WASHINGTON DC| MARCH 2018
USING INSIGHTS FROMBEHAVIORAL SCIENCE TO
NUDGE FOR PROGRAM AND POLICY SUCCESS
Samia Amin
A M E R I C A N I N S T I T U T E S F O R R E S E A R C H | A I R . O R G 2
Meet the Presenters
AIR
Senior Lead, Design Thinking and Innovation
Virginia Hamilton
AIR
Director, Workforce Development and Human Capital Solutions
Samia Amin
A M E R I C A N I N S T I T U T E S F O R R E S E A R C H | A I R . O R G
START
WITH
PEOPLE:
HUMAN
CENTERED
DESIGN
IDEO
A M E R I C A N I N S T I T U T E S F O R R E S E A R C H | A I R . O R G 4
START WITH
WHAT WE KNOW
ABOUT PEOPLE:
BEHAVIORAL
INSIGHTS
DOL TRIAL TO INCREASE TAKE UP OF REA PROGRAM IN MICHIGAN
5
Low-take up of REA despite proven success at increasing job placement and reducing UI claims duration
Source: Darling, Matthew, Christopher O’Leary, Irma Perez-Johnson, Jaclyn Lefkowitz, Ken Kline, Ben Damerow, Randall Eberts, Samia Amin, and Greg Chojnacki. “Simple Encouragement Emails Increased Take-Up of Reemployment Program.” Research Brief. Washington, DC: Mathematica Policy Research, May 2017.
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• I wondered what I had done
wrong…why was I being
called-in by the UI agency?
I was worried because the letter said that my benefits
would stop.
I had no idea what to expect…what would
happen at this meeting.
7
“When I first stepped onto my community-college
campus, I was overwhelmed. Staring at the course
catalogue, I ran through the seemingly infinite
number of class combinations I could arrange
around my two part-time jobs. I struggled to
determine the sequence of classes that would
satisfy my major, graduation, and transfer
requirements in the most timely and cost-effective
manner.
Had I been the Spock of community-college
students—possessed with a preternatural ability to
process large amounts of information and act
dispassionately, unerringly, and with economic
precision—it would have been easy” - Leslie
What I know now, nearly a decade after
graduating from community college, is that
behavioral science could have helped
What I know now, nearly a decade after graduating from community college, is that behavioral science could have helped.
http://behavioralscientist.org/building-better-community-colleges-through-behavioral-science/
A M E R I C A N I N S T I T U T E S F O R R E S E A R C H | A I R . O R G 8
USING SCIENCE
TO DESIGN FOR
PEOPLE:
BEHAVIORAL
INSIGHTS
http://behavioralscientist.org/cartoons/behavioral-science-fiction/
A M E R I C A N I N S T I T U T E S F O R R E S E A R C H | A I R . O R G 9
Making choices is hard…
…so we often
delay making
decisions
A M E R I C A N I N S T I T U T E S F O R R E S E A R C H | A I R . O R G 10
Lack self-control: Frequently don’t follow through
Hassle factorsProcrastination Inertia / acting automatically
A M E R I C A N I N S T I T U T E S F O R R E S E A R C H | A I R . O R G 11
We take shortcuts (rules of thumb) to decide
Social norms
Influenced by our peers, importantly only those WE see as our peers.
A M E R I C A N I N S T I T U T E S F O R R E S E A R C H | A I R . O R G 12
How we see
ourselves and
our emotional
states affect
our behavior
A M E R I C A N I N S T I T U T E S F O R R E S E A R C H | A I R . O R G 13
Context of our choices matter
Decoy choices on menu: $ 52 steak makes $45
lamb chops more attractive
A M E R I C A N I N S T I T U T E S F O R R E S E A R C H | A I R . O R G 14
We don’t appreciate that our minds
trick us
A M E R I C A N I N S T I T U T E S F O R R E S E A R C H | A I R . O R G 15
We don’t appreciate that our minds
trick us
A M E R I C A N I N S T I T U T E S F O R R E S E A R C H | A I R . O R G 16
Knowledge doesn’t make a difference
CONTEXT / ENVIRONMENT
STILL MATTERS
A M E R I C A N I N S T I T U T E S F O R R E S E A R C H | A I R . O R G
So are we doomed by our irrationality?
A M E R I C A N I N S T I T U T E S F O R R E S E A R C H | A I R . O R G 18
Behavioral design can help
A M E R I C A N I N S T I T U T E S F O R R E S E A R C H | A I R . O R G 19
Works even when you recognize the nudges
A M E R I C A N I N S T I T U T E S F O R R E S E A R C H | A I R . O R G 20
Leveraging inertia for good
A M E R I C A N I N S T I T U T E S F O R R E S E A R C H | A I R . O R G 21
Providing the right amount of choice
Create enough choice to put the user in control** Too much choice overwhelms*
* Iyengar and Lepper (2000), When Choice is Demotivating: Can One Desire Too Much of A Good Thing? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79 (6)**Just, D.R. & Wansink, B. (2009). Smarter Lunchrooms: Using Behavioral Economics to Improve Meal Selection Choices: The magazine of Food, Farm, and Resource Issues, 24 (3)
A M E R I C A N I N S T I T U T E S F O R R E S E A R C H | A I R . O R G 22
Making it personal: Using social norms
A M E R I C A N I N S T I T U T E S F O R R E S E A R C H | A I R . O R G 23
Reminders help
A M E R I C A N I N S T I T U T E S F O R R E S E A R C H | A I R . O R G 24
Many more examples
A M E R I C A N I N S T I T U T E S F O R R E S E A R C H | A I R . O R G 25
Behavioral Insights Team - bi.team
Easy Principles to Guide Behavioral Design
A M E R I C A N I N S T I T U T E S F O R R E S E A R C H | A I R . O R G
Practice: Using Behavior Change Strategy Cards(15 minutes)
Dan Ariely’s Irrational Game
A M E R I C A N I N S T I T U T E S F O R R E S E A R C H | A I R . O R G
Practice Activity
1. LEARN: One person reads aloud the cards on your table
• Left side of card: Behavioral insight on the left
• Right side of card: Brainstorming questions and illustrative examples
2. DISCUSS: Discuss how the insights might apply to your work supporting states develop policies
3. SHARE: One person share what was discussed with the room
A M E R I C A N I N S T I T U T E S F O R R E S E A R C H | A I R . O R G
Reflections
A M E R I C A N I N S T I T U T E S F O R R E S E A R C H | A I R . O R G 29
BEHAVIORAL
NUDGES:
LESSONS
FROM
EXPERIMENTS
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• I wondered what I had done
wrong…why was I being
called-in by the UI agency?
I was worried because the letter said that my benefits
would stop.
I had no idea what to expect…what would
happen at this meeting.
DOL TRIAL TO INCREASE TAKE UP OF REA PROGRAM IN MICHIGAN
31
Low-take up of REA despite proven success at increasing job placement and reducing UI claims duration
Source: Darling, Matthew, Christopher O’Leary, Irma Perez-Johnson, Jaclyn Lefkowitz, Ken Kline, Ben Damerow, Randall Eberts, Samia Amin, and Greg Chojnacki. “Simple Encouragement Emails Increased Take-Up of Reemployment Program.” Research Brief. Washington, DC: Mathematica Policy Research, May 2017.
A M E R I C A N I N S T I T U T E S F O R R E S E A R C H | A I R . O R G 32
Initial encouragement email
A M E R I C A N I N S T I T U T E S F O R R E S E A R C H | A I R . O R G 33
Initial encouragement email (cont’d)
A M E R I C A N I N S T I T U T E S F O R R E S E A R C H | A I R . O R G 34
Initial encouragement email (cont’d)
A M E R I C A N I N S T I T U T E S F O R R E S E A R C H | A I R . O R G
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A M E R I C A N I N S T I T U T E S F O R R E S E A R C H | A I R . O R G
“This trial helped us take a giant step back from our typical customer
process. The new lens has encouraged us to rethink how we approach all
of our work. Finding simple changes like this is becoming kind of a
standard of what we are applying widely across the organization. These
principles have infused every aspect of what it is we do. This little
intervention created a large change and was really a catalyst for our
involvement in additional pilot initiatives.”
– Eric Stewart, Manager
Staff Perspectives
A M E R I C A N I N S T I T U T E S F O R R E S E A R C H | A I R . O R G 37
Priming positive identities
‘[Before] they didn’t even know if I
had exams... They didn’t know it
until the text messages started. I
think [our relationship] became
closer because every time they get
a text message they’re like, “Come
sit here”, and just go through
everything.’*
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Sending text messages to student’s supporters (friend or family) about key events
* Behavioral Insights Team Update Report 2016-2017, available at: http://38r8om2xjhhl25mw24492dir.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/BIT_Update-16-17_E_.pdf
A M E R I C A N I N S T I T U T E S F O R R E S E A R C H | A I R . O R G 39
Journaling experiments to improve employment outcomes
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Reinsurance Industry Faces Uncertain Future as Time Moves OnBy Charles E. Boyle | July 2, 2015
The environment in which
choices are made matter.
Acknowledge and embrace
our roles as choice architects
A M E R I C A N I N S T I T U T E S F O R R E S E A R C H | A I R . O R G
Resources:
Practitioner’s Playbook for Applying Behavioral Insights to
Labor Programs, Program Design & Communication
Cheat Sheets:
https://www.dol.gov/asp/evaluation/BIStudy/
Behavior change strategy cards: https://www.artefactgroup.com/case-studies/behavior-change-strategy-cards/
Practitioner's Guide to Nudging: https://www.rotman.utoronto.ca/-/media/Images/Programs-and-Areas/behavioural-economics/GuidetoNudging-Rotman-Mar2013.pdf
World Development Report 2015: Mind, Society, and
Behavior: http://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/wdr2015
A M E R I C A N I N S T I T U T E S F O R R E S E A R C H | A I R . O R G 42
A M E R I C A N I N S T I T U T E S F O R R E S E A R C H | A I R . O R G
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