Real World Behavioural Science

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Recorded 11th March 2020
Jim McManus and Susan Michie join host, Stuart King, for another discussion on using behavioural science to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Susan and Jim cover the importance of not just hand washing, but using tissues and cleaning surfaces as the virus is spread not just through physical contact, but through the air too.
The discussion also covers the impact of giving feedback to others to reinforce those preventative behaviours, as well as how we need to have a population mindset. Although you might not be at risk, you may be in contact with those who are. What can we do to protect those vulnerable people directly, and prevent over-stretching of the health services.
Mini-Series #3 has been recorded and will be released next week so stay tuned for more practical, evidence-based advice.
Susan Michie's BMJ article on avoiding shaking hands:
https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2020/03/10/should-we-wave-goodbye-to-the-handshake/
Susan Michie's BMJ article on behavioural strategies to prevent spread: https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2020/03/03/behavioural-strategies-for-reducing-covid-19-transmission-in-the-general-population/

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In this Real World Behavioural Science special, Susan, Jim and I discuss how behavioural science can be used to help prevent the spread of COVID19 (Coronavirus).
Susan shares some of the insights from her recently published BMJ blog on using COM B to provide clear, effective and simple strategies to use to prevent the spread of infection. Jim provides some food for thought about using social psychology to try to slow the rate of transmission.
If you are a professional (or anyone else for that matter!), this podcast contains some helpful tips that could save lives. Big thank you to Susan and Jim for their time in sharing some great ideas on using behavioural sciences to limit the potential impact of Coronavirus.
Useful links:
Hertfordshire CC's Coronavirus social norms campaign toolkit (launching Friday 6th March): http://bit.ly/2PPFtim
Hertfordshire CC's Coronavirus FAQs: http://bit.ly/2TGlTq6
Prof Susan Michie's on behavioural science in the PH response: http://bit.ly/3ctIOxg
Prof Susan Michie's on using COM-B to reduce transmission: http://bit.ly/3cDqba6

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Dr Tim Chadborn is Head of Behavioural Insights and Evaluation Lead for Public Health England. He shares just a small amount of his 25 years of experience working in health, across the Department of Health, Health Protection Agency and on a partnership between the Ministry of Health and Botswana.

We chatted through Tim's vast experience from his work on the Family Nurse Partnership (https://fnp.nhs.uk/) supporting pregnant teenage women to his work in Botswana on HIV.
This led us to discuss the diversity in paths that have led people to work in Behavioural Insights and how this allows them to work in a multidisciplinary capacity, across behavioural economics, sociology, health psychology, research and more.

Tim shared some of the recent and current behaviour insights projects, such the marrying of large complex systems approaches and individual behavioural science, and the digital work on diet and obesity support and health checks e.g. letters, texts, videos in wait rooms and I.T. prompts.

Finally Tim shared some ideas on how to get into behavioural science, including some of the latest strategies and guides to come out, such as the Behavioural and Social Science Strategy (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/improving-peoples-health-applying-behavioural-and-social-sciences).
Also, PHE have just released another guide for local government called Achieving Behaviour Change available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/behaviour-change-guide-for-local-government-and-partners.
Thanks for listening and please do share and leave feedback on the podcast!

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Kim Roberts has been HENRY’s Chief Executive since 2012. Her background is in family support and early development, which has given her both a profound insight into the impact of children’s very early experiences and a passionate determination to make sure that parents and practitioners get the quality of support they need to provide children with the best start in life.
Our discussion starts with Kim sharing why, and how, HENRY is so important in preventing childhood obesity, rather than just tackling it. We talk through her experiences of working with families who have many struggles other than just health and lifestyle, and how helping parents with these realities is an important first step.
Kim shares her views on where behavioural science is at in the industry, and how to ensure that professionals have not only the right skills, but also the right support, to deliver behaviour change in the most effective way.
It's the last couple of weeks to sign up to the Behavioural Science Public Health Network Annual Conference on 12th February, which includes the latest strategy in behaviour science and how to make an impact in the industry. Tickets here: https://www.bsphn.org.uk/428/Annual-Conference-2020

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Theories, digressions, amazing points, laughs. Wow! I’m not sure I would describe this as an interview, but instead a tour du force from one of my favourite people in behaviour science.
In 1hr and 42 minutes, we cover examples of the earliest behavioural scientists (Jesus and Aesop), to dog s*&t, horsepower, John Cleese, serial killers, naturism and a whole lot more!
Rory Sutherland joined Ogilvy and Mathers as a graduate trainee and planner in 1988, becoming the creative director in 2001, from 2008 to 2012 he served as president of the institute of practitioners in advertising. In 2012 Rory founded the behavioural science practice within the Ogilvy group, whose goal is to develop marketing techniques inspired by the fields of psychology and economics rather than shape customers desires through conventional advertising.

In his book, Alchemy, the power of ideas that don’t make sense, Rory argues that marketing ideas are built around a core that is profoundly irrational.
Just a few of the vast array of themes from Rory’s incredible mind include:

• Why Jesus was a master of loss aversion.
• How irrational stories drive rational behaviour
• The importance of anecdotal information
• The real reasons we make the decisions we do
• Why we should stop asking the customer
• How to make waiting lists a positive
• Why a meeting with no agenda is good sometimes
• Why most inventors are really marketers
• Why metrics are a distraction

Thanks as ever to my co-host Dr Tiago Moutela, and as ever to our partners the Behavioural Science in Public Health Network (BSPHN).​