Science-Backed Strategies for Sustained Behavioral Change
TL;DR
- Fresh start moments, like New Year's, provide temporary motivation boosts ideal for one-time actions, but sustained behavior change requires additional strategies beyond just a clean slate.
- Temptation bundling, pairing a dreaded chore with a craved indulgence, effectively reframes the chore, making it more appealing and overcoming impulsivity to drive consistent action.
- Pre-mortems, proactively identifying potential obstacles to goals, enable targeted scientific solutions for common barriers like impulsivity, laziness, lack of confidence, and conformity.
- Detailed, if-then planning, specifying exact times, durations, and actions for goals, significantly increases adherence by removing ambiguity and making execution more concrete.
- Nudges, subtle environmental or choice architecture changes, can guide behavior without altering incentives, such as setting defaults or making desired actions easier.
- Hiring in sets, rather than one-off, can increase diversity by prompting evaluators to consider the collective composition of a group, rather than individual fit.
- Breaking down large goals into bite-sized weekly components leverages the goal gradient effect, motivating individuals by making progress feel more immediate and achievable.
Deep Dive
Fresh starts, like New Year's, offer a powerful, albeit temporary, motivational boost for change, but sustained behavioral shifts require more than just initial enthusiasm. Behavioral science provides a toolkit to overcome common obstacles such as impulsivity, procrastination, lack of confidence, and conformity, enabling individuals and organizations to achieve long-term goals.
The core challenge in enacting lasting change lies in recognizing and addressing the predictable obstacles people face. Impulsivity drives us toward immediate gratification, while procrastination stems from the same impulse, delaying effort. Laziness, in a positive sense, means seeking efficiency, which can hinder necessary effort if not managed. A lack of confidence undermines belief in one's ability to succeed, and conformity, while a powerful social force, can either support or impede progress depending on the social circle. To overcome these, a strategic approach is needed, beginning with clear, detailed planning that includes "if-then" statements specifying the when, where, and how of goal pursuit. Making the process enjoyable, rather than purely a struggle, is crucial; science indicates that adding positive reinforcement, like a "spoonful of sugar," significantly improves adherence.
These principles extend to organizational contexts. Leaders can implement "nudges"-- subtle changes that influence behavior without altering incentives or information--such as setting default times for deep work on calendars or breaking down large annual goals into smaller, weekly targets. This latter approach leverages the "goal gradient effect," where motivation increases as one approaches a goal, making progress feel more immediate and achievable. For leaders aiming to drive change from the middle or lower ranks of an organization, persuasion is key. Drawing on principles of influence, such as highlighting the majority adoption of a practice, can encourage laggards to conform. Crucially, simplifying execution by removing "friction" -- making desired actions "one-click" or providing pre-written memos--can overcome resistance from those higher up who may be hesitant due to perceived implementation complexity. Even in areas like diversity hiring, batching hires together rather than one at a time can shift focus to the value of a diverse set, leading to more inclusive outcomes.
Ultimately, the science of change reveals that setbacks are normal, not failures. By understanding the common hurdles and employing science-backed strategies, individuals and organizations can move beyond the temporary uplift of fresh starts to build sustainable, positive transformations. The most effective approach involves detailed planning, making the process enjoyable, leveraging social influence, and simplifying execution, all while accepting that change is consistently harder than initially expected.
Action Items
- Create temptation bundles: Combine 1-2 desired temptations with 1-2 dreaded chores to increase motivation for the chore.
- Implement pre-mortem analysis: Identify 3-5 potential obstacles for a personal or team goal before starting to plan mitigation strategies.
- Design if-then plans: For 1-2 key goals, define specific triggers and actions (e.g., "If it's Thursday at 5 PM, then I will go to the gym for 30 minutes").
- Batch hires: For 3-5 open positions, hire candidates in a set rather than individually to increase diversity.
- Track micro-wins: For 1-2 team goals, break them into weekly targets to leverage the goal gradient effect and increase motivation.
Key Quotes
"The basic idea is called temptation bundling it can be applied to lots of things in life anytime there's a chore that you're dreading and some temptation that you may be feel a little guilty about indulging in if you can combine those two things and only allow yourself access to the temptation when you're doing the chore what it does it changes the experience of the chore and it actually changes the equation in terms of our impulsivity so that you look forward to doing that thing you'd otherwise dread."
Katy Milkman explains temptation bundling as a strategy to make dreaded chores more appealing by pairing them with desired temptations. Milkman argues this technique alters the perception of the chore, making it something to anticipate rather than avoid, by leveraging the enjoyment of the temptation.
"January 1st is sort of the biggest of all fresh starts it's the one where 40 of americans step back and set resolutions now of course there's no actual change right january 1st is no more different from december 31st than december 31st is from december 30th but in our minds those kinds of shifts just like a sunday shifts to a monday that demarcate a new period in our life they make us feel more separated from who we used to be."
Katy Milkman discusses the psychological impact of "fresh starts," like New Year's Day, highlighting that while there's no objective change, these temporal markers create a mental separation from past behavior. Milkman explains that these moments provide a temporary motivational boost, making us feel distinct from our previous selves and more optimistic about future actions.
"A pre mortem is just thinking you know if you fail what will have gotten in your way and it can be really valuable to think like this it sounds kind of pessimistic and negative right but actually contemplating carefully what are the obstacles that might hold you back from achieving your goals is a really important step and once you do understand what are those obstacles you can solve for that using science."
Katy Milkman introduces the concept of a "pre-mortem" as a proactive strategy for goal achievement. Milkman suggests that by anticipating potential failures and identifying obstacles beforehand, individuals can then scientifically address these challenges, making them more likely to succeed.
"Nudges are tools that motivate behavior change without changing your incentives or the information you have sort of not using the typical policy levers that we think of right like oh i'll tax sugary beverages and that's how we'll get people to drink less of them or i'll ban them entirely those are the kinds of tools policymakers usually use but a nudge would just make something more psychologically attractive without actually making it more expensive or say sharing calorie count information that might update your beliefs."
Katy Milkman defines "nudges" as interventions that encourage behavior change without altering financial incentives or providing new information, distinguishing them from traditional policy tools like taxes or bans. Milkman clarifies that nudges work by making a desired behavior more psychologically appealing or easier to adopt.
"When we make hiring decisions often it's sort of one off one at a time we're making choices you know does this person fit you know should i hire this person to join my team and and sometimes that's by necessity and there's no other way to proceed you have turnover and you have to replace head count of one but what we have shown in our research is that when people hire in sets meaning you know let's hire five at a time we'll bring on all our new folks together we'll hire five people all at once in april instead of sort of one person per month from january through may when people hire in sets they actually tend to hire more diverse groups of people than when they hire one off over time."
Katy Milkman presents research suggesting that hiring in "sets" or batches, rather than one individual at a time, leads to more diverse hires. Milkman explains that when evaluators consider a group simultaneously, they are more likely to recognize and value diversity within that set, which is less likely to occur when hiring individuals incrementally.
Resources
External Resources
Books
- "Thinking, Fast and Slow" by Danny Kahneman - Mentioned as a foundational text in behavioral economics.
- "Nudge" by Cass Sunstein and Richard Thaler - Referenced as a key work on nudges for behavioral change.
- "Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion" by Robert Cialdini - Recommended for understanding principles of ethical persuasion.
- "How to Change" by Katy Milkman - Mentioned as Katy Milkman's bestselling book on making positive change.
Articles & Papers
- "The psychology of fresh starts" (Research by Katy Milkman, Hengchen Dai, and Jason Reiss) - Discussed in relation to the phenomenon of fresh starts driving goal setting.
People
- Katy Milkman - Expert on change, author of "How to Change," and co-founder of the Behavior Change for Good initiative at the Wharton School.
- Danny Kahneman - Founder of behavioral economics, author of "Thinking, Fast and Slow."
- Cass Sunstein - Co-author of "Nudge" and law school professor.
- Richard Thaler - Co-author of "Nudge," Nobel Prize winner, and researcher on self-nudging.
- Hengchen Dai - Collaborator with Katy Milkman on research into fresh starts.
- Jason Reiss - Collaborator with Katy Milkman on research into fresh starts.
- Robert Cialdini - Author of "Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion," known for principles of persuasion.
- Mike Nicholas - Capital One Business customer and co-founder of Anseth Uncle's.
- Nicole - Co-founder of Anseth Uncle's.
Organizations & Institutions
- Wharton School - Institution where Katy Milkman is co-founder of the Behavior Change for Good initiative.
- UCLA - Institution where Hengchen Dai is based.
- University of Pennsylvania - Institution where Katy Milkman worked as an assistant professor.
- Medical School at the University of Pennsylvania - Group with whom Katy Milkman studied medical decision making.
- Anseth Uncle's - Plant-based restaurant and community space in Brooklyn, New York.
- Capital One Business - Financial service provider mentioned for business card benefits.
- Crisis Text Line - Volunteer organization that uses crisis counselors.
Websites & Online Resources
- rippling.com/scale - Website mentioned for a free six-month offer for Rippling.
Other Resources
- Temptation Bundling - A strategy combining a chore with a temptation to increase motivation.
- Pre-mortem - A technique of contemplating potential obstacles to achieving goals.
- Nudges - Tools that motivate behavior change without altering incentives or information.
- Defaults - The outcome received if no other action is taken, used as a nudge.
- Goal Gradient Effect - The phenomenon where motivation increases as one gets closer to a goal.
- Conformity - The influence of social circles on beliefs and actions.
- Hiring in Sets - A strategy of hiring multiple individuals at once to increase diversity.