Uploaded May 2017 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
OK – here are two Qs for you: i) What is the greatest predictor about whether a guest will like the ice-sculpture in the garden of a hotel? ii) What is the human brain like? And here are the answers: i) Whether their check-in experience was satisfactory (!!) and ii) Like the human egg (!!). When it comes to paradox and sheer weirdness, few can stand up to a true master like Rory Sutherland. To see why these were the ‘right’ answers, just watch this 70-sec clip. The basic idea is simple enough: first impressions colour subsequent experiences.
[NB: I do not own the copyright to this video clip. I have uploaded it here for educational purposes].
OK – here are two Qs for you: i) What is the greatest predictor about whether a guest will like the ice-sculpture in the garden of a hotel? ii) What is the human brain like? And here are the answers: i) Whether their check-in experience was satisfactory (!!) and ii) Like the human egg (!!). When it comes to paradox and sheer weirdness, few can stand up to a true master like Rory Sutherland. To see why these were the ‘right’ answers, just watch this 70-sec clip. The basic idea is simple enough: first impressions colour subsequent experiences.
[NB: I do not own the copyright to this video clip. I have uploaded it here for educational purposes].
![Psychology and ELT - Nudges [Medication]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/rv8Xc7J0VDA/mqdefault.jpg "Psychology and ELT - Nudges [Medication]
How do you get people to follow doctor’s orders? Cumidin is an anti-stroke medication. The trouble is that not all people are as disciplined about taking their pills as they should be. What incentives can we think of to get them to do something which is after all for their own good? A very interesting case study for students of Business English.
[NB: I do not own the copyright to this video clip. I have uploaded it here for educational purposes].")
![Psychology and ELT - Nudging [Short]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/u5RUi7iKJxc/mqdefault.jpg "Psychology and ELT - Nudging [Short]
What is ‘nudging’? Broadly speaking, it is trying to influence people’s behaviour (often subconsciously) by making small changes in their environment or in the way things are done. Placement, sequencing, packaging, timing, ease or difficulty of access, options given or allowed, all these are little things which can nevertheless have a huge impact on the way one functions.
Here is an example: We all know that left to their own devices, kids will opt for unhealthy food. Gneezy & List wanted to help about 1,000 schoolchildren in Chicago improve their diet. First they tried the direct approach – giving children nutritional education, about the importance of a healthy diet, about vitamins, nutrients, preservatives, food pyramids, etc. etc. Predictably perhaps, this proved a total failure… :-)
Then they tried ‘nudging’: for instance, they replaced whole apples with packaged apple slices (easier to eat and the peel doesn’t stick in your braces!), but what they did with the chips and cookies was simply brilliant: they placed them beyond the reach of children, so that they would have to ask the lunch lady to get them!! That did it!! (‘Who wants to ask the grouchy lunch lady for anything?’) [Gneezy & List: ‘The Why Axis’ – Random House 2013 – p. 162]
In this short clip, R. Thaler gives us two more examples: the first one is again food-related but the second is pure genius in its simplicity and effectiveness.
So this is the idea: by making small, almost imperceptible alterations in the classroom environment or in the lesson routine, I believe we can increase our effectiveness as teachers. Over to you now. Any ideas?
[NB: I do not own the copyright to this video clip. I have uploaded it here for educational purposes].")
