Changing Behavior Through Positive Strategies

Overview

• Everyone has behaviors they wish to change in themselves or others (e.g., kids, spouses, colleagues).
• There is new research revealing what effectively drives behavior change.

Common Strategy and its Limits

• Typical Approach: Use of threats/warnings
  • Example: Telling oneself "Beware, you'll be fat" to stop snacking.
  • Common in health campaigns and policies.
• Scientific Evidence: Warnings have limited impact.
  • Graphic images on cigarette packs don't deter smokers.
  • One study found these images made quitting a lower priority.
• Why Warnings Fail: Fear Response
  • Humans (like animals) tend to freeze or flee rather than fight when scared.
  • Rationalization: People justify risks (e.g., "My grandpa smoked till 90").
  • Avoidance: People avoid negative information (e.g., checking stock accounts only when the market is high).

Experiment Findings

• Study on Negative Events
  • Asked ~100 people to estimate likelihoods of negative events.
  • Compared reactions to expert opinions showing better vs. worse probabilities.
• Main Finding: People favor and believe positive information over negative.
  • Consistent across ages 10 to 80.
  • Ability to learn from bad news is weakest in kids/teenagers and decreases after 40.

Positive Strategies for Change

• Case Study: Handwashing in Hospitals
  • Baseline: Only one in ten medical staff washed hands before/after patient contact.
  • Intervention: Electronic boards displaying handwashing stats.
  • Result: Compliance raised to 90%.
  • Principals Used: Social incentives, immediate rewards, progress monitoring.

Key Incentives for Behavior Change

1. Social Incentives

• People conform to and want to outperform others.
  • Example: British government increasing tax compliance by noting "9 out of 10 people pay their taxes on time".

2. Immediate Rewards

• Immediate tangible rewards motivate better than uncertain future gains.
  • Example: Rewarding smoking cessation and exercise improves long-term compliance.

3. Progress Monitoring

• Focus on ongoing improvements drives sustained effort.
  • Example: Highlighting sports performance improvement to motivate kids to stop smoking.

Additional Insights

• Balancing Fear and Control
  • Fear induces inaction; positive reinforcement induces action.
  • Example: Showing individual’s energy use versus others with immediate feedback (smiley face) motivates energy saving.
• Sense of Control
  • Giving a sense of control is crucial; it enhances motivation to change behavior.

Conclusion

• Rethink motivation strategies: Use positive reinforcement rather than fear to induce behavior change.
• Final Thought: Leveraging our natural inclination towards positivity and progress can lead to more effective behavior modification.

Applause