Messengers: three things I’ve learned about who we listen to, who we don’t and why.

I was 23 and sat around a huge oval, walnut, polished conference table in the City. Around the table sat a bunch of lawyers and bankers in standard navy blue suits and slicked back, side-parted hair. 10 minutes in, I piped up with a suggestion. It was met with blank stares and a grunt from … Continue reading Messengers: three things I’ve learned about who we listen to, who we don’t and why. →

Learning from experience in financial services

New blog klaxon!  Read here for an article I co-wrote with Evan Fradkin at Warwick Business School for the FCA on how we should think about learning in financial services. We argue that financial education rarely translates into better decisions and that one reason might be people learn more effectively via experience than description (i.e. reading or … Continue reading Learning from experience in financial services →

Divided we stand: why I’m co-hosting a new podcast on depolarization

 “A hideous ecstasy of fear and vindictiveness, a desire to kill, to torture, to smash faces in with a sledge hammer, seemed to flow through the whole group of people like an electric current, turning one even against one’s will into a grimacing, screaming lunatic.” As such is the Two Minute Hate, where Party members … Continue reading Divided we stand: why I’m co-hosting a new podcast on depolarization →

Do you know why you do what you do? (Part two)

Many popular behavioural science books perpetuate the view that our unconscious is hugely influential on our decision making. Evidence suggesting we are unaware of the true causes of our behaviour is used to support such ideas, leading some to claim that conscious thought has little or no influence on behaviour at all.  In part one of … Continue reading Do you know why you do what you do? (Part two) →

Three things I’ve learned about design.

I have just said goodbye to 15 brilliant people on Cardiff Metropolitan’s PDR ‘Greenhouse’ training. Led by Dr Anna Whicher and her team, the course is aimed at ‘public service innovators’ and gives you the skills and capability to deliver effective service design projects. As a psychologist working in a public sector Behavioural Economics & … Continue reading Three things I’ve learned about design. →

Do you know why you do what you do?

Part one of two. Popular behavioural science books emphasise the influence of the unconscious on decision making.  Are we really unable to accurately report what causes our behaviour? To what extent do we really know our own minds when making decisions? Imagine this. Shoppers were approached in a department store and asked to choose one … Continue reading Do you know why you do what you do? →

Why machines will never be as smart as a four year old (and why you shouldn’t worry machines are taking over the world)

If you believe the news headlines, Artificial Intelligence (AI) will take your job (particularly if you work in financial services), lead to world war three and finally destroy humans all together.  AI, defined here as machines performing human like tasks, has made remarkable progress in the last few years, leading to self-driving cars and beating … Continue reading Why machines will never be as smart as a four year old (and why you shouldn’t worry machines are taking over the world) →