Last month I presented at the World Wildlife Foundation’s (WWF) Fuller Symposium, focused on behavior change for conservation. Several of the speakers from both the psychology and sustainability areas of expertise brought up a point I hadn’t clearly crystalized in my own head, but that I’ve reflected on a lot since the event. It’s pretty simple. Continue reading Do We Need Persuasion for Behavior Change?
Tag Archives: persuasion
Three Simple Tricks to Maximize Follow-Through
“If I were you, I’d call an ambulance right now.”
I was on the phone with a doctor after-hours asking what we should do about some symptoms my husband was experiencing after a minor car accident. The urgent care clinic we normally use was closed for the day, and I was wondering if it was worth going to the Emergency Room. The doctor clearly felt that the ER was where we needed to be, and in a smooth bit of behavior change judo, made sure that’s where we ended up. She did three specific things that quickly got me moving: Continue reading Three Simple Tricks to Maximize Follow-Through
Empathy: The Wrong Tool?
Empathy. Understanding. Bridging the gap. A lot of progressive conversation following the election has been around these topics, and how to have productive conversations with people who at best, determined that a candidate’s racism, sexism, and xenophobia were not sufficient grounds to vote otherwise (and at worst, co-signed them). I’ve made some overtures toward that goal myself, and have been following the dialogue around how and whether to do that. One way in which my opinion has clarified in the last few weeks:I don’t think winning hearts and minds is the only goal, and it shouldn’t necessarily be prioritized.How To Get Your Friends to Trek to Your Neighborhood for Dinner
Even though Boston, where I live, is relatively small, I still find myself sticking to my immediate neighborhood and declaring certain others as “so far away.” So it was a challenge for my friend who moved to one of these “remote” areas to get our group to join him for dinner in his new neighborhood. Fortunately, psychology has a few helpful tips to gain agreement to venture across the city: Continue reading How To Get Your Friends to Trek to Your Neighborhood for Dinner
Kate Spade, You Persuasive Minx
If you ever study social psychology or marketing, at some point you will come across Robert Cialdini’s work on influence (and his classic book by the same name). While it’s a fairly straightforward explanation of techniques that people can use to influence one another, I love it because it simplifies the complex to something that’s not just easy to understand, but also easy to use. Sure, there’s more nuance when you really start to dig into changing people’s behavior, but Cialdini’s six influence techniques are a great place to start, especially if you’re trying to provoke a simple behavior like a single purchase or donation. Continue reading Kate Spade, You Persuasive Minx