Behavioural Science 101

In this section:

Introduction to Behavioural Science
Predictably Human Questionnaire
Behavioural Science timeline
System 1 v System 2 thinking
How to apply Behavioural Economics
Selection of Behavioural Effects
Contact details

What is Behavioural science?

Behavioural Science (or Behavioural Economics) has developed to explain differences between observed and predicted behaviour. It is not a single unified theory but a set of in excess of 200 behavioural effects (sometimes called cognitive biases) which describe how people process information and behave in response.
It draws from a range of disciplines including experimental economics, psychology, sociology, anthropology and neuroscience.
It is important because applying the lessons from Behavioural Science can increase the effectiveness of communications programmes and behaviour change interventions, improve the reliability of forecasts, and enhance the value of market research.

Predictably Human
Behavioural Science tells us that people do not behave as "econs" making rational, utility maximising choices, but as humans with all their emotions and complex lives.
To illustrate some of the ways in which people do not behave as is often expected (and generally assumed by planners, modellers, forecasters and even some marketers) the Predictably Human questionnaire has been developed, an extract of which is available opposite for you to participate in.
To see the results of previous surveys, look in the Library (results are updated regularly)

A timeline of behavioural science

The diagram below maps the history of Behavioural Science using key publications as milestones.
It starts with Adam Smith's Theory of Moral Sentiments which discusses how people are driven by emotions and how the emotions of one person affect those of others. There's then a gap through the Victorian and world war eras until Bounded Rationality, Herbert Simon (1957). Simon points out that people are not perfectly rational but have limits on access to information and computational capacities. The first recognised Behavioural Economics theory was Prospect Theory Tversky & Kahneman (1979). This showed that people treat losses and gains differently, which is at odds with generally accepted economic theory. The next publication highlighted is Descartes' Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain (1994) by neuroscientist António Damásio. The error in question is René Descartes' separation of the mind from the body (the mind/body dualism) which is as an error because reasoning requires the guidance of emotions and feelings conveyed from the body. The Hidden Power of Advertising, Robert Heath (2000) is highlighted because it introduced the theory of Low Involvement Processing. This is important for communication and advertising because the evidence which led to the theory showed that people don't need to be consciously aware of an advert for it to have an impact since most processing of information happens without the involvement of conscious thought.
A major "tipping point" for behavioural science was the 2007/8 financial crises which powerfully demonstrated that people do not behave in a purely rational manner and that models based on standard neo-classical theory are fundamentally flawed. It led directly to the setting up of Behavioural Insights Teams in the UK and US and coincided with a flurry of publications including Predictably irrational by Dan Ariely (2008), and Nudge by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein (2008). Thinking Fast and Slow (Daniel Kahneman, 2011) was another important publication which helped to establish Behavioural Economics as a serious and relevant discipline. The Behavioural Insight Team's EAST framework (2015) is used as an illustration of how Behavioural Science was becoming mainstream. Misbehaving by Richard Thaler is a retrospective look at the development of Behavioural Science from an insider's perspective and its publication shows how by this time (2015) it had become an accepted discipline. Since then, it has continued to blossom with many governments and organisations employing behavioural science teams or individual behavioural scientists. In fact a 2021 study "Behavioral Teams Around the World" estimated there to be 595 behavioural science teams, many in the US and UK but every continent represented.

System 1 v System 2 thinking (Daniel Kahneman)

Daniel Kahneman in his seminal book “Thinking Fast and Slow” described the concept of System 1 (fast) v System 2 (slow) thinking.
System 1 thinking is undertaken at a subconscious level and, as brain scanning has shown, even before we are aware of it.
System 2 thinking is where the rational part of our brains are engaged, but this only happens when the need to utilise our analytical processes has been triggered. Often this process is actually more about understanding a decision that has already been made than making a genuine choice ("post – rationalisation").
This concept has been developed into the "Dual system decision model", illustrated below:

How to apply Behavioural economics

To help identify which Behavioural effects and which of the various models and frameworks are most relevant (a review of the most commonly used models and frameworks is available in the Library), Beyond Logic Consulting follows the process illustrated opposite, starting with A. understanding the current situation, B. using this to design the policy, campaign or intervention, C. before testing it and then implementing it (D). Monitoring its impacts in order to learn and improve (E) is also a crucial part of the process which relies on evidence.

BEHAVIOURAL EFFECTS (OR BIASES)

Some common Behavioural Effects are summarised below. These identify different ways in which humans don't behave in a purely logical or rational manner but are influenced by emotions and some innate needs.

Behavioural Effect	Short description
Action bias	In some circumstances it's important to be seen to be doing something rather than simply sitting back and letting things happen, even if inaction is actually the best approach.
Ambiguity aversion	People don't like ambiguity and seek clarity and simplicity.
Availability heuristic (All You See Is All There Is)	Things that are more readily available have a greater impact than those which are more remote.
Being seen to be good	People like to be seen to do the right thing for society.
Belonging	Belonging - the desire to belong engendered through common goals.
Blame avoidance	Where the imperative is to avoid blame.
Commitment	People like to be internally consistent, and this concept is sometimes utilised in behaviour change programmes by encouraging participants to make a commitment which they then feel compelled to be consistent with.
Confirmation bias	People tend to seek out or evaluate information in a way that fits with their existing thinking and preconceptions.
Conflict avoidance	Most people avoid conflict and seek to collaborate with others.
Default	People will tend to choose the default option in order to make their lives less complicated, even if this is not the best option.
Draw of free (or zero-price effect)	Free goods have extra pulling power, as a reduction in price from £1 to zero is more powerful than a reduction from £2 to £1.
Easy	People are generally looking to make their lives easier and reduce the hassle factor. Simplicity and convenience are therefore key, and to facilitate a behaviour any friction should be reduced.
Ego	We act in ways that make us feel better about ourselves.
Empowerment	People need to feel they can make a difference in order to be motivated to try.
Endowment effect	When we own something we put greater value on it and don’t like to give it up.
Fairness (or inequity aversion)	People don't like inequity and unfairness.
Framing (also Anchoring, Choice Architecture)	Choices are heavily influenced by the way they are presented and, for example, which (and how many) options are shown.
Habit	Most behaviour is habitual with minimal conscious thought. This creates inertia and puts a brake on change. It means that it is easier to change behaviour at a point when habits are interrupted.
Herd behaviour	The tendency for people to unconsciously follow what others are doing rather than act independently.
Heuristic	Most choices are made unconsciously using simplified rules of thumb, or ‘heuristics’. This can be as simple as “I’ll do what I did last time in this situation” or "I'll do what my friends are doing".
Honesty	People like to be seen to be honest, although in practice most people are mildly dishonest.
Incentives	An incentive is something that motivates an individual to perform an action by making it more attractive. Monetry incentives can backfire by reducing the benefit of prosocial behaviours.
Information asymmetry	Where one party has more information than another it can lead to a lack of trust.
Labour illusion	Things are perceived as more valuable if they think a lot of effort has been put in to create it. This includes taking a longer time to produce something.
Licensing effect	The licensing effect is evident when people allow themselves to do something bad after doing something good.
Loss aversion	People are more affected by losses than gains.
Messenger	The impact of a message can be as much about the messenger as the message itself.
Myopic procrastination	The tendency for people to put off making a decision.
Need for recognition	People need to have external recognition and because of this reputational incentives can be more powerful than financial ones.
Need for self esteem	People need to have self-belief and a positive self-image, with one of the consequences of this being a need to be consistent. It means there is an incentive for conspicuous consumption.
Peak end rule	Memories of past events predominantly reflect the most extreme event and the end point.
Power of context	Our decisions are heavily influenced by the external environment, even though we are often unaware of it and prefer to believe we are in control.
Present bias (also hyperbolic discounting or short termism)	Things occurring imminently are given far more importance than those occurring in the future.
Primacy of emotion	Brain scanning has shown that our emotions are triggered in advance of rational thought and there is good evidence that emotions drive decision-making. As David Ogilvy put it: "Customers need a rational excuse to justify their emotional decisions. So always include one".
Priming	Priming refers to a sub-conscious process whereby an association is triggered and then goes on to influence behaviour.
Reactance	Priming refers to a sub-conscious process whereby an association is triggered and then goes on to influence behaviour.
Rebound effect	The rebound effect occurs when a mitigating action is undertaken but the gains it creates are offset or even reversed by subsequent actions. For example, someone who buy a fuel-efficient vehicle may then drive further than when they owned a less-efficient vehicle.
Recipriocity	Reciprocity is a social norm that involves in-kind exchanges between people—responding to another’s action with another equivalent action.
Regret avoidance	Most people fear making the wrong choice and will do what they can to avoid doing so.
Relativity	People think in relative rather than absolute terms.
Salience	We are drawn to what is novel and seems relevant to us.
Satisficing	People tend to make decisions by satisficing (a combination of sufficing and satisfying) rather than optimising.
Scarcity heuristic	When something is less readily available it tends to perceived as more valuable.
Simplification	Since people are often overloaded with information and demands on their mental resources, they have an innate desire to simplify things. This can lead to a variety of biases, and is reflected in the use of heuristics. It is one reason why simple messages work best - if a message is complex it's hard to know exactly how the reader is going to simplify it.
Simulation heuristics	Where someone has a narrow miss, they can more easily imagine an alternative where they succeed.
Social norm	Unwritten societal (or group) rules which influence an individual’s behaviour.
Status Quo bias	People generally prefer things to stay the same, or simply find this the easiest option. This often leads to habitual behaviour and sticking with the default option.
Sunk cost fallacy	When an action is continued on the basis of obtaining value from previously invested resources in order to "get your money’s worth" .

Tony Duckenfield is a Certified Member of the Market Research Society and ensures all Beyond Logic's research is undertaken to their demanding standards