33. How to think like a behavioral scientist
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Welcome to Aha Moments - The 1-minute newsletter with data and behavioral science insights for busy marketers like you.
I noticed a new airline staff behavior on my last few flights. While I was waiting in the queue for boarding, a staff walks past everyone checking their boarding pass and passports. Why do they do that when you must show these travel docs again at the boarding gate? The idea is to nudge you to bring the docs out of the bag, the step that usually causes the queue to slow down.
But behavioral science is more than ‘nudges.’ It studies human behavior through empirical observation, experimentation, and psychological insight.
This week’s newsletter is inspired by Ogilvy’s Dan Bennett series on thinking like a behavioral scientist, which provides a few inspiring examples.
A Canadian airline found an exciting way to move queues faster: it inserted a check-in desk carpet ten feet into the queue so passengers at the front had a change in context.
Discounts are a common marketing tactic. However, other costless tactics exist, such as loyalty cards with pre-filled stamps, because people love completing things more than they love starting things.
You can start thinking like a behavioral scientist in 3 easy steps -
1. Ask straightforward, testable questions about why people behave in specific ways.
Form hypotheses and test how minor wording, design, or framing adjustments can lead to different outcomes.
Explore the cognitive biases to develop a psychological insight.