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Paperback
Published: 2nd July 2025
Hardback
Published: 30th October 2024
Paperback
Published: 1st January 2025
The Housefly Effect: The Nudge Psychology That Steers Our Everyday Behaviour
By (Author) Eva van den Broek & Tim den Heijer
Translated by Anna Asbury and Laura Vroomen
Bedford Square Publishers
Bedford Square Publishers
1st January 2025
United Kingdom
General
Non Fiction
Popular psychology
Paperback
240
Width 153mm, Height 234mm
An accessible, fun and practical introduction to behavioural science, featuring insightful examples from the laboratory, advertising and marketing, as well as from daily life.
How do house flies help save millions of euros
Presented with the image of a fly in toilet bowls in airports, cafs and other public places, men without realizing it aim better and splash less, thereby reducing loads of cleaning costs.
In THE HOUSEFLY EFFECT behavioral scientist Eva van den Broek and advertising expert Tim den Heijer explain how to recognize The Housefly Effect (and many other effects) in our everyday lives and how we can use it to our advantage.
Sometimes the smallest things can have a surprisingly large effect.We are not nearly as rational as wed like to think every day we overestimate our ability to resist temptation. Effective advertising experts use this to nudge us, making the most of our natural behaviour. In order to process the millions of decisions we make each day, our brains take shortcuts. We are fooled by drugs that dont contain active ingredients, traffic light buttons that arent connected, and the obsolete save feature in MS Word these are all examples of placebos that can be surprisingly reassuring.
There are countless things that affect our behaviour: reward and punishment, beauty and attraction, and the human tendency to follow the crowd. This book offers an accessible, fun and practical introduction to behavioural science and features insightful examples from the laboratory, advertising, and marketing - as well as from daily life.
'By far the best management book I've read so far this year! A book that is extremely interesting and at the same time manages to amaze, irritate, make you laugh and evoke recognition'
-- Danielle de Jong * Managementboek *'Tim & Eva have written a brilliant book. They explain to the reader the practical implications of behavioural science in a light-hearted manner that will appeal to a broad range of readers'
-- Richard Shotton'A delicious book, that seduces you with one enjoyable example after another. It is very relatable, but it also includes some real eye-openers'
-- Jort KelderTim den Heijer is a creative strategist, copywriter and founder of B.R.A.I.N. Creatives. He has 20 years of experience in advertising and has worked for some of the biggest brands on the planet. Eva van den Broek holds a PhD in behavioral economist and is the founder of Behavioral Insights The Netherlands. She aims to improve policy with a better understanding of behavioral insights and is a sought-after lecturer and events speaker.