As we delve into a new year, we have a selection of insights and ideas to help your thinking for 2022.

We start with the welcome if perhaps hopeful news that uncertainty can be motivating to the different reasons and ways that people deceive themselves.

We look at the benefits (and barriers) of talking to people to people we don’t know - and why this will be important for many of our audiences as they live through and emerge from lockdowns around the world.

And as you develop your plans for 2022 - zeroing in on growth opportunities and making your marketing more effective, we’d love to help. Tell us what you're trying to do and we''ll share how we can help.

Oh, and finally, we have a goldfish driving a car.

A very happy new year and here’s to great things in 2022.

Every so often we use our Monkey Business newsletter to share useful nuggets, opinions, and findings as food for thought. Sign up here.

How uncertainty can be motivating.

Chances are you’ll have dealt with a fair amount of uncertainty over the last couple of years. In this article, Ayelet Fishbach explains how there can be a positive psychological side of uncertainty.

“Uncertainty by itself is no fun; no one likes staying in the dark. But resolving the uncertainty, learning the payoff for your efforts, and thereby moving from the dark to the light, is psychologically rewarding. Athletes stay motivated because of and not in spite of the fact that victory is never a sure thing.”

Photo by Moose Photos from Pexels

Why people deceive themselves

When people are faced with evidence that contradicts them, it would be logical to think that they simply change their minds. But people are, as we know, far from entirely logical.

In this study, teams from Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) and the University of Antwerp investigated the different roles of self-deception in everyday life and the strategies that people employ.

Useful if your work involves trying to change attitudes and behaviour.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels

The benefits of talking to people you don’t know.

If you’re looking at the impact of lockdowns and working from home on your audiences, check out these insights from Researchers at the University of Chicago

Their studies “show that people have more positive experiences when they connect with strangers than when they choose not to."

Also that “people often refrain from talking to strangers for fear of being perceived as rude or being rejected, even though the opposite is true”.

And that “talking to strangers can help one make an impact on someone else's life, as well as lead to new insights and even friendships”.

Fascinating reading.

Photo by August de Richelieu from Pexels

What are your commercial plans for 2022?

What are you thinking about? We can help you.

Are you trying to find opportunities in existing or new markets? To find new growth opportunities?

Combining psychology and data will show you the best opportunities for your business; revealing powerful ways to address them based on their psychological makeup.

It helped one client reduce cost per acquisition by 39%

Perhaps you want your propositions and communications to be more compelling and persuasive?

You can refine your propositions more rigorously and scientifically using psychology and behavioural techniques, alongside your existing delivery teams.

It helped another client increase conversion by 2%

What are your aims for the year? Do let us know and we'll share how we can help.

Photo by Monstera from Pexels

And finally, a goldfish driving a car (on land)

This study from from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, was intended to examine whether an animal’s sense of direction was innate or connected to its natural environment.

Spoiler alert: it was found that a fish could, indeed drive a car. For the study click here. To just watch a fish driving a car, click here.

Photo by Rheyan Glenn Dela Cruz Manggob from Pexels

James, Patrick and Dan

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We practically apply the science of the human mind for hard, commercial results 

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