How can psychologists get you to lead a healthier life? We all have “noble intentions” when it comes to eating well and exercising regularly, but those intentions often don’t last too long and you’re back to your old unhealthy ways. We can lecture you again about the benefits of healthy eating and exercise, or we can try to “nudge” you toward healthier eating. In this episode I talk about a articles that appeared in the journal Health Psychology about how subtle influences can be used to make big changes in our lives.

Resources for this Episode

• • Expectancy Theory, Goal Setting and Getting in Shape

• • The Fat Trap: How Not to Get Discouraged About Difficulty Losing Weight

• • How Not to Get Discouraged About the Difficulty of Losing Weight

• • Thomas, J., Robinson, E., Aveyard, P., Jebb, S., Herman, C., & Higgs, S. (2016). Using a descriptive norm message to increase vegetable selection in a workplace restaurant setting. Appetite, 107, 692-693. doi:10.1016/j.appet.2016.08.090

• • Using a descriptive social norm to increase vegetable selection in workplace restaurant settings

• • Raghunathan, R., Naylor, R. W., & Hoyer, W. D. (2006). The Unhealthy = Tasty Intuition and Its Effects on Taste Inferences, Enjoyment, and Choice of Food Products. Journal of Marketing, 70(4), 170-184. doi:10.1509/jmkg.70.4.170

• • Marteau, T. M., Ogilvie, D., Roland, M., Suhrcke, M., & Kelly, M. P. (2011). Judging nudging: can nudging improve population health? Bmj, 342(Jan25 3), D228-D228. doi:10.1136/bmj.d228