Introduction To Behavioral Design

Design Thinking and Behavior Change: Take One
R. Craig Lefebvre, PhD
chief maven, socialShift
Research Professor, George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services

Design Thinking and Behavior Change: Take One
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Orienting Principles
Design thinking for behavior change focuses on helping people learn new behaviors, not enabling us to change their current ones.
Behavior is designed by genetic, biological, physical, psychological, social, economic, technological, environmental and cultural forces.
Design thinking must capture and reflect how learning occurs in the natural contours of people’s lives.
Products, services, policies, programs and communication serve to improve, support and sustain learning and behavior – or not!

How People Learn Most of the Time

New Technologies Expand The Scope and Capacity for Learning
Modeling: People learn from what they see others doing and observing the consequences of those actions.

Why do people pay attention?

Why do people pay attention?
It’s important to them at the moment (fits preconceptions, interests).
It moves them emotionally.
Not too complicated.
It is ubiquitous or frequent.
They find it useful to solve a problem – cope with the environment.

Why do people remember it?

Why do people remember it?
Can convert information to images and easily used words, phrases, slogans.
Can create ‘rules’ – “do this when…” - or a prototype behavior (eat 5 a day).
Learn to talk themselves through situations, feelings, etc.
Rehearse it – mentally (cognitively) or in actual practice.

Why do people act or not?

Why do people act or not?
They can see themselves doing it.
Have opportunities to practice it (get better at it).
Have the necessary component skills to do it (within biological and physical constraints).
Get feedback (internal and external) – making the unobservable observable (performance feedback).

But – they have to be motivated!

But – they have to be motivated!
Not acting on what we learn most often happens when the new behavior has little functional value or carries a high risk of punishment.
Performing the new behavior results from three types of incentives – the allure of direct, tangible rewards; observed or vicarious rewards - experiencing it though others; and self-produced ones.
Behaviors are more likely to occur when they are met with valued outcomes – material benefits, sensory stimulation, positive or negative social reactions, reward of efficacy in controlling events (feeling in control of things).

It’s ALL About Matching

It’s ALL About Matching
What’s the desirable or aspirational behavior versus what’s relevant and possible in their life.
Understand what is the extraordinarily normal.
Create contours and context for behaviors.
Be slightly ‘off’ – gradually learn the rules and shape the behavior (coping vs mastery models).
Make observable features (self-monitoring).
Use other media to surround, permeate and be a continual presence.

Design thinking allows us to look at the contours of people’s lives and discover new opportunities and resources for learning and improving social conditions..

Credits
Principles based on: Bandura A. Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall Inc, 1986.
Cover photo: The Great Wave off Kanagawa. [http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Great_Wave_off_Kanagawa.jpg]
How people learn most of the time photo: Orb of life by Jaxxon. [http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxxon/72032259]
New technologies photo: Learning Muggu by srinivasakrishna. [ttp://www.flickr.com/photos/srinivasakrishna/2261211468/]
Why do people pay attention? photo: Confusion by Dave Nitsche. [http://www.flickr.com/photos/60486745@N00/390044745].
Why do people remember it? photo: I can taste summer!byBitzi. [http://www.flickr.com/photos/bitzi/176304506]
Why do people act or not? photo: Stage rehearsal for performance by _dai_. [http://www.flickr.com/photos/daiharuki/484522382]
But they have to be motivated! photo: A little push by Stephaniedan. [http://www.flickr.com/photos/stephaniedan/2615420737]
It’s ALL about matching! photo: Imitation of life by Ko_An. [http://www.flickr.com/photos/ko_an/173692337]
Closing photo: Kenyan weekend marketplace by Craig Lefebvre.