{"articles":[{"id":208,"title":"Anchoring","title_decorated":"Anchoring","slug":"anchoring","introduction":"75% off? Really? Such luck. You’re about to make the saving of a lifetime. Or maybe you just got anchored.","category_id":11,"section_id":1,"override_title":"","detailed_introduction":"Anchoring was first introduced by renowned psychologists Kahneman & Tversky in 1974. They defined it as the tendency to anchor future perceptions of value on the first number that we are exposed to. In other words, our judgement is affected by the first piece of information we see or hear. It becomes the reference point in our mind and is surprisingly powerful in influencing our decision making. It is a long established concept. And it is notoriously being taken advantage of by businesses. For example during sales. That offer of 75% that was impossible to refuse? Was it a funky tie-dye shirt for £25 instead of £100? You saw the big 100 and figured that 25 is really cheap in comparison? Could it be that the retailer is playing psychological tricks on you? Luckily, anyone can make use of anchoring, for example when haggling. The old-school tactic of ‘start-higher-or-lower-than-you-intend-to-settle-for’. Everyone knows that trick. But now, thanks to anchoring, you also know that you benefit from being the first to mention an initial, much exaggerated, price. It sets the tone for the whole negotiation, anchoring prices around this figure. Anchoring can also be useful in setting the scale for counter offers. An initial offer of £5,000 for, let’s say, this magnificent selfie brush, may result in a counter offer for £4,500. Whereas an initial offer of £4,950 might result in a more specific and closer counter offer of £4,850. It’s better to use a precise number that anchors the price increments, rather than a generic straight number. Great. Now go return that tie-dye shirt and selfie brush. ","thumbnail":[{"id":"s_87Jse6Y","url":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/theretailpsychologist-production/coucou/2019/9/10/115059/Anchoring.jpg","caption":"","dimensions":{"height":2346,"width":4167}}],"path":"/insights/anchoring","published_on":"10/09/19","author":"Raphael Güller","management_summary":"","category":{"id":11,"title":"Primer","slug":"primer","title_singularized":"Primer"},"section":{"id":1,"title":"Insights","slug":"insights","intro":"Bite-sized updates on what makes brands and consumers tick, to empower good decision making.","title_singularized":"Insight"}},{"id":229,"title":"Creativity at Work","title_decorated":"Creativity in the Workplace","slug":"creativity-at-work","introduction":"Are you struggling to engage with your work? Do you perhaps have a boring office job? Stuck at your desk all day doing the same thing week after week? ","category_id":4,"section_id":1,"override_title":"Creativity in the Workplace","detailed_introduction":"The solution to these problems may potentially be resolved by increasing your creativity. Creativity allows you to approach things differently, finding new ways to do the things that once bored you. This article will explore exactly what creativity is, and the variety of ways in which it can be promoted or enhanced within the workplace. Creativity consists of two parts; originality and usefulness^{[1](#1571743686727)}. So, when we talk about being creative at work, we’re actually asking how we can encourage new and effective approaches. So, how can we encourage creativity in a work environment? Even if the job itself does not naturally appear creative, new approaches can always be explored; you can create new time-saving formulas for that excel spreadsheet, or try different tactics in your sales. Several tips for encouraging creativity, originating from scientific research, will be detailed below. The first tip is to tidy up. Yes, the environment around us is important, and the clutter around your desk may actually be hampering your creativity. Research has shown that the less complex your office surroundings, the greater the potential for creative thinking to occur. This research actually explores the way office design impacts the potential for creativity^{[2](#1571743686727)}. The results showed that the following elements can inspire creativity; lower complexity, brighter lights, more plants, windows, and cooler colours. As such, consider adjusting and changing up the environment around your desk; it could prove to have surprisingly effective benefits on your creativity. Secondly, to be creative, it may be best to be in a good mood. There exists research that shows a linear relationship between affect and creativity^{[3](#1571743686727)}. This means that the more positive your mood, the greater your creativity will likely be. So maybe it’s worth getting that extra snack, if it puts you in a better place. However the link between creativity and mood may not be so simple. Other research has indicated that mood works differently depending on the rewards, and amount of recognition we think we’ll get^{[4](#1571743686727)}. As such, when we’re in a good mood, creative performance is hampered if we think we will get high rewards and recognition for it. This means that to encourage creativity in the workplace, we should ensure that people are motivated by the task at hand, and not the rewards that they think will come from it. Finally, another less conventional tip on enhancing creativity would be to head to the bar. Yes, the link between alcohol and creativity has long been supposed by popular culture, but it is only recently that there have been some scientific studies that have confirmed this link^{[5](#1571743686727)}. Just remember to take it easy - most of the studies have been performed on people who have had just a few drinks. As such, we have explored how several different elements can be utilised to enhance creativity in the workplace. This may encourage both new and different ways of thinking, which in turn may help to ensure that your business succeeds.","thumbnail":[{"id":"IuWMmZ2Ya","url":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/theretailpsychologist-production/coucou/2019/10/22/112952/photo-1509043990151-c2ea135dfd26.jpg","caption":"","dimensions":{"height":500,"width":750}}],"path":"/insights/creativity-at-work","published_on":"22/10/19","author":"Raphael Güller","management_summary":" ","category":{"id":4,"title":"Analysis","slug":"analysis","title_singularized":"Analysis"},"section":{"id":1,"title":"Insights","slug":"insights","intro":"Bite-sized updates on what makes brands and consumers tick, to empower good decision making.","title_singularized":"Insight"}}]}