The Science of Financial Behaviour: Behavioural Biases as Game Ingredients is a recorded webinar with presentation slides from Omneya Omar, the Behavioral Research and Insights Manager at Zoud, created for Zoud GameLab. This is the first of two “Behavioural Science for Game Jam” sessions.
Summary: Financial wellbeing isn’t built on knowledge alone. Zoud’s UAE Financial Behaviour Study found that 74% of people feel confident managing their money, yet 36% couldn’t cover a one-month unexpected expense without borrowing or help. The session explains why, using ten behavioural biases, including present bias, anchoring, loss aversion, mental accounting, social influence, and sunk cost. Each comes with everyday money examples and game ideas, and the session closes with five principles for designing games that change behaviour.
Big Idea: Knowing what to do and doing it are different things, and the gap comes from time pressure, emotion, and social influence. A game can let players feel those pulls safely, before they meet them in real life.
Playable Takeaway: Every bias in this session is already a game moment waiting to happen, like a tempting “now,” a flashy discount, or a loss you want to win back, so start with the one you’ve felt yourself.
Watch the full session above or on YouTube here.
Access the presentation slides here.