TED Talk (How to change your behavior for the better)

The title of the TED Talk is “How to change your behavior for the better,” and the speaker was Dan Ariely. Ariely is a Professor of psychology and behavioral economics. As a researcher, Ariely conducts unorthodox experiments that question the motivations that influence irrational behaviors. Ariely is also a prolific writer, and most of his books also emphasize the motives behind irrational actions.

The talk is about how people know that certain actions are detrimental to their well-being, but they continue executing such actions. For instance, texting while driving is dangerous, but most people do it even though they know it is dangerous. The speaker uses an example of teaching people financial literacy. People understand financial literacy during teaching sessions, but almost none of them apply what they were taught; they continue making financial mistakes. Essentially, the talk emphasizes that giving information does not necessarily mean they will change their behavior.

The question, therefore, is how to get people to change their behavior. According to social science, targeting individuals with the intention of changing their behavior is the wrong way of encouraging behavioral change. Instead, to promote a change of behavior, there should be a change of environment. Within the changed environment, any factors that may induce resistance should be kept at a minimum and concurrently improving factors that foster motivation to act on the desired behavior. Although changing the environment does not mean people will perfectly act in ways that favor their well-being, there will be a significant improvement.

To create such an environment, any factors that could encourage friction are first eliminated, and then the whole environment is reviewed and ways are determined in which to introduce more motivation. This is normally challenging because it is impossible to know with certainty what will or will not work. However, Ariely highlights a significant concept of loss aversion, which could be manipulated to introduce motivation in an environment. Loss aversion works under the principle that people feel bad about losing than we feel good about gaining. Therefore, creating an environment where one is rewarded for engaging in good behavior and at the same time informed of the loss they are likely to experience in the case of contrary behavior. This would motivate people to change their behaviors into more self-fulfilling ones.

From a personal perspective, I agree with Ariely`s concept of changing the environment and reinforcing it with factors that reduce friction and support motivation. In most cases, only providing information is not sufficient to change people`s behavior. For instance, a person may have made the decision to start eating healthy because they know the benefits of eating healthy. However, if they are constantly bombarded with unhealthy foods within their environment, they are likely to relapse into unhealthy eating habits. In short, information may be necessary but not sufficient to influence sustained behavioral change.

Overall, to bridge the gap of where we are and where we would want to be, knowledge is not enough and that is why the environment must be manipulated in a manner that encourages the desired behavior.