Richard Shotton joins us to reveal the behavioral science secrets behind 17 iconic brands — from Guinness and Snickers to Apple and Dyson. He explains how psychological biases like concreteness, trigger moments, and the illusion of effort drive real-world success, and why making things easy often beats motivation.

©2025 Behavioral Grooves

[0:00] Intro and speed round with Richard Shotton

[7:52] The single bias every marketer should know

[13:09] Guinness and the power of the pratfall effect

[19:32] Snickers, trigger moments, and habit formation

[26:51] Apple’s “1,000 songs in your pocket” and concreteness

[34:32] Dyson, the illusion of effort, and AI’s challenge

[43:25] Lessons on testing vs. relying on survey claims

[46:38] Desert island music

[49:41] Grooving session: key takeaways

[1:09:12] Event announcement

©2025 Behavioral Grooves

Behavioral Grooves LIVE in Minneapolis

About Richard

Hacking the Human Mind

Join us on Substack!

Join the Behavioral Grooves community

Subscribe to Behavioral Grooves on YouTube

The Wonder Stuff - The Size of a Cow

CMAT - When a Good Man Cries

This October, we’re celebrating 8 years of Behavioral Grooves! To mark the occasion, we’re digging into our archives and re-sharing some of our most popular and thought-provoking conversations every Thursday for the next two months.

The celebration builds to our Anniversary Event on October 16th in Minneapolis, where fan favorite Nick Epley will lead the audience in a live social experiment and conversation about the science we all love.

Space is limited—grab your tickets now through the link in the show notes and join us for an unforgettable night of behavioral science, connection, and fun!

And now - this week's episode!

In this episode of Behavioral Grooves, psychologists Daniel Simons and Christopher Chabris—creators of the famous Monkey Business Illusion and authors of Nobody’s Fool—unpack why we so often fall for fraud, scams, and flashy but misleading science. They explain how our biases and love of appealing stories make us vulnerable, and why blanket skepticism isn’t practical. Instead, they share tools for spotting deception, insights into fixing flawed research incentives, and a simple but powerful rule of thumb: trust the people who admit when they’re wrong.

Behavioral Grooves LIVE in Minneapolis!

Nobody’s Fool: Why We Get Taken In and What We Can Do About It by Daniel Simons & Chris Chabris

The Monkey Business Illusion

Talking Heads “Once in a Lifetime”

Ani Difranco “Both Hands”

Wax Tailor “Come With Me”

Bjork “Human Behaviour”

Employee engagement scores have been stuck for decades—but belonging and wellbeing might be the missing pieces. We talk with Mark Crowley about why emotions drive behavior, how rituals create culture, and why leading with heart is actually the smartest path to performance.

[0:00] Intro and speed round with Mark Crowley

[9:05] Why leaders dismiss engagement scores

[11:28] The power of asking “How do you feel?”

[16:50] Reciprocity and authentic care

[20:08] Belonging as the greatest driver of wellbeing

[24:55] Why old leadership myths persist

[28:20] Positive emotions as “emotional currency”

[31:51] Balancing care with accountability

[35:05] Rituals that build culture (and candy stories)

[42:11] Advice for new managers

[46:24] Mark’s desert island music picks

[48:39] Grooving session takeaways

©2025 Behavioral Grooves

Behavioral Grooves LIVE in Minneapolis!

About Mark

The Power of Employee Well-Being by Mark Crowley

Join us on Substack!

Join the Behavioral Grooves community

Subscribe to Behavioral Grooves on YouTube

Van Morrison - Days Like This

George Harrison - Any Road