Simplify Decisions: Jonah Berger Says You Are Always Under The Influence
It’s the last episode of the first season of Simplify! To wrap things up, Caitlin Schiller talks to the New York Times bestselling author of Contagious: Why Things Catch On and Invisible Influence: The Hidden Forces That Shape Behavior, Jonah Berger.
“We want a diverse set of viewpoints. That’s how we take advantage of the wisdom of crowds and avoid groupthink. But to do that, how do we get everyone to feel comfortable with sharing their opinion?”
— Jonah Berger
There are so many things vying for our attention and seeking to manipulate our behavior, but what really shapes our decisions? If we think we’re savvy to advertising ploys, what actually influences what we buy? And how important are peer groups to our behavior patterns? By the end of this episode, you’ll have a better understanding of why and how you make your decisions, and how to avoid falling for groupthink.
Who’s Jonah Berger?
Jonah Berger is the New York Times bestselling author of Contagious: Why Things Catch On and Invisible Influence: The Hidden Forces that Shape Behavior. He is also a professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. We talk to him about the latest research on decision-making and behavioral psychology.
What’s Simplify?
Simplify is a podcast for anybody who’s taken a close look at their habits, their happiness, their relationships, or their health and thought “There’s got to be a better way to do this.” We talk to bestselling writers, productivity wizards, sex geniuses, and happiness experts to find it for you. Life is complicated, but living it better doesn’t have to be. Simplify.
Simplify is made with love by Blinkist. Click here to try Blinkist free for 14 days with the voucher code: bluebmw
Who made this?
Your hosts are Caitlin Schiller and Ben Schuman-Stoler.
Stellar research and production assistance by the outstanding Nika Mavrody.
Thanks to Nico Guiang for our awesome intro and outro music. Listen to more on Soundcloud or check him out on Facebook.
Sound and editing by Ody Constantinou who once won the mid-Atlantic regional text message debate tournament, which serves as a handy reminder to all you out there: never try to win an argument with the audio engineers.
Got links?
You Are Not So Smart podcast.
Extra credit reading:
Made to Stick
- 15 min reading time
- audio version available
Brainfluence
- 12 min reading time
- audio version available
Influence
- 33 min reading time
- audio version available
