Professor Ivo Vlaev (Warwick Business School)

Real World Behavioural Science

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Professor Ivo Vlaev is Professor of Behaviour Science at Warwick Business School, Warwick University.
He began his career working in the lab on understanding why people make irrational choices, observing reactions and what part of brain lights ups. He is currently working on an integrated theory of behaviour change taking into account psychology, neuroscience, economics and other social sciences.
Ivo is also the co-author of the MINDSPACE report used by the UK government to design policy using insights from behavioural science and nudge theory, and was the basis for establishing the Behaviour Insights team.

Ivo speaks to Stu about his integrated theory of behaviour change, and how it's aim is to create a taxonomy of taxonomies for consistent and comprehensive language to reduce confusion and better evaluate interventions from health to finance decisions.

They discuss how traditional interventions are based on information and education, as well as focussing on targeting one particular kind of motivation. And how the worst examples can use the 'it sounded like a good idea at the time approach'. Although these can have good outcomes, they lead to a more piecemeal approach. Ivo suggests that the best cases use comprehensive theory and good methodology, for example in financial decisions, where an intervention targeted identity and the framing of people's actions in order to motivate a change in behaviour.
You can find out more about Ivo's work and behaviour change in policy at:
Warwick Business School website
UCL Centre for Behaviour Change
The Behavioural Insights Team