persuasion, motivation, and behavior: the science of when and why the rules don't (always) work
DESCRIPTION
From GSummit 2014, in San Francisco Science provides us with a number of general principles or rules of persuasion, motivation, and human behavior that tend to hold true for most people. For example, we know that people are more easily persuaded when we trigger an emotional response. Or if we reward a behavior, it is more likely to be repeated—and conversely, if we punish a behavior, it is less likely to be repeated. Or just the very basic principle that people tend to seek pleasure and avoid pain. These shortcuts, or heuristics, are useful, and often, they work well. But for every rule there is at least one very important exception; times and situations in which people act in unexpected and counter-intuitive ways, the complete opposite of what you predicted. Statistically speaking, paying most attention to group behavior is fine. But sometimes the outliers are telling us something really important about the underlying motivations or characteristics of a subset of our audience, and sometimes not reaching that subset of people, or understanding what causes their behavior, carries a high cost. I will be discussing three very different, and very critical, instances of ‘outlier behavior’ –explaining why they defy the norm, how you can identify these situations from the beginning, and some alternate strategies that can work with these outlier groups or conditions. Finally, I will talk about motivation types in the broader sense—those who are most and least likely to respond to incentives, why punishment doesn’t work on some people, and the difference between Happiness and Meaning as driving forces behind individual behavior.TRANSCRIPT
Andrea Kuszewski @AndreaKuszewski
The Science of When and Why the Rules Don’t (always) Work
June 12th, 2014
Persuasion, Motivation, & Behavior
The Science of Behavior
Principles of Human Behavior
Identity/Ideology
Context/Environment
Personality
= =B
The Science of Behavior
Ingroup/Outgroup Identity (ideology)
The Science of Behavior
=
Ingroup/Outgroup Identity (ideology)
BX
The Science of Behavior
Cognitive Dissonance
When we feel our identity is being threatened by the outside world, we are strongly motivated to resolve that.
Challenging a strongly-held belief is a threat to our identity ....
especially when challenged by the OUTGROUP.
Result? Cling to false beliefs even tighter
Backfire Effect
The Science of Behavior
The Science of Behavior
Context or Environment
The Science of Behavior
= =
Context or Environment
B BX
The Science of Behavior
Intrinsic vs Extrinsic Motivation
Intrinsic
Like
Passion
Self-Growth
Fulfillment
Meaning/Purpose
Incentives
Rewards
Grades/Ratings
Threats of Punishment
Extrinsic
Internal motivation to act = Always present
Long-lasting, sustainable over time Short-term solution
Comes from outside individual = May go away at any time
The Science of Behavior
Incentivizing Creativity
The Science of Behavior
Incentivizing Creativity
Financial incentives REDUCE creative output
Extrinsic rewards reduce intrinsic value
The Science of Behavior
Incentivizing Creativity
Financial incentives REDUCE creative output
Extrinsic rewards reduce intrinsic value
Best way to increase creative output: Autonomy
The Science of Behavior
Incentivizing Creativity
Financial incentives REDUCE creative output
Extrinsic rewards reduce intrinsic value
Best way to increase creative output: Autonomy
How to incentivize? Let creativity happen!
The Science of Behavior
It’s hard!
The Science of Behavior
Individual Differences (personality)
The Science of Behavior
“People tend to seek pleasure and avoid pain.”
General Principle of Behaviorism
The Science of Behavior
???=
Individual Differences (personality)
B
The Science of Behavior
Approach vs Avoidance (BIS/BAS)Jeffrey Alan Gray: Biopsychological Theory of Psychology
BAS: Behavioral Activation System
BIS: Behavioral Inhibition System
* sensitive to punishment
* sensitive to reward
Activated by threat and Avoidance Motivation
Behavior that brings a person closer to some reinforcer; Approach Motivation
The Science of Behavior
Approach vs Avoidance (BIS/BAS)Jeffrey Alan Gray: Biopsychological Theory of Psychology
BAS: Behavioral Activation System
BIS: Behavioral Inhibition System
Avoidance
Approach Pursue and achieve goals
Positive emotions (elation, happiness, hope)
Dopamine!!
Avoid negative events
Negative emotions (fear, anxiety, boredom, frustration, sadness)
The Science of Behavior
Does Punishment Work?
-Short-term solution
-Threats of punishment increase the INTRINSIC value of the unwanted behavior
The Science of Behavior
Does Punishment Work?
-Short-term solution
-Threats of punishment increase the INTRINSIC value of the unwanted behavior
-Once you remove the threat, person may be more likely to engage in unwanted behavior
The Science of Behavior
Does Punishment Work?
-Short-term solution
-Threats of punishment increase the INTRINSIC value of the unwanted behavior
-Once you remove the threat, person may be more likely to engage in unwanted behavior
-Activates the BIS (Avoidance) = STRESS, ANXIETY, & BAD FEELINGS
The Science of Behavior
Does Punishment Work?
-Short-term solution
-Threats of punishment increase the INTRINSIC value of the unwanted behavior
-Once you remove the threat, person may be more likely to engage in unwanted behavior
-Activates the BIS (Avoidance) = STRESS, ANXIETY, & BAD FEELINGS
AND.... in that stubborn cohort, doesn’t work AT ALL!
The Science of Behavior
Does Punishment Work?
-Short-term solution
-Threats of punishment increase the INTRINSIC value of the unwanted behavior
-Once you remove the threat, person may be more likely to engage in unwanted behavior
-Activates the BIS (Avoidance) = STRESS, ANXIETY, & BAD FEELINGS
AND.... in that stubborn cohort, doesn’t work AT ALL!
The Science of Behavior
HappinessMeaningor
The Science of Behavior
Meaning vs Happiness
MM HHMh/Hm
Primary driver for approach behavior(for significant task)
MeaningfulMasochists Hedonists
Happy
The Science of Behavior
Meaning vs Happiness
MeaningfulMasochists Hedonists
Happy
- incentives + incentives
The Science of Behavior
Meaning vs Happiness
MeaningfulMasochists Hedonists
Happy
- incentives
Will sacrifice happiness for Meaning
+ incentives
“Feel good now” (short-term satisfaction)
The Science of Behavior
Meaning vs Happiness
MeaningfulMasochists Hedonists
Happy
- incentives
Will sacrifice happiness for Meaning
Self-sustaining
+ incentives
“Feel good now” (short-term satisfaction)
Less loyalty
The Science of Behavior
Meaning vs Happiness
MeaningfulMasochists Hedonists
Happy
- incentives
Will sacrifice happiness for Meaning
Self-sustaining
Punishment NOT a motivator!
+ incentives
“Feel good now” (short-term satisfaction)
Less loyalty
“Pain builds character!”
The Science of Behavior
The only way to guarantee LONG-TERM sustainable behavior change:
make them WANT to change their behavior.
The Science of Behavior
Feed their inner masochist. Make it meaningful.
The Science of Behavior
Thank you! @AndreaKuszewski
Feed their inner masochist. Make it meaningful.