Bad Decisions

Why do we teach kids that it's all about the effort, when as adults, we're far more concerned about the outcomes. In this episode, Mel and Dan look at why 'quicker and easier' could be the exact oppo…

Ever wondered why making the smallest faux pas can ruin your entire day? In this episode, Mel and Dan discuss the spotlight effect, and how it influences our perception of how much attention people a…

What happens when memories or tasks are unfinished, and why is it that they seem to stick in our heads? In this episode, Mel and Dan explore the Zeigarnik effect and how we can use it to create stron…

If you won the lottery, would you be happier? Although the answer may seem obvious, our perceptions of what’s important to us don’t always match the reality. In this episode, Mel and Dan consider how…

Social convention suggests that if you want to make a new friend, you should do something nice for them. But according to Ben Franklin, we’ve been doing it all wrong. In this episode, Mel and Dan exp…

Would you enjoy your beef more if it was 75% lean or 25% fat? That’s weird. In this episode, Mel and Dan explore the framing effect - and how what we’re presented with is far less important than how …

You’ve just made your last three shots, won your last three hands or closed your last three deals. What do you think will happen next? In this episode, Mel and Dan explore the fallacy - and reality -…

Do you find that things always take longer than you thought? Are you always running late? What if we told you it was all because you’re an irrational optimist? Chances are, you wouldn’t change a thin…

A hundred dollars is a hundred dollars is a hundred dollars, right? Well, no. Not according to our brains. In this episode, Mel and Dan explore how mental accounting influences the way we spend and s…

We’d like to think it’s all about the journey, but our brain prefers to remember the outcome. In this episode, Mel and Dan discuss the peak-end rule, and how neglecting to pay attention to the end co…

Everybody makes bad decisions, but how do we make amends? Turns out our instincts often guide us to follow bad decisions with worse decisions. In this episode, Mel and Dan explore the sunk cost falla…

With thousands of decisions to make every day, wouldn’t it just be way easier if some of them were made for us? In this episode, Mel and Dan unpack how the default bias influences everything from bin…

Ever gone shopping for someone else and decided you deserved a gift too? In this episode, Mel and Dan explore the dark side of altruism, and how the decisions we make are often guided by a desire to …

Despite our best intentions, selecting options that provide sensible, long term benefits over impulsive, short term ones, seems pretty much impossible. In this episode, Mel and Dan explore how our de…

When we’re trying to determine the value of something, we tend to place far too much reliance on the first piece of information we stumble across. In this episode, Mel and Dan look at ways that prici…

Turns out we really love being right. So much so that our brains systematically ignore things that don’t fit with what we already believe to be true. In this episode Mel and Dan look at how marketers…

If all of our friends jumped off a cliff, chances are we would too. Same goes if that cliff is a new restaurant, movie or fashion label. In this episode, Mel and Dan look at how our innate desire for…

Cars, homes, pens, mugs - it doesn’t matter what it is - if it’s ours, chances are we'll think it's more valuable than it really is. In this episode, Mel and Dan look at why we're always going to be …

We all want more choices, right? Well, no. Not according to the data anyway. In this episode Mel and Dan look at how choice can adversely affect our ability to make decisions, as well as what good ma…

Of all the mental tasks we suck at performing, estimating the likelihood of something really good or really bad happening is right up there. In this episode, Mel and Dan unpack the ingredients that l…