Cover image of show Unlocking Behaviour Change

Unlocking Behaviour Change

Podcast by Robert West

English

Technology & science

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About Unlocking Behaviour Change

Unlocking Behaviour Change is a podcast delving into psychology and motivation. Join Professor Robert West, a world-leading behavioural scientist, and Jamie West, a writer and musician, as they explore the human mind with practical insights and a touch of humour. Whether you’re into psychology, behaviour science, or just want to understand yourself (and others) a little better, this podcast is for you. Check out our latest books: Energise: The Secrets Of Motivation: https://shorturl.at/bbA7y React: Harness Your Animal Brain: https://shorturl.at/yiFQ9 Sign up to Robert’s Substack: https://robertwest100.substack.com/ Subscribe to the UBC YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@unlockingbehaviourchange

All episodes

52 episodes

episode What role do values play in our behaviour? artwork

What role do values play in our behaviour?

Is stealing always bad? Are we all hypocrites? What do we do when our morals conflict with our own self-interest? Join Robert and Jamie as they discuss values, ethics and judgements, exploring ideas from a Substack article [https://robertwest100.substack.com/p/understanding-human-values-a-brief?r=ec72w] Robert has written drawing together key writings of psychologists and others on values. Here is a link to the article. An important point that Robert brings out is that values such as kindness and understanding always operate within our personal spheres of affiliation - who we identify with and feel some attachment to. Want more? Check out our latest books:   Energise: The Secrets Of Motivation: https://shorturl.at/bbA7y [https://shorturl.at/bbA7y]  React: Harness Your Animal Brain: https://shorturl.at/yiFQ9 [https://shorturl.at/yiFQ9]   Sign up to Robert’s Substack: https://robertwest100.substack.com/ [https://robertwest100.substack.com/]   Subscribe to the UBC YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@unlockingbehaviourchange [https://www.youtube.com/@unlockingbehaviourchange]

19 May 2026 - 24 min
episode Justice is in the eye of the beholder artwork

Justice is in the eye of the beholder

Our sense of justice plays a huge role in our moral judgements and our behaviour. But there are many different versions of justice - what is justice for one person is gross unfairness for another. In their journey through things we like and dislike, Robert and Jamie delve into this thorny topic and what it means for behavioural scientists. Want more? Check out our latest books:   Energise: The Secrets Of Motivation: https://shorturl.at/bbA7y [https://shorturl.at/bbA7y]  React: Harness Your Animal Brain: https://shorturl.at/yiFQ9 [https://shorturl.at/yiFQ9]   Sign up to Robert’s Substack: https://robertwest100.substack.com/ [https://robertwest100.substack.com/]   Subscribe to the UBC YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@unlockingbehaviourchange [https://www.youtube.com/@unlockingbehaviourchange]

12 May 2026 - 27 min
episode Power struggles and group identity artwork

Power struggles and group identity

Robert and Jamie continue to explore sources of likes and dislikes (in the broadest sense) and in this episode move on to 'power' and how that relates to leadership. Robert reflects on the idea that often people don;t just want power for themselves, but for groups with whom they identify - and this is an extremely important source of conflict.  Here [https://robertwest100.substack.com/p/what-do-we-tend-to-like-and-dislike] is a link to the Substack article containing the pretty comprehensive list of sources of likes and dislikes. Want more? Check out our latest books:   Energise: The Secrets Of Motivation: https://shorturl.at/bbA7y [https://shorturl.at/bbA7y]  React: Harness Your Animal Brain: https://shorturl.at/yiFQ9 [https://shorturl.at/yiFQ9]   Sign up to Robert’s Substack: https://robertwest100.substack.com/ [https://robertwest100.substack.com/]   Subscribe to the UBC YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@unlockingbehaviourchange [https://www.youtube.com/@unlockingbehaviourchange]

5 May 2026 - 27 min
episode The extraordinary motivating force of 'purpose' and 'transcendence' artwork

The extraordinary motivating force of 'purpose' and 'transcendence'

Humans appear to need some kind of purpose to our existence. It might be directed at spiritual enlightenment, furthering the well-being of the species, personal growth, getting good at something, or even just collecting stamps. Robert and Jamie discuss this as part of their examination of things that act as sources of wants and needs. They also delve briefly into the related topic of 'transcendence' - the sense of there being something beyond the physical world. Like other sources of wants and needs, these can be extremely pervasive and powerful influences on our behaviour and need to be considered when examining why people do things and how we can influence what they do. The full list of things we like and dislike can be found in this substack article [https://robertwest100.substack.com/p/what-do-we-tend-to-like-and-dislike?r=ec72w]. Before they get into the nitty-gritty of the topic, Robert raves about a new musical phenomenon, Angine do Poitrine. For anyone interested, here [https://youtu.be/0Ssi-9wS1so?si=78juDgaSohcjGo-h] is a link to one of the very rapidly growing list of YouTube videos. Want more? Check out our latest books:   Energise: The Secrets Of Motivation: https://shorturl.at/bbA7y [https://shorturl.at/bbA7y]  React: Harness Your Animal Brain: https://shorturl.at/yiFQ9 [https://shorturl.at/yiFQ9]   Sign up to Robert’s Substack: https://robertwest100.substack.com/ [https://robertwest100.substack.com/]   Subscribe to the UBC YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@unlockingbehaviourchange [https://www.youtube.com/@unlockingbehaviourchange]

28 Apr 2026 - 28 min
episode The mysterious power of 'craving' and its role in addiction artwork

The mysterious power of 'craving' and its role in addiction

What are cravings and what causes them? Craving is weird. You'd think that the more we enjoy something the more we would crave it. Not so. We crave things we don’t even like! As part of the series on what people do and do not like, Robert is on to one of his favourite topics.   Here [https://open.substack.com/pub/robertwest100/p/what-do-we-tend-to-like-and-dislike?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web] is a link to the Substack article setting out all the various things people tend to like and dislike. Want more? Check out our latest books:   Energise: The Secrets Of Motivation: https://shorturl.at/bbA7y [https://shorturl.at/bbA7y]  React: Harness Your Animal Brain: https://shorturl.at/yiFQ9 [https://shorturl.at/yiFQ9]   Sign up to Robert’s Substack: https://robertwest100.substack.com/ [https://robertwest100.substack.com/]   Subscribe to the UBC YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@unlockingbehaviourchange [https://www.youtube.com/@unlockingbehaviourchange]

21 Apr 2026 - 28 min
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