Behavioural Change Week 1.1

What is this course about? Theories of behavioural change Methodology/Statistics in evaluating change Domain-specific behavioural change Your creative inputs

What is this course not about? “Advanced” social psychology Behavioural modification Mind control Unrealistic optimism Law enforcement Policy & government Social change We may talk about these, just that the focus of the course is not solely on them.

The syllabus Attendance and punctuality Assignments and projects Grading components

Let’s start

Riddle This is a one behaviour that affects 50% of the population It happens mostly in developed countries It incurs some monetary cost But doesn’t really harm anyone Though it is an annoyance nonetheless Takes place in private / semi-private settings

Behavioural change Write down a list of things about other people’s behaviours that concern you Severity Minor Major Relevance Self Societal Country

Behavioural change For each behaviour, give a score whether you (i) can; and (ii) want to change it. Severity Minor Major Relevance Self Societal Country

The conventional view I Problems are motivated by self-interests, which may conflict with another person’s self-interests Solutions: Laws, Regulations, Rules These can be effective. But they are not always cost-effective.

The conventional view II Problems are structural, and as such require engineering solutions Some problems are indeed structural but a purely structural solution may not solve the problem E.g., open defecation = not enough toilets?

The new view Problems often have a psychological component. Psychologically-informed interventions can be: More effective Less costly (sometimes free) Complement structural, legal solutions

Example: Eating behaviour Popcorn box size and amount eaten Movie-goers were given stale popcorn, either in a big or small box Guess who ate more?

How would you change such eating behaviours? Ban popcorn Place ads to tell people not to eat popcorn to eat popcorn in moderation about of fat in popcorn Serve popcorn in smaller sizes (but how should this be done?) Draconian Freedom I will reveal it in Week 10.2

Important Very often we think that the problem is with the person (or an abstract entity like “society”) Hence we design change campaigns at that level This is not always successful; think hard about the problem. Make sure you understand the problem (Week 2) And surprise, surprise: sometimes effective solutions don’t require understanding the problem (e.g., scurvy & vitamin C).

Theoretical domains and assumptions The problem is with… Social psychology Cognitive psychology Social cognition Personality psychology Behavioural economics Communications Politics & Law (not in this course) The situation The way people process info The way people process info in a particular situation The person Rationality Poor messaging How the powerful rule over the powerless

Social psychology Social norms Social influence Persuasion Learning theories Motivation x ability

Learning theories Complex behaviour is learned gradually through the modification of simpler behaviours How do you train a child soldier? Or as Obama tweeted, if people can learn hatred, they can unlearn hatred.

Cognitive psychology Heuristic & Systematic thinking: System 1 and 2 Higher level cognition: Humans as rational decision makers Lower level cognition: Fundamental perceptual mechanisms are stable across humanity

Rationality: Humans as homo economicus How to get people to save money for retirement? How to get drivers to slow down near a bend? Improve financial literacy Conduct financial seminars Distribute leaflets Better road signs More prominent signs More warning of dangers These are effective, but the question is, can behavioural scientists make them even more effective?

Social cognition People actively try to make sense of their social world Problematic behaviours often occur in a social rather than private context. Therefore other people matter!

Personality A leopard never changes its spots…or does it? Remember the fundamental attribution error? When someone does something bad, it’s because the problem is with them When we do something bad, the problem lies with other people.

Behaviour = f(personality x environment)

Game theory Why two completely "rational" individuals might not cooperate, even if it appears that it is in their best interests to do so.

Prisoner’s dilemma Two members of a criminal gang are arrested and imprisoned. Each prisoner is in solitary confinement with no means of communicating with the other. The prosecutors lack sufficient evidence to convict the pair on the principal charge. They hope to get both sentenced to a year in prison on a lesser charge. Simultaneously, the prosecutors offer each prisoner a bargain. Each prisoner is given the opportunity either to: betray the other by testifying that the other committed the crime, or to cooperate with the other by remaining silent. The offer is: If A and B each betray the other, each of them serves 2 years in prison If A betrays B but B remains silent, A will be set free and B will serve 3 years in prison (and vice versa) If A and B both remain silent, both of them will only serve 1 year in prison (on the lesser charge)

Prisoner’s dilemma on Delhi’s roads How can you apply principles of the prisoner’s dilemma to understand drivers’ behaviours? Rangunathan, V. (2007). Games Indians play.: Why we are the way we are. Delhi: Penguin.

The robust way to win the Prisoner’s dilemma Tit-for-tat strategy Axelrod, R. (1984). The evolution of cooperation. New York: Basic Books.

Is behavioural change simply commonsense? How would you use this teapot? Everyone has pet theories about why people behave the way they do, and how to change behaviour. The design of everyday things. Don Norman

Is there a role for commonsense? Yes, but mere commonsense sometimes lead you to reinvent the wheel Do a proper literature search What worked, what didn’t? How large is the effect size? (see Week 4.1: Meta-analysis)

Take home messages Behavioural change is not mere commonsense. There are many theories of behavioural change; no one size fits all Be creative, but never neglect the role of theory Theory-driven is not good enough; we need quantifiable evidence