How to Change Anyone’s Mind with Author of the Catalyst Jonah Berger, PhD

In this episode, I discuss the roots and applications of effective, authentic persuasion with New York Times best-selling author Jonah Berger, PhD, including topics such as:

How Jonah got interested in persuasion and decision-making What fascinates him about these topics

In The Catalyst, Jonah writes about “Reactance”, which he describes as the negative feeling experienced when told what to do, often triggering resistance and rejection of whatever it is. How should policy makers address Reactance if the goal is to encourage widespread mask-wearing and vaccination, now that we have vaccines approved as safe and effective in the U.S.

Jonah writes about another powerful force affecting people’s decision-making process- “Endowment” – which he defines as the increased value people place on things they’ve been doing or owning for a while, like a home, for example. How can those who want to authentically and honestly persuade take Endowment into account in their persuasion efforts.

The role of emotion, not just data, is so important in persuasion. What Jonah says to those who aren’t comfortable invoking emotion or the type of training that expressly teaches not to invoke emotion?

Where can listeners go to learn more about your work? Any plans yet for your next book?