People make behaviour choices by balancing out costs and benefits of all of the alternatives available to them. In order to motivate behaviour change, we need to understand how our target audience is benefiting from their current behaviour, what is perceived as a barrier or cost to engaging in the desired behaviour, and how we can modify this balance. Our objective is to change the “marketing mix”, i.e. increase the barriers and decrease the benefits of the bad behaviour, and decrease the barriers while increasing the benefits of the desired behaviour. To do this, we must first identify the barriers and benefits of the desirable behaviour and the less desirable behaviour.
There are many reasons that deter people from participating in desirable behaviours. These reasons typically follow the pattern identified in the diagram below. Each audience segment will be at a different point along this spectrum. Identifying where they are at is the first step to determine the most appropriate actions to take first. In essence, we want to open the doors (benefit) for people to walk towards the behaviour we want them to do, and close as many doors (barrier) as we can between them and the behaviours we don’t want them to do.
Lack of Knowledge: Knowledge is the foundation for any behaviour change. People need to be aware of the situation, and have a clear understanding of how they are contributing to the problem and what a positive alternative is for them.
Perception: People need to be able to view a positive desirable future. If actions are not perceived to be the social norm, or a desirable behaviour then the likelihood that they will engage in the behaviour is severely reduced. On the other hand, if people view the results of their behaviour to be positive (and specifically, if they perceive the costs to be less than the benefits) then they are highly likely to engage in the behaviour.
Skills: People learn skills best by seeing someone else do them. The best way to do this is to break the actions down into simple steps and use illustrations. People gravitate towards behaviours that they know how to do. If people lack the skills, then they may feel a sense of fear or apprehension about engaging in the behaviour.
Facilitation: It is unfair to ask someone to engage in a behaviour change if there are significant infrastructural barriers in the way. In addition, often people need adequate support networks to overcome practical obstacles to carrying out an action. Behaviours that are easy to do are more likely to be done.
Optimism and Importance: People need to believe that success is probable or inevitable and that action is needed and important. Recognize that people’s perceptions do not have to be logical. Often people perceive a behaviour to be probable, inevitable, needed, and important when in fact they are not. Forget or
Procrastinate: Even if people have committed to a behaviour change and feel it is important, they may often simply forget or procrastinate. This can be due to the patterns that have already formed in their lives. It is easier for people to maintain their current behaviour than to engage in a new behaviour.
Do not see success: If people do not connect their actions with a successful outcome, either for themselves or others, then they may not continue to engage in your behaviour. Social change occurs when people see the results of their actions, feel motivated to repeat the behaviour and tell others of their success.
Monday, October 5, 2009 at 9:19AM 
