Jonah Berger: Change Anyone's Mind | E158

This week on YAP, we’re chatting with Jonah Berger, NYT best-selling author, full-time professor at Wharton University and a world-renowned expert on change, influence, and consumer behavior.

Ever since he was a kid, Jonah had an eye for patterns and data. At age 7, he tested at genius IQ levels, AND he got near-perfect SAT scores in high school. His mathematical, detail-oriented mind makes him exceptionally aware of patterns in human behavior.

Jonah is author of three books on psychology and consumer behavior, and two of his books, Contagious and Invisible Influence are New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers. He was named one of the top 30 leaders in business by the American Management Association, and one of the most creative people in business by Fast Company magazine.

In this episode, Jonah tells us about how he first became interested in human behavior and what career opportunities are available in this field. We’ll learn why people are not like marbles in the sense that they cannot be forced to change; and why removing key barriers like reactance and endowment is what actually can bring about successful change in people.

If you want to learn the way to change anyone’s mind and more generally bring about change in the world - this episode is for you!

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Timestamps:

1:21 - How Jonah first gained interested in human behavior, technology, and the relationship between people and technology

3:24 - The types of jobs that are available in the field of psychology, consumerism, and human behavior, and the complexity of that industry

7:11 - Jonah discusses a study he conducted about changing human behavior across multiple industries, and he describes the concept of ‘pushing’

9:36 - Jonah relates chemical changes to human behavioral changes

12:08- Jonah explains what makes a good (and bad) negotiator

15:44- Jonah tells a story about Tide Pods and how Procter & Gamble handled negative press surrounding them

18:56- He explains why people want control over the products we buy and the choices we make, and how this drives people to deliberately make poor decisions

21:50- Jonah explains what it was like to release his book at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and his opinions on the way that information and protocols were communicated to the public during the pandemic

24:03- The importance of giving your customer or client choices, rather than pushing one product, service, or idea

27:37- jonah explains his strategy, “Ask, don’t tell,” which illustrates the importance of asking questions

32:07- Jonah explains a successful anti-smoking campaign in Thailand and the science behind it

36:50- Jonah talks about the “endowment effect” and why people stick with comfortability and familiarity

39:00- He describes the right way to utilize information in a conversation

41:22- Jonah explains the ‘uncertainty tax’

44:32- Jonah’s advice for becoming more profitable

Mentioned In The Episode:

Jonah’s Website: https://jonahberger.com/

Jonah’s Books: https://jonahberger.com/books/