Making Sense of Numbers

22 January 2024

Our most recent article, ‘Making Sense of Numbers’ was recently published in the Market Research Society’s e-magazine Impact. It is a must-read for those looking to learn more about how to most effectively and inclusively communicate numbers.

Functional numeracy levels in the UK are a big concern, with over half of the working-age population having the numeracy levels of a child aged 9-11. Therefore, developing ways to improve numerical communication is vital.

This article explores how behavioural science can be used to improve how people understand and make decisions using numbers. The concepts we concentrate on in the article are:

  • Cognitive ease

    • When information is presented in a way that requires minimal cognitive capacity and lets someone make decisions using ‘System 1’ thinking.

  • Anchoring

    • We look for reference points (anchors) that we can rely on and adjust our judgements and decisions from.

Sharing the latest research on number communication, we explore how cognitive ease can be built, even actually avoiding using numbers where possible! We also highlight the benefits of using anchors or reference points to put abstract numbers into context and make them easier to relate to.

You can read it here!

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