In two recent posts, I have posed questions about the appropriateness or inappropriateness of manipulating consumers by taking advantage of behavioral phenomena beyond their awareness. We behavioral scientists know things about human nature that most people haven’t learned. That is why we can fill books with visual illusions – our understanding of how the brain…
In a recent report from the IOM, the US comes in with surprisingly low life expectancy compared to other developed countries. Take, for instance, this picture from USA Today, showing life expectancy for women:
At the same time, we spend WAY MORE on health care than any of our peers. No one is even a close second. Does that mean our spending is not yielding appropriate results? Those of you who follow my writing (I’m talking to BOTH of you) know that I have serious concerns about health care spending in the US. But keep in mind, that life expectancy is a TERRIBLE measure of health care quality…(Read more here)
Let’s warm up with a quick arithmetic problem, which I want you to do in your head. What is one thousand plus forty? Now add another thousand And thirty more Plus twenty Plus another thousand And finally, add an additional ten. What’s the answer? According to Dean Buonomano, in his excellent book Brain Bugs, the majority…
In his new book, Detroit City is the Place to Be, Mark Binelli describes the scene outside his residence in language so wonderful I had to share it with you: “By 9 o’clock on a Sunday morning, when I’d step out to buy a newspaper, I’d spot the tailgaters bundled up like deer hunters, clutching copied…
In August of 2009, Sarah Palin claimed that the health legislation being crafted by Democrats at the time would create a “death panel,” in which government bureaucrats would decide whether disabled and elderly patients are “worthy of healthcare.” Despite being debunked by fact-checkers and mainstream media outlets, this myth has persisted, with almost half of…
Here is a quick summary from the Wall Street Journal of what the U.S. Federal Debt looks like now that we have avoided, at least for now, the fiscal cliff. As you will see, we didn’t do much to balance the budget. In the short run, that is ok. Too much balancing, too quickly, and…
Steven Johnson was a rising star at the NordicWear Company, even before that brutal winter of 2002. But then, thanks to a rebate program he instituted for their new line of snow pants, he rocketed up the corporate ladder. His plan was brilliant in its simplicity. Late in the previous winter, he ran a series…
I teach a course on consumer irrationality and market failure at the Fuqua School of Business. I open up one of my lectures with a brief video demonstration of what psychologists call “the McGurk effect.” (See an example here.) In the video, a man makes the sound “ba ba ba.” About half of my students invariably identify…
Part of Obamacare involved expanding Medicaid, the health insurance program for low income folks in the U.S. The law required states to offer Medicaid to people living at 125% of the federal poverty limit or lower. States that refused to do this would lose Federal funding for Medicaid (which splits costs about 50/50 federal vs…
The book Critical Decisions: How You and Your Doctor Can Make the Right Medical Choices Together by Peter A. Ubel, MD effectively makes the case that good medical decisions require empowered patients, clinicians prepared to support them and techniques to help them communicate.[1] Better than any existing literature, this book highlights techniques and behaviors that clinicians…