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Behavioural Design

Explore all articles on Behavioural Design: from core concepts and frameworks to practical applications by sector.

88 articles

What Is Behavioural Design? The Complete Guide

The complete introduction: what Behavioural Design is, how it works, and why it is more effective than informing people.

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The SUE Influence Framework Explained

The step-by-step method SUE uses to systematically analyse, understand and change behaviour.

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What Is Nudging? Definition, Examples and Applications

Everything about nudging: from the theory of Thaler and Sunstein to practical applications in organisations.

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System 1 and System 2 Explained

Daniel Kahneman's two thinking systems form the basis of all cognitive biases. What each system does and why it matters.

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Thinking Fast and Slow: What Kahneman Discovered About Our Brain

96% of our thinking happens automatically. Learn to understand and apply System 1, System 2 and cognitive biases.

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Behavioural Economics Explained: Psychology Meets Economics

From Kahneman to Thaler: the field that proves people do not decide rationally, and what you can do with that.

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Decision Science: How People Really Decide

From Herbert Simon to Gary Klein: the science that studies how decisions are actually made in the real world.

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Choice Architecture: How the Presentation of Choices Steers Your Decision

Every choice has a designer. Choice architecture shows how the context of a choice determines the outcome.

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Defaults: The Power of the Pre-Selected Option

Most people choose whatever is already ticked. Defaults are the most powerful nudge there is.

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Commitment Devices: Binding Yourself to Future Behaviour

From Odysseus tied to the mast to modern savings programmes. How to design upfront commitment that holds.

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Implementation Intentions: The If-Then Strategy That Changes Behaviour

Peter Gollwitzer's technique bridges the gap between intention and action. Here is how to apply it at work.

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Friction in Behavioural Design: When Resistance Helps

Sometimes you need to remove friction, sometimes you need to add it. The difference determines whether your intervention works.

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Social Norms: How Other People's Behaviour Steers Your Choices

Cialdini's research on descriptive and injunctive norms. The most powerful lever for behaviour change at scale.

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What Is Sludge? How Unnecessary Friction Blocks Desired Behaviour

Sludge is the opposite of a nudge: unnecessary friction that prevents people from doing what is good for them.

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Dark Patterns: How Deceptive design Manipulates You

From hidden unsubscribe buttons to misleading cookie banners. The dark side of behavioural design and why ethics matter.

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Libertarian Paternalism: Preserving Choice, Designing Better Outcomes

The philosophy behind nudging: how to encourage better choices without restricting freedom of choice.

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Design Sprint vs Behavioural Design Sprint: What Is the Difference?

Both are intensive team sprints. But they ask completely different questions. When to use which.

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Behavioural Science Consulting vs Training: Which Does Your Organisation Need?

A consultant gives you their insights. A training gives you the skill. When to choose which.

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Behavioural Design vs Design Thinking: What Is the Difference?

Both methods are human-centred, but solve fundamentally different problems. When should you use which?

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Behavioural Design vs Change Management: What Is the Difference?

Change management focuses on processes, Behavioural Design on the behaviour that must support those processes.

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Behavioural Design vs UX Research: What Is the Difference?

UX Research discovers what users want. Behavioural Design designs why they do not do it.

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Behavioural Economics vs Psychology: What Is the Difference?

Behavioural economics focuses on economic decisions, psychology on all human behaviour. Where do they overlap?

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Nudging vs Gamification: What Works When?

Nudging preserves freedom of choice, gamification motivates through game principles. Two approaches for different situations.

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Behavioural Design for Healthcare

Patients do not follow doctor's orders, staff burn out. How behavioural science actually changes healthcare.

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Behavioural Design for Financial Services

Customers do not choose rationally. They avoid loss, rely on defaults and drop off when given too many options.

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Behavioural Design for Government

Policy only works when citizens actually act on it. How behavioural science closes the gap between intention and action.

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Behavioural Design for Retail

70% of online shopping carts are abandoned. How behavioural science helps retailers understand and design buying behaviour.

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Behavioural Design for Education

Students drop out, compliance training changes nothing. How behavioural science makes education more effective.

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Behavioural Design for Tech

Users sign up, explore for a week and quietly disappear. The gap between product value and user action.

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Behavioural Design for Insurance

Customers under-insure their most valuable assets and leave at renewal. The product is not the problem.

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Behavioural Design for Telecom

Customers who give you an 8 switch provider next month. Churn is not a pricing problem, it is a behaviour problem.

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Behavioural Design for FMCG

Your product wins blind taste tests, but market share does not shift. Habit and defaults beat product quality.

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Behavioural Design for Fintech

Users enthusiastically sign up for your savings app. Three months later 70% have a balance of zero.

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AI adoption in organisations: Why it stalls

Only 26% of employees use AI daily, not because of bad tools, but because of competence anxiety and habit.

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AI Training for Employees: What Actually Works

Most AI training programmes fail because they focus on tools, not behaviour. Learn what actually drives AI adoption at work, using behavioural science. Discover what works.

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Anchoring bias at work: Why the first number always wins

Anchoring bias makes the first number dominate everything: salaries, project timelines, pricing. Discover how it hijacks negotiation and what to do about it.

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Anchoring effect at work: how the first number decides everything

The anchoring effect means the first number in any negotiation, budget round or performance review disproportionately shapes every judgment that follows.

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Availability heuristic at work: Last in, first judged

The availability heuristic distorts risk assessment at work. Recent and vivid events hijack your decisions - discover five structural interventions that help.

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Bandwagon effect at work: How the crowd shapes decisions

The bandwagon effect explains why people adopt ideas, tools and opinions simply because others do. This article covers how it drives adoption waves and…

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Chunking explained: Why less information leads to better decisions

Chunking is the behavioural science technique of grouping information into manageable units. Learn how chunking improves memory, decisions and…

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Cognitive biases in management decisions: the complete guide for leaders

Anchoring, halo, confirmation, sunk cost, availability and social proof drive which decisions managers make. The complete guide for designing bias-resilient management.

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Cognitive biases in marketing and advertising: the complete guide for marketers

Anchoring, framing, social proof, scarcity, decoy effect and peak-end drive which campaigns convert. How to design marketing that's bias-aware and more effective.

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Cognitive biases in organisational change: the complete guide for change managers

Status quo bias, loss aversion, present bias, sunk cost, availability and endowment effect make resistance predictable. How to design bias-resilient change programmes.

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Cognitive biases in recruitment: the complete guide for HR

Anchoring, halo, confirmation, availability, framing and similar-to-me bias decide who you hire. The complete guide for HR teams designing bias-resilient recruitment.

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Cognitive dissonance at work: Teams defend bad decisions

Cognitive dissonance at work makes teams rationalise poor decisions long after the evidence has turned. Discover how it operates and what to do structurally.

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Conversion optimisation with Behavioural Design: why A/B tests aren't enough

A 5% conversion rate means 95% said no. Traditional CRO tests surface elements, but the real barriers are psychological.

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Critical thinking at work: How to detect bullshit and make better decisions

Most workplace decisions are shaped by bullshit disguised as expertise. Learn 7 behavioural design rules to detect bullshit, think critically and make…

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Curse of knowledge at work: why experts can no longer explain things simply

The curse of knowledge makes experts forget what it is like not to know something. See how it sabotages presentations, onboarding and product design - and…

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Customer Experience Training: What Actually Works

Most CX training teaches frameworks. This guide explains what customer experience training should teach instead, and how to choose a programme that changes behaviour.

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Customer Friction: The Hidden Reason Customers Leave

Customer friction is the invisible force turning loyal customers into lost ones. Learn how to identify hidden friction in your customer experience and remove it using behavioural science.

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Customer journey optimisation with behavioural insights

Standard journey maps show WHAT customers do, not WHY they drop off. Learn how PGCA analysis reveals the psychological barriers blocking progress - and…

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Customer research that works: why past behaviour never lies

Focus groups and surveys measure what people say, not what they do. Discover the say-do gap, extreme users and the 2-2-2 method that surfaces real…

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Decision fatigue at work: Why afternoon decisions suffer

Decision fatigue makes every subsequent choice worse. Discover how it sabotages leadership, productivity and meeting culture - and what to do about it.

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Decision making: How to make better decisions

About 95% of decisions are driven by System 1: fast, automatic and bias-prone. This guide covers five major cognitive biases and practical tools to…

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Decoy effect at work: Three options beat two

The decoy effect shows how a third option changes the entire comparison. Learn how to use it in pricing, internal proposals, and HR compensation design.

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Dunning-Kruger effect at work: Confidence vs competence

The Dunning-Kruger effect makes incompetence invisible to those who have it. Discover how it sabotages leadership, hiring and innovation - and how to fix it.

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Endowment effect at work: Why we hold on to what we have

The endowment effect makes us overvalue what we own. Discover how it sabotages negotiations, blocks change initiatives, and what leaders can do about it.

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Framing effect at work: Same message, different reaction

The framing effect determines how the same message lands differently. Learn how framing shapes your communication, presentations and marketing strategy.

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Halo effect at work: One trait colours everything

The halo effect colours your hiring, performance reviews and brand decisions. One impressive trait blinds you to everything else - five interventions that help.

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Hindsight bias at work: why you always think you saw it coming

Hindsight bias makes you believe you predicted an outcome when you didn't. Discover how it sabotages strategy reviews, post-mortems and decision-making -…

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How anxieties shape behaviour change (and why that's actually good news)

Most organisations focus on making gains more attractive. But if someone is stuck on an anxiety, more gains do nothing.

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Why your bonus policy destroys motivation

Bonuses and KPIs often destroy the motivation they are designed to create. Learn how Behavioural Design helps you cultivate genuine motivation instead of…

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Jobs-to-be-done explained: Theory + examples

Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD) reveals why people really buy. Learn Clayton Christensen's framework with the milkshake case, real-world examples and the SUE…

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Leadership Development That Works: The Behavioural Science Behind It

70% of leadership programmes don't change behaviour. Discover what behavioural science reveals about leadership development that actually sticks.

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Loss aversion at work: Why your team blocks every change

Loss aversion makes your team cling to the familiar, even when AI or a better system is objectively superior. Learn why change stalls and how to fix it.

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Mental Accounting Explained: Why You Keep Money in Mental Buckets

Mental accounting explains why a tax refund feels different from salary. Learn Richard Thaler's concept and how to apply it in financial product design and communication.

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Metaphors in persuasion: How language shapes thinking and behaviour

Metaphors are not decorative language; they shape how people think, decide and act. Learn how conceptual metaphors drive persuasion in politics.

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Negativity bias at work: Why negative feedback overshadows everything

Negativity bias makes your team weigh negative feedback more heavily than positive results. See how it sabotages performance, innovation and hiring decisions.

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Nudging in practice: How to design effective nudges

Nudging in practice: learn how to design a nudge step by step, which mistakes to avoid, and how government and marketing professionals apply it successfully.

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Optimism bias at work: Why projects always run late

Optimism bias makes teams underestimate timelines and ignore risk. Discover how it sabotages planning, budgets and innovation - and how to correct for it.

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Partner violence: three blind spots that keep the system in place

The words we use to name violence decide whether we fight it or sustain it. Three blind spots in language, behaviour and system, and what a minister of health could change tomorrow.

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Peak-end rule at work: What people actually remember

The peak-end rule shapes how people remember experiences - not the average, but the peak and the ending. Use it to design better customer journeys and meetings.

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Present bias: what it is and why it matters at work

What is present bias? The cognitive bias that makes you prefer immediate rewards over better future outcomes, and how to design against it at work.

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The 7 Psychological Traps of Financial Behaviour

Present bias, loss aversion, anchoring: the 7 cognitive biases that drive financial behaviour, explained with concrete cases and design solutions for financial professionals.

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The Psychology of Risk: Why We Systematically Misjudge Risk

Risk perception is not a calculation but a feeling. Learn how prospect theory and loss aversion shape financial decisions - and how to design with human risk psychology in mind.

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Reciprocity principle at work: Who gives first wins

The reciprocity principle is one of the most powerful social codes we know. Learn how to use it in sales, negotiation and team dynamics - and when to stop.

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Scarcity principle at work: Why less is always more

The scarcity principle makes scarce things more desirable. Learn how urgency works as a behaviour lever in marketing, sales and change - and when to stop.

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Self-Determination Theory: 3 needs that drive intrinsic motivation

Self-Determination Theory (SDT): autonomy, competence and relatedness explain why intrinsic motivation rises or falls, and why rewards backfire.

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Social identity groups at work: in-group bias explained

Discover what social identity groups really are: how in-group bias shapes teams, drives resistance to change, and what smart leaders do about it.

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Social proof at work: Why your team follows the crowd

Social proof at work drives team adoption, behaviour change and internal marketing. Learn how to use it as a design tool - not just a bias to defend against.

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Status quo bias at work: Why organisations resist change

Status quo bias is the strongest brake on organisational change. Learn why AI adoption stalls, meeting culture persists, and how to redesign the default.

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Sunk cost fallacy at work: Why we keep dead projects alive

The sunk cost fallacy traps teams in failing projects. Discover how sunk costs sabotage workplace decisions - and five interventions that actually work.

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The SWAC tool explained: How to design behaviour that actually sticks

The SWAC tool breaks behaviour change into four forces: Spark, Want, Again, and Can. Learn why CAN is the most underused lever - and how to design for all four.

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The forces that shape behaviour change

Behaviour change operates at three levels: macro trends, human desires, and the micro-triggers that spark action. Most practitioners only work on one.

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The SUE | 4C Tool Explained: From Attention to Behaviour Routine

The SUE | 4C Tool structures behavioural interventions in four phases: Catch, Convert, Confirm and Continue. Learn how to turn attention into behaviour, and behaviour into habit.

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Best training formats for product managers learning nudging and cognitive biases

The three most effective training formats for product managers learning nudging and cognitive biases: immersive programme, Deep Dive, and Behavioural Design Accelerator. EQAC-accredited. 9.7/10.

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What Is Behavioural Finance? The Psychology of Money

Behavioural finance explains why people make poor financial decisions. Learn the key biases behind investing, saving and risk, and how to design around them.

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Why Behavioural interventions fail (and what you can learn from it)

Most behavioural interventions fail not because the science is wrong, but because implementation is. Tom de Bruyne analyses the five most common mistakes…

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