Welcome back with Patrick Fagan
It's been a little while since I was with you. And all I can put it down to is being extraordinarily busy with work projects. But we're back with a bang and a treat!
I welcome this week the behavioural scientist Patrick Fagan, described by comedian David Mitchell as a "Mother Superior in nipple tassels".
He's also a former Cambridge Analytica man, if your minds can take you back to that scandal and time in history. Patrick is the author of Hooked whose by-line is 'Why cute sells and other marketing magic we just can't resist.
And by the way, he is soon to publish a new book Free Your Mind: The New World of Manipulation and How to Resist It in collaboration with Laura Dodsworth.
You’ll pick up some old references in this conversation to our former PM (which one you may reasonably ask?!) Boris Johnson here as this episode was recorded before he toppled. That aside, all the chat is super relevant.
Show notes
Magic and creativity
Pioneering work as lead psychologist at Cambridge Analytica
What factors influence political preference?
Status quo bias and fear of change
Patrick’s book: the 10 psychological principles for crafting effective communications in 3 categories
Grab attention
Get people to think about your message
Influence behaviour
Why do we get dressed?
Unintended consequences
Why we need to take care with nudges
Next time on A Load of BS
I’m joined by Dr Grace Lordan, Associate Professor at the Department of Psychological Behaviour and Behavioural Science at the LSE. She’s the author of Think Big: Take small steps and build the future you want, which uses behavioural science to give really practical advice to people about, amongst other, how to ask for pay rises, get promoted and change careers.
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Till next time,
Daniel
Patrick Fagan on psychology in business