effectiveness. Journal of Marketing.

World-leading behaviour change expert Katy Milkman details how to change your habits. 

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Katy’s book: https://amzn.to/3RF63xA 

Katy’s podcast: https://www.schwab.com/learn/choiceology 

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Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phill-agnew/ 

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Today’s sources:

Beshears, J.Beshears, J., Dai, H., Milkman, K. L., & Benartzi, S. (2021). Using fresh starts to nudge increased retirement savings. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 167, 72–87.

Dai, H., Milkman, K. L., & Riis, J. (2014). The fresh start effect: Temporal landmarks motivate aspirational behavior. Management Science, 60(10), 2563–2582.

Eskreis-Winkler, L., Fishbach, A., & Duckworth, A. L. (2018). Dear Abby: Should I give advice or receive it? Psychological Science, 29(11), 1797–1806.

Eskreis-Winkler, L., Milkman, K. L., Gromet, D. M., & Duckworth, A. L. (2019). A large-scale field experiment shows giving advice improves academic outcomes for the advisor. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(30), 14808–14810.

Schroeder, S. A. (2007). We can do better — Improving the health of the American people. New England Journal of Medicine, 357(12), 1221–1228.

In December 2018 Gatwick Airport shut down. 109 eyewitnesses reported sighting 170 drone flights over the airport. 

All flights were grounded, and the nation braced for a terrorist attack.

But what if those sightings weren’t real but instead an imagination caused by expectations? 

In today’s episode with award-winning science journalist David Robson, we explore the science of the expectation effect.

Link to the bonus episode: https://nudge.kit.com/86d3e39845 

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David’s website: https://davidrobson.me/ 

David’s Substack: https://davidarobson.substack.com/

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Today’s sources: 

Benedetti, F., Durando, J., & Vighetti, S. (2014). Nocebo and placebo modulation of hypobaric hypoxia headache involves the cyclooxygenase-prostaglandins pathway. Pain, 155(5), 921–928.

Job, V., Dweck, C. S., & Walton, G. M. (2010). Ego depletion—Is it all in your head? Implicit theories about willpower affect self-regulation. Psychological Science, 21(11), 1686–1693.

Langer, E., Djikic, M., Pirson, M., Madenci, A., & Donohue, R. (2010). Believing is seeing: Using mindlessness (mindfully) to improve visual acuity. Psychological Science, 21(5), 661–666.

Merckelbach, H., & van de Ven, V. (2001). Another white Christmas: Fantasy proneness and reports of 'hallucinatory experiences' in undergraduate students. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 32(3), 137–144.

Montes, J., Wulf, G., & Navalta, J. W. (2018). Maximal aerobic capacity can be increased by enhancing performers' expectancies. Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, 58(5), 744–749.

Pirson, M., Ie, A., & Langer, E. (2012). Seeing what we know, knowing what we see: Challenging the limits of visual acuity. Journal of Adult Development, 19(2), 59–67.

Robson, D. (2022). The expectation effect: How your mindset can transform your life. Canongate.

The broken windows theory suggests that one broken window can cause a neighbourhood to descend into disrepair. But is it true? 

Today, with the award-winning professor Leidy Klotz, we investigate the broken windows theory and explain how environments shape our behaviour. 

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Leidy’s latest book In a Good Place: https://amzn.to/4tzjCvE 

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Today’s sources: 

Brown, G., & Baer, M. (2011). Location in negotiation: Is there a home field advantage? Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 114(2), 190–200.

Cialdini, R. B. (2016). Pre-suasion: A revolutionary way to influence and persuade. Simon & Schuster.

Langer, E. J., & Rodin, J. (1976). The effects of choice and enhanced personal responsibility for the aged: A field experiment in an institutional setting. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 34(2), 191–198.

Pinsker, H., Kupfermann, I., Castellucci, V., & Kandel, E. R. (1970). Habituation and dishabituation of the gill-withdrawal reflex in Aplysia. Science, 167(3926), 1740–1742.

Rajecki, D. W. (1974). Effects of prenatal exposure to auditory or visual stimulation on postnatal distress vocalizations in chicks. Behavioral Biology, 11(4), 525–536.

Rodin, J., & Langer, E. J. (1977). Long-term effects of a control-relevant intervention with the institutionalized aged. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 35(12), 897–902.

Wells, M. M. (2000). Office clutter or meaningful personal displays: The role of office personalization in employee and organizational well-being. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 20(3), 239–255.

Octopus Energy went from £0 in revenue to £12 billion in 10 years. 

Today, on Nudge, I chat with their first employee Pete Miller, who explains how they used nudges to grow. 

Hear why they: 

1) Encourage customers to spin a wheel to reward metre readings. 

2) Give away free electricity at 4pm. 

3) Play you the number one song from the year you turned 14. 

4) And gave away 40,000 electric blankets during an energy crisis.

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Become an FSB member: https://get.fsb.org.uk/nudge/

Unlock the Nudge Vaults: https://www.nudgepodcast.com/vaults

Subscribe to my newsletter: https://www.nudgepodcast.com/mailing-list 

Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phill-agnew/ 

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Today’s sources: 

Shampanier, K., Mazar, N., & Ariely, D. (2007). Zero as a special price: The true value of free products. Marketing Science, 26(6), 742–757.

Shen, L., Fishbach, A., & Hsee, C. K. (2015). The motivating-uncertainty effect: Uncertainty increases resource investment in the process of reward pursuit. Journal of Consumer Research, 41(5), 1301–1315

Skinner, B. F. (1938). The behavior of organisms: An experimental analysis. Appleton-Century-Crofts.