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Action Design Radio

Action Design Radio explores a variety of topics through the lens of behavioral science and psychology. Hosts Erik Johnson and Zarak Khan interview experts and practitioners to learn about cutting edge behavioral research, and how to practically apply it to fields like public policy and consumer products. The podcast is supported by the Action Design Network, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization founded in 2012 to promote the use of behavioral economics and psychology with over 10,000 members across the US and Canada.
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Now displaying: 2022
Zarak Khan - Behavioral Science in Innovation 0
Aug 9, 2022

We’re back! In our first episode after a summer break, Erik is joined by previous guest Laurel Newman to flip the tables and interview Zarak on how he applies behavioral science to the field of organizational innovation.

Aside from being co-host of this podcast, Zarak is a Senior Manager in Edward Jones' Firm Strategy Enablement Office, as well as a Senior Behavioral Researcher at Dan Ariely's Center for Advanced Hindsight. He also teach an applied behavioral science consulting course to graduate students at the University of Pennsylvania and serves on the Board of Action Design Network

Our conversation builds on his chapter for the book “Building Behavioral Science in an Organization,” which was edited by himself and Laurel Newman and published by Action Design Press with support from the University of Pennsylvania’s Master of Behavioral and Decision Sciences program.

In the episode, you’ll hear Zarak’s expertise on topics like the behavioral and structural barriers to innovation and processes to increase innovative work in organizations.

Allison White - Behavior Mapping 0
Mar 29, 2022
Zarak and Erik chat with Allison White, a senior behavioral researcher at Duke University’s Center for Advanced Hindsight. Allison primarily advises FinTech companies on how to improve the design of their products to improve financial wellbeing for their users. Previously she was a senior UX design strategist at Deloitte’s InsightStudio, and is also a regular guest speaker at U Penn’s Master of Behavioral and Decision Sciences program. Allison recently published with Habit Weekly a case study on her specialty of behavior mapping: https://www.habitweekly.com/behavioral-mapping-pro

 

Today Allison joins the podcast to dive into the various aspects of behavior mapping, including its nuances from journey mapping. Other topics include structural vs. psychological barriers, the importance of focusing on pain points, and what applied behavioral scientists can learn from the methodologies in other fields of human-centered design. According to Allison, one of the main advantages of behavior mapping is it forces you to incorporate a deeper level of specificity in your desired outcome, as well as the subsequent behaviors needed to reach that outcome.

Kristen Berman - The Behavioral Product Manager (Reprise) 0
Feb 24, 2022
Episode Description: Today's guest is Kristen Berman, co-founder of Duke University's Common Cents Lab, as well as co-founder (with Dan Ariely) of Irrational Labs. Kristen was on the founding team for the behavioral economics group at Google and has spoken at Facebook, Fidelity, Equifax, Stanford, and many more. Erik and Zarak chat with Kristen about her philosophy of incorporating behavioral science into the Product Manager's domain, creating what she dubs the Behavioral Product Manager. Kristen outlines how behavioral science gives us the missing pieces of the Product Manager's toolkit. 
 
 
Producer’s Note: This interview with our guest Kristen Berman and our hosts Zarak Kahn and Erik Johnson originally took place in 2018. In 2021, Kristen wrote a chapter for the book “Building Behavioral Science in an Organization,” which was edited by Zarak Khan and Laurel Newman, and published through Action Design Press with assistance from U Penn’s Master of Behavioral and Decision Sciences program. Kristen’s chapter in that book centers around the same topic as this interview: How behavioral science could and should be applied to Product Management. With the book release last year, we felt it was a great opportunity to reprise this fascinating interview, and generate some further discussion about this topic.
Namika Sagara - Behavioral Science in Consumer and Market Research 0
Jan 13, 2022

Happy 2022, Action Designers! In our first episode of the year, Zarak and Erik are joined by Namika Sagara to discuss her journey from academia to behavioral science practitioner, and how she applies BeSci to the field of consumer and market research.

 

Namika has a Ph.D. in Consumer Behavior and Judgment and Decision Making, founded the Behavioral Science Center for Ipsos in North America, and is currently the Chief Behavioral Officer for Syntoniq Inc., a behavioral insights consultancy and research firm. She is a prolific speaker and writer, including a chapter on Consumer and Market Research for the book “Building Behavioral Science in an Organization,” which was edited by Laurel Newman and our very own Zarak Khan, and published by Action Design Press with support from the University of Pennsylvania’s Master of Behavioral and Decision Sciences program.

 

Dive into this first episode of 2022 to hear Namika’s expertise on topics like focusing on how consumers actually think and behave in the real world, as well as the struggles and techniques to simulate real-life behavior in a market research and development environment. She also has tips for aspiring BeSci practitioners on the importance of support from organizational leadership.

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