Commitments, norms & the £1billion tax letterSTEVE J MARTIN

“It turns out that the environmental and context effects on behaviour and decision making are a lot stronger than most people expect.”

Danny Kahneman, 2008

Principles of Social Influence

• Reciprocity• Authority• Social Proof

• Scarcity• Consistency• Liking

“Yes! 50 Secrets from the Science of Persuasion”, N.J. Goldstein, S.J. Martin, R. B. Cialdini Published by Profile Books (2007)

Principles of Social Influence

• Reciprocity• Authority• Social Proof

• Scarcity• Consistency• Liking

“Yes! 50 Secrets from the Science of Persuasion”, N.J. Goldstein, S.J. Martin, R. B. Cialdini Published by Profile Books (2007)

People underestimate the influence of social proof

Reported Beliefs Regarding the Influence of Each Motive

Descriptive Norm

Saving Money

Benefit to Society

Environmental Protection

2.9

3.0

3.1

3.2

3.3

3.4

3.5

Different Motives to Conserve Energy

Environmental Protection

Correlation of Each Motive with Conservation Behavior

.00

.10

Descriptive Norm

Saving Money

Benefit to Society

.50

.40

.30

.20

Schultz, W.B. , Cialdini, R.B.,et al (2007) “The constructive, destructive and reconstructive power of social norms” Psychological Science, 18:429-34.

Hotel Towel Reuse Study

Hotel Towel StudyEnvironmental

AppealMany Others

50

20

25

30

35

40

45

Environmental Appeal

% Towel Reuse Rates

35.1%

46.0%

Many Others

Hotel Towel StudyEnvironmental

AppealMany Others Many Similar

Others

50

20

25

30

35

40

45

Environmental Appeal

% Towel Reuse Rates

35.1%

46.0%

Many Others

53.1%

Many Similar Others

OK, so it works for towels!

But what about Taxes?

80

50

55

60

65

70

75

Control Group

% Tax Return Rates

67.5%72.5%

Social Norm National

79.0%

Social Norm in your postcode

82.9%

Social Norm in your town

Principles of Social Influence

• Reciprocity• Authority• Social Proof

• Scarcity• Consistency• Liking

“Yes! 50 Secrets from the Science of Persuasion”, N.J. Goldstein, S.J. Martin, R. B. Cialdini Published by Profile Books (2007)

10

-30

-20

-10

-5

0

5

-18.0%

Active Commitment

-3.4%

Verbal Commitment

Martin, S.J., Bassi, S., Dunbar-Rees, R., (2011) Commitments, Norms & Custard Creams - A social influence approach to reducing Did Not Attends (DNAs) Journal Royal Society of Medicine (in press)

Healthcare Did Not Attend Studies

Principles of Social Influence

• Reciprocity• Authority• Social Proof

• Scarcity• Consistency• Liking

“Yes! 50 Secrets from the Science of Persuasion”, N.J. Goldstein, S.J. Martin, R. B. Cialdini Published by Profile Books (2007)

The Big Mistake

To encourage corrective action against a problem that is large or growing, leaders and policy makers often decry that problem as regrettably frequent.

Expenses FraudTax AvoidanceLittering

Binge DrinkingSTD InfectionsTeenage Pregnancy

“Yes! 50 Secrets from the Science of Persuasion”, N.J. Goldstein, S.J. Martin, R. B. Cialdini Published by Profile Books (2007)

--31.4%

Commitment + Normative Appeal

10

-30

-20

-10

-5

0

5

-18.0%

Active Commitment

-3.4%

Verbal Commitment

Martin, S.J., Bassi, S., Dunbar-Rees, R., (2011) Commitments, Norms & Custard Creams - A social influence approach to reducing Did Not Attends (DNAs) Journal Royal Society of Medicine (in press)

Healthcare Did Not Attend Studies

• Leaders and policy-makers may focus too often on economic, legal or policy factors when seeking to motivate people towards desirable goals

• They would be well advised to also consider what is known about social psychological motivators such as social norms, social obligations, source credibility and loss aversion as well as multiple other motivators (MINDSPACE)

• There is an increasing need to incorporate what is known from social sciences into behaviour change programmes – methodologies and programmes exist to assist in making that happen