Marketing Psychology In Real Life | To The Power of X, Episode 4
By Chuck McCarthy · August 3, 2026 · 30:26 read
Category: News & Politics
Show: To The Power of X
“Only two tickets left” is sometimes true, and sometimes it’s a psychological crowbar. We sit down with Courtney Turrin, a psychologist and neuroscience-trained researcher who now works in marketing,
“Only two tickets left” is sometimes true, and sometimes it’s a psychological crowbar. We sit down with Courtney Turrin, a psychologist and neuroscience-trained researcher who now works in marketing, to unpack why urgency, fear, and “limited time” language can hijack our attention even when we know better.
We dig into the core behavioral science that shows up in modern digital marketing: attention as the scarcest resource, emotional valence (negative, neutral, positive) and how it changes what people notice, and loss aversion as the engine behind FOMO-driven messaging.
Courtney breaks down common conversion patterns like three-tier pricing and “most popular” positioning, then we stress-test what’s fair versus what’s manipulative using a real ticket-buying story that spirals into scalper pricing and fake scarcity.
We also talk about remarketing and why it works: repetition creates fluency and familiarity, which can build trust and recall, but it can also create that instant “ick” when relevance is off, or advertising tactics get too aggressive.
The big takeaway for marketers is to stop relying only on hindsight metrics and start forming research-backed hypotheses about why people behave the way they do. Slow down, verify, and notice what lever is being pulled before you click.
If this helped you see ads and sales pages with clearer eyes, subscribe, share this with a skeptical friend, and leave a review with the one marketing tactic you want us to break down next.
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