46. Human Behaviour with Dame Theresa Marteau

Humans are known for taking risks, but are all risks equal? Human behaviour can teach us a lot about cognitive decision making, but how can we change other humans risk-taking, and should we?

Show Notes

Theresa Marteau is a British health psychologist, professor, and director of the Behaviour and Health Research Unit at the University of Cambridge. Her initial research concerned communicating risk information and found out that people usually don’t change their behaviours despite receiving any form of information about preventable diseases like type 2 diabetes or certain types of cancer. Hence, she decided to redirect her focus on the non-conscious rather than conscious processes that could improve people’s health behaviours e.g. reducing glass size to reduce alcohol consumption. Through that research, she’s demonstrated that it is the change in government policies or population-level interventions - putting nudge theory into practice - that present a potential for the improvement in our population’s health. For these notable findings and contributions she was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2017 Queen's Birthday Honours List.

 

Nudge theory

 

Social psychology

 

Milgram experiment

 

Obedience to Authority: An Experimental View by Stanley Milgram

 

Spatial, temporal, and demographic patterns in prevalence of smoking tobacco use and attributable disease burden in 204 countries and territories, 1990–2019: a systematic analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

 

Impact of bottle size on in-home consumption of wine: feasibility and acceptability randomised cross-over study

 

Shopper lab

 

Impact of minimum unit pricing on alcohol purchases in Scotland and Wales: controlled interrupted time series analyses

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Professor David Nutt has spent a career making the argument for a rational, evidence-based approach to drug policy and drug use. The scientific evidence still challenges perceived wisdom on drugs and for that reason can appear to be contentious. In this podcast, the Professor explores the actual harms and potential benefits of various drugs, challenging myths surrounding classification and legislation, and exploring the societal impact of poorly informed drug policy. Using evidence in public policy should not be controversial. A podcast for anyone interested in understanding the scientific truth about drugs, free from political or moral concern.