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Nudge Theory, in the UK, really started with the Conservative Government under David Cameron.  Officially called ‘The Behavioural Insights Team’ they became known as ‘The Nudge Unit’ under its leader, David Halpern, whose book is a real recommend, and listed in the 'want more' section.

The Nudge Unit had spectacular successes in making slight changes to Government letters, forms and processes, which achieved amazing results.  The name ‘nudge’ comes from the main strategy used, which is, by understanding human behaviour, what happens and why, you can nudge people towards or away from particular actions, without the individual knowing what is going on.  To some, that smacks of manipulation, but to others, it is thought to be an extremely effective course of action when used for the greater good and social benefit.

Now - have a go at the quiz…


Nudge Theory: what's it all about?...

in a bowl of fresh fruit, why is it that usually oranges are left?

messy

difficult to peel

why, when asked not to take rare fossils from Yosemite NP, more people took them?

attractive to take, and also scarce

others are doing it

why does fly tipping occur?

already established

convenient

why did the introduction of blister packs reduce suicide?

difficult to get at

why does this happen?

easier/quicker

others do it

when is the best time to sell fertilizers to farmers?

harvest time

(when farmers have money)

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The top two flip boxes focus two key principles underpinning the nudge approach: firstly, observation is key, and secondly, there will always be exceptions.  The first principle – observation is key, is based on the assumption that you cannot always trust what people say.  People don’t always do what they say they will do.  Better to observe their behaviours than take their word for it.  The second principle is based on favouring percentages.  No public policy or process will be favoured by everyone. 100% acceptance is very unlikely.  But if 70% - even 51% act as wanted, then go with the majority, and have different strategies for those who object.  This is particularly important if, as can be the case, it is the those who object, often the minority, are the most vociferous in their complaints.

The bottom two flip boxes: A key feature of Nudge Theory is the mnemonic (or acronym) EAST.  EAST stands for

Easy

Attractive

Socially acceptable

Timely

So according to the theory, people are more likely to do something if it is easy, attractive, socially acceptable (ie what most people do), and timely, as in convenient.

So we can see these factors at work in the 6 pictures:

In terms of easy - taking the path through the trees is easier; fly tipping may be easier than travelling to a more distant official site

In terms of attractive - people took the fossils because they were attractive to look at, and were told they were becoming scarce – and scarcity is a powerful motivator for acquiring something (think about how stores ran out of products when the first Covid lockdown was announced)

In terms of socially acceptable, people may more comfortably take fossils, take a path through the trees, and fly tip because others are doing it

In terms of timely, selling requires people to have the money to buy – so selling should be focused on the time when purchasers can most afford to buy – not when the fertilisers are needed!

It is also very important to recognize that the reverse of these four factors are also influential, in that doing the opposite of EAST is likely to discourage most behaviours.  It would be great of the opposite of EAST was WEST – but it isn’t – it is DUSI – standing for difficult, unattractive, socially unacceptable and inconvenient, in terms of time.

And we can see these four DUSI factors at work in the 6 quiz panels:

Oranges are left because they are Difficult, and Unattractive in terms of their messiness when peeling

Blister packs of tablets are much more Difficult, and Inconvenient to open if there is an urge to commit suicide. By the time someone has attempted to open 100 blisters, and quickly, the urge may have subsided

So if you want to prevent behaviours, then make the action or behaviour more difficult to carry out, unattractive, socially unacceptable, and inconvenient.


Principles & Practice

observation is key

don't rely on what people say,

but on what people do

there will always be exceptions

introduce any strategy that

works well for the majority

easy
attractive
socially acceptable
timely

difficult
unattractive
socially unacceptable
inconvenient

audio

As mentioned earlier, one of the two key principles of nudge theory is observation.  What matters in not what they say they will do, but what they actually do.  And as importantly, it's no what you think they will do, but what they actually do.  So here’s an example: look at the worksheet.  This lists a number of ways in which people could be encouraged to donate their organs before death.  Which do you think would have the most impact?  Pause the recording here while you open the options  worksheet and provide your answer, and then open the results worksheet to check your answer against the actual results, then return to this recording.

So – how did you do?  Was your answer the same as the test results?  Here’s the point: it doesn’t matter!  What’s important is what the results show, not your opinion.  So, just as it is dangerous to accept what people say, it is also dangerous to think you know what other people will do.  Inevitably, following this pod, you will have you own ideas of how to use EAST, DUSI and MINDSPACE to affect people’s behaviour – but that’s only your idea, your opinion.  You need to test it first.  For example, you may think I have chosen to show you the piano staircase because I like it, and think you will too.  And while that is true, it is more important that I have tested that video on many audiences, and found it to be one of the most popular and influential of all the videos I show – and could have chosen to include in this pod.  So remember – just as you are being encouraged not to take others’ word for it – don’t take your own word for it, either!


Observation Is Key

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