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Unlocking Behaviour Change

Unlocking Behaviour Change

By: Robert West
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Summary

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/@unlockingbehaviourchangeCopyright 2025 All rights reserved. Hygiene & Healthy Living Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Science Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Power struggles and group identity
    May 5 2026

    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 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

    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

    Show More Show Less
    28 mins
  • The extraordinary motivating force of 'purpose' and 'transcendence'
    Apr 28 2026

    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.

    Before they get into the nitty-gritty of the topic, Robert raves about a new musical phenomenon, Angine do Poitrine. For anyone interested, here 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

    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

    Show More Show Less
    29 mins
  • The mysterious power of 'craving' and its role in addiction
    Apr 21 2026

    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 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

    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

    Show More Show Less
    29 mins
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