Robert Cialdini's Presentation from a Congressional Hill Briefing organized by the Division of Behavior and Social Science and Education of the National Research Council. Details found here: http://sites.nas.edu/socialandbehavioralsciences/

1. The Power of Social versus
Economic and Regulatory
Factors in Behavior Change
Dr. Robert B. Cialdini
President, Influence At Work

2. Contentions
 Government can rely too much on
economic and regulatory levers when
seeking to motivate citizens toward
policy goals.
 Policy-makers would do well, as well, to
consider what is known from
behavioral and social science research
about psychological motivators that
can be at least as effective, yet less
costly.

3. The Six Universal Principles of
Social Influence
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Reciprocation
Scarcity
Authority
Friendship/Liking
Commitment/Consistency
Consensus (Social Proof)

4. Principle 5:
Commitment/Consistency
People try to act in ways that are
consistent with what they have
already said or done.

5. Behavioral scientists have labeled
what people have already said or
done as commitments.
What’s more, they’ve found that the
most persisting commitments have
four features.

6. Lasting Commitments Are:
 Active
 Public
 Voluntary (Owned)
 Written-down

7. Principle 6: Consensus
People try to follow the lead of those
around them, like them.

8. Thus, people are influenced by
the actions and opinions of:
•Many others
•Similar others

9. Impact of Social Influence
Let’s consider how these two
simple principles of social influence can
impact behavior in a pair of arenas
relevant to government policy:
1. The Efficiency of Healthcare
Delivery
2. Energy Conservation

10. Impact of Social Influence
The case of:
The UK’s Behavioural Insights Unit
and
the National Health Service’s problem of
Did Not Attends (No-Shows) at
appointments for medical visits and
procedures

11. Influence At Work / NHS Bedford DNA Study
Intervention Stopped
10
5
0
-6.7%
-5
Verbal Commitment
-10
-20
-30
•p=0.05
Martin, S.J., Bassi, S., Dunbar-Rees, R., (2011) Data On File
Commitments, Norms & Custard Creams - - A social influence approach to reducing Did Not Attends (DNAs) in primary care

12. Lasting Commitments Are:
 Active
 Public
 Voluntary (Owned)
 Written-down

13. Influence At Work / NHS Bedford DNA Study
Intervention Stopped
10
5
0
-6.7%
-5
Verbal Commitment
-10
-20
-30
-18.0%
Written Commitment
•p=0.05
Martin, S.J., Bassi, S., Dunbar-Rees, R., (2011) Data On File
Commitments, Norms & Custard Creams - - A social influence approach to reducing Did Not Attends (DNAs) in primary care

14. Impact of Social Influence
What happened when the principle of
Consensus was added to the mix?

15. Commonly employed signage in UK
Health Centres

16. Intervention Signage in UK Health
Centres
95%
OF OUR PATIENTS DID

17. Influence At Work / NHS Bedford DNA Study
Intervention Stopped
10
+10.1
5
0
-6.7%
-5
Verbal Commitment
-10
-20
-30
-18.0%
-31.4%
-29.6%
Written Commitment
•p=0.05
Written
Commitment
+ Consensus
Message
Martin, S.J., Bassi, S., Dunbar-Rees, R., (2011) Data On File
Commitments, Norms & Custard Creams - - A social influence approach to reducing Did Not Attends (DNAs) in primary care
Written
Commitment
+ Consensus
Message

18. Impact of Social Influence
But, is there any evidence that
information about the actions of
multiple, similar others would work in
other domains, such as household
energy usage choices?
There is.

19. California Energy Savings Survey
Reported Beliefs Regarding the
Influence of Each Motive
3.5
3.4
3.3
3.2
3.1
3.0
2.9
Environmental
Protection
Benefit to
Society
Saving Neighborhood
Money
Consensus
Different Motives to Conserve Energy

20. California Energy Savings Survey
Reported Beliefs Regarding the
Influence of Each Motive
Correlation of Each Motive
with Conservation Behavior
.50
3.5
3.4
.40
3.3
.30
3.2
.20
3.1
.10
3.0
.00
2.9
Environmental
Protection
Benefit to
Society
Saving
Money
Descriptive
Norm
Environmental Benefit to
Protection
Society
Different Motives to Conserve Energy
Saving
Money
Neighborhood
Consensus

21. Field Experiment
14.5
14.0
Energy
Consumption
(kilowatt hours 13.5
consumed per
day)
13.0
12.5
Combined Environmental Benefit to
Protection
Controls
Society
Saving Neighborhood
Money Consensus
Energy Conservation Appeal

22. Consensus
How can we use this principle
to advance national environmental
goals?
One possibility would be to engage
the private sector in the process.

23. OPOWER Report

24. OPOWER Results

25. OPOWER Results
In less than 5 years of operation,
Opower has partnered with 90 US utilities
and has:
reduced consequent U. S. energy
consumption by over 3 billion kilowatt
hours,
cut CO2 emissions by nearly 5 billion
pounds,
and saved residents $355 million in energy
costs.

26. Conclusions
 Government can rely too much on economic
and regulatory levers when seeking to
motivate citizens toward policy goals.
 Policy-makers would do well, as well, to
consider what is known from behavioral and
social science research about psychological
motivators that can be at least as effective,
yet less costly.
 Government and its citizens are entitled to
know and use the results of that sometimes
game-changing research because they have
paid for it.