Covid-19 Crisis: Don’t Outsource Your Critical Thinking with Christian Hunt

Christian Hunt is the founder of Human Risk, a Behavioral Science consulting and training firm specializing in risk, compliance, conduct & culture. Previously, Christian was the head of Behavioral Science at UBS and Chief Operating Officer of the Prudential Regulation Authority.  He is an expert on risk and how people perceive risk. 

We wanted to talk to Christian about how we perceive risk and whether or not our human biases are overblowing (or undervaluing) the current pandemic. We also chatted about a concept introduced to us by Deborah Small, a professor at Wharton, called distorted risk perception.

And Christian reminded us of one of the most important things to do, now more than ever: the best way to stop spreading the fake news virus is by leveraging our System 2 thinking. Be critical. Be skeptical of the sources of the material you’re reading and hearing. In sum: don’t outsource your critical thinking.

© 2020 Behavioral Grooves

Connect with Kurt and Tim:

Kurt Nelson, PhD: @WhatMotivates  e-mail: [email protected]

Tim Houlihan: @THoulihan  e-mail: [email protected]

Lantern Group: http://lanterngroup.com/

BehaviorAlchemy: https://www.behavioralchemy.com/

Behavioral Grooves: https://behavioralgrooves.com/

Weekly Grooves: https://weeklygrooves.podbean.com/

Common Biases & Heuristics: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XHpBr0VFcaT8wIUpr-9zMIb79dFMgOVFRxIZRybiftI/edit#

General Coronavirus Info:

Daily Newsletter Summarizing data from Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security: http://www.centerforhealthsecurity.org/newsroom/newsletters/e-newsletter-sign-up.html

CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

Great videos on the science behind this by Dr. Peter Attia – this is the first in a series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNVhLyAlfA4

What is herd immunity? https://www.technologyreview.com/s/615375/what-is-herd-immunity-and-can-it-stop-the-coronavirus/

Coronavirus & Behavioral Science:

Selected Links: The Behavioral Sice of Coronavirus: https://behavioralscientist.org/selected-links-the-behavioral-science-of-the-coronavirus-covid-19/

Why no one is reading your coronavirus email: https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/13/opinions/coronavirus-emails-effective-messaging-rogers/index.html

Handwashing can stop a virus, so why don’t we do it?:  https://behavioralscientist.org/handwashing-can-stop-a-virus-so-why-dont-we-do-it-coronavirus-covid-19/

The behavioral science of handwashing: https://think.ing.com/articles/the-behavioural-science-of-hand-washing/

How we can cope or be better during this crisis:

Tip Sheet from HUMU: https://humu.com/remote-nudges/

Resources for learning at home: https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/commentary/resources-learning-home-during-covid-19-school-closures?utm_source=join1440&utm_medium=email&utm_placement=etcetera

General Behavioral Science and other info related or talked about in the series:

Common Biases and Heuristics: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XHpBr0VFcaT8wIUpr-9zMIb79dFMgOVFRxIZRybiftI/edit#

Jonathan Haidt – 5 Moral Foundations: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_foundations_theory

Jürgen Klopp: https://ftw.usatoday.com/2020/03/jurgen-klopp-goes-off-on-reporter-after-being-asked-about-coronavirus-again

UBI (Universal Basic Income): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_income

7-Minute Workout: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECxYJcnvyMw

4 Drive Model: https://www.leadersbeacon.com/how-great-leaders-use-the-4-drive-model-to-impact-employee-motivation/

Universal Basic Income: https://behavioralscientist.org/checkscheckschecks-why-we-need-a-universal-basic-income-now-coronavirus/

Why we are not going back to normal: https://www.technologyreview.com/s/615370/coronavirus-pandemic-social-distancing-18-months/