Three Myths of Behavior Change - What You Think You Know That You Don't: Jeni Cross at TEDxCSU

Jeni Cross is a sociology professor at Colorado State University. She has spoken about community development and sustainability to audiences across the country, from business leaders and government officials to community activists. As a professor and consultant she has helped dozens of schools and government agencies implement and evaluate successful programs to improve community well-being. In this talk, she discusses her work around changing behaviors.
This video was originally posted 3/14/2013 and received 481 views. This corrected version was posted on 3/20/2013.
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, wher/e x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

[@giorgigudiashvili4876]

I find myself occasionally coming back to this talk because every time I begin watching I don't really understand what she's talking about.

[@danilocampanha9830]

"Social interaction is one of the most important tools we can use for making change." Wow! Nice

[@aaronjohnmaughan]

Anyone who parents has, I hope, discovered that modeling social norms is the most effective way to change behavior. If you want to get a child to clean up their mess, start cleaning the mess and have them help. Kids follow the examples they are given, and adults are simply grown up kids. Makes sense!

[@tylergeffeney9575]

Education doesn't change behavior.... unless that education is 1. tangible 2, personalized 3. socialized, 4. points out what their are losing 5. appeals to the particular audience. TRANSLATION: Education -- when persuasive -- DOES change behavior.

[@Snackay]

No it doesn't, people have to change their own behavior. Information on its own, is just information.

[@nyambatikwamboka7065]

Tyler Geffeney Public Relations, persuasion...it's what advertisers have been using all this time and that's why we are where we are....😛

[@covenof13]

One thing I always keep in mind when a professor or 'expert' lectures. American schools produce poorly educated people at high cost. One of the big problems is that they are so focused on changing people to fit whatever their personal opinion is on how people are supposed to act and behave they forget all about teaching.

[@justgivemethetruth954]

They don't change people, they don't educate them, they don'tt prepare them, they just weaken and break them so they cannot pose a threat to the existing power structure.

[@peternishimura]

Justgivemethetruth How would you know that?

[@Xeranx]

tiramisu951 Run your own experiment and ask people you know about important issues from local to federal. Chances are people will be more likely to deal with what can be affected immediately rather than what will affect them months from now.

[@peternishimura]

***** Sure. But how would you know that's a function of American schools? How would you also know that you're not affected?

[@LoudCommentor]

***** Yes, it's true that they're very likely to say that. But it's also a trend which has been shown in children even before they engage in formal education. So no, at least this, is not caused by the education system, it is just one of the irrational behaviours of human beings. It's been genetically coded into us to think like this; in a world where you could die any day, why would you plan three months ahead, when you need food now?

[@thunderlei1865]

the talk focusing on how to influence other to change. 2:00 myth#1:education, link information to tangible image, 5:00 how to present information 8:09 myth#2: change attitude, attitude follow behavior,setting behavioral expectations 10:12 connect to values 13:11 myth#3: motivation, identify source-- social norm,

[@muddycatfish5396]

this dude got you covered

[@irfankazi7971]

She is right about how we tend to copy some body unconsciously like you start clapping if some body else starts to clap in an auditorium.

[@osirusj275]

No...... I dont clap whatsoever

[@jangofet555]

i love the part about underlying values, and not following but discovering or imagining what we believe in or could believe or create.

[@Avriljameshurt]

This is the essence of wellness coaching. A beautiful way to unite the "right" and "left" to protect the environment--based on their values.

[@nicole-secondaryemail-mort9617]

Hopefully this is an accurate summary:. Myth 1: lack of education/information is the reason for irrational behaviour. Wrong. (behvaiour is more complex than this) Myth 2: need to change attitudes to change behaviour? no. Answer: Set behavioural expectations. It works. Also understand people's values. Myth 3: People know what motivates them? No. Answer: Social influence and social norms are a stronger motivator than we realise.

[@daoistheway3666]

Awesome TEDx Talk, Thank you, Jeni Cross

[@k.ireneanderson1579]

It's a really good thing I don't have to rely on closed captioning or I would have NEVER gotten the gist of this talk."Refinance" = "raise your hands" and "turn up like really the rams" = "turn off the light when you leave the room." I don't know if it's KZbin or the people who create the videos but someone ought to pay attention to the closed captioning for people who DO need to rely on it.

[@alastairleith8612]

+Katirene Anderson its automatic captioning (using speech recognition code to guess from audio track) although the creator can upload their own, potentially correct, subtitles.

[@daniel-stopsurvivingstartl589]

At first, they begin to engage themselves in many things with full motivation. Everything appears to be exciting and meaningful, so they try to fill up their schedule with various activities. In turn, they quickly build up knowledge and experience. They meet new people and experience things they have never done before. They feel like they are making progress and feel a sense of pride. It doesn’t matter if this is actually true. They just believe that what they feel is true. This is exactly what the book 'Kit for Reaching Emotional Stability' is explaining about. You might just turn on a documentary show and as it reaches the end, it feels like you have learned something. But it doesn't matter whether you actually did learn anything. You just feel satisfied with yourself.

[@mugojr4766]

Exactly, wow this is amazing. It is interesting how emotions can toy with you

[@debeastdueeast]

The best book that I've seen so far on this is: "Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive". Very good - I think the hotel towel reuse point is the first of the 50 strategies.

[@chevaliergryphon1308]

This is sooooo correct! The whole attitude attack thing fails every single time

[@sreelabanerjee4791]

What a very practical talk - thank you for your insights... Here is how it translates into bringing up children - Show, not tell. A child 'learns what it lives' - expect more, turn your instructions into something they can visualize and reveal your values - and analyze the underlying values in every situation you talk about.... let your children acquire life skills. That is what will make them employable and keep them employed long after you are dead and gone !

[@choipro1212]

Thanks for your speech.

[@chensun6156]

Excellen presentation! Thank you.

[@BohistaNordica]

I appreciate TED talks.

[@patana256]

THIS IS AWESOME!!

[@jopaki]

than you! a bit of critical thinking also gets you to the same conclusion of this speaker. mass scale stuff such as politics, are truly complex and one realized the truth of the proverb: the more you know the less you know.

[@every1readthis]

This is fascinating to say the least!

[@MayleneKimMay]

Thank you for this brilliant talk. LOVED IT! Motivating as all our thoughts and decisions should be effective.

[@nikkiabad7162]

Hats off!

[@nickie2011]

Excellent talk, one of the most useful ever!!!

[@ivonz9920]

The point boils down to that people are rationally bounded (Kahneman/ Tversky) which doesn't mean we can't be logical, just that we are not long-term logical all the time/ as an objective self would judge: there are many reasons why we do/ don't do things - subjectivity matters and information + interaction/ purpose/ meaning etc can make a difference.

[@demianhaki7598]

Another aspect of visibly formulating expectations is that people, as social creatures, have an urge to fall in line with the standards of a group (Of course, depends on which group you consider yourself to be part of).

[@davideskelundnielsen4325]

So what Cross is actually conveying here, is that attitudes do not predict behavior. We do not need to change attitudes in order for people to participate in fruitful and beneficial behavior. I think that is a very important argument, that if true (as it is backed up by a lot of evidence however there is a lot of evidence showing that changing attitudes leads to a change in behavior also) it is very important in our modern soceity.

[@Dekan]

"Reality, in fact, is usually something you could not have guessed." -C.S. Lewis

[@Tunga881]

very nice. the way it presented is excellent.

[@CentroMedicoUma]

so interesting ted is really a great platform

[@ZsOtherBrother]

I also would like to examine this lecture using the question raised by the speaker about campains 'A' and 'B': The speaker's conclusion was that 'B' is more effective *because* of the reaction people have to perceived social norms, i.e.: 'A' will confirm that trashing is the norm and encourage them to do the same, and 'B' will confirm that keeping the streets clean is the norm... I aggree with both theories, but coming to the right conclusion based on one supporting factor is what the title of this lecture warns us about. My personal "common sense" suggests that all possible factors need to be investigated before they are ignored or dismissed. What I mean is this: social norms aren't necessarily the most influential factor for behavioral change, (even if the researcher's common sense says that it does:)). Norms, (other people's actions or perceived views), are important to many people and so a (personalized:)) message to these people should take that into account, but there's more than one type of "humans" out there, e.g.: some people don't put a lot of emphasis on social norm, others have the exact opposite reaction to it, and others still have such strong reaction to some other factor that "drowns" the effects of the norm. For example, some of the people will be affected by the tangible way in which the amount of weekly trash is presented. Some people will turn away from the mere image of trash before they even read the message below, because of the feelings that it evokes in them, while others will stop and read it for the exact same reason. The appearance of a woman in the 'B' poster, and the fact that it's brightly colored, (especially in comparison to the 'A' one), may cause people to stop and look at an ad that would otherwise be unnoticed. The positive message of the B ad may be more effective for some people than the "loss" (of clean and pleasant environment) shown by the A ad. The fact that the B ad includes a person, (and not just anyone, but a respected local celebrity), may be more influential than imagined... what if she were to appear in the other ad holding a huge bag full of trash, would that ad still be less effective? (lead by example, because your behavior doesnt follow the norm, it creates it !!!)

[@charlesjezek2268]

GOOD TALK

[@stevenlevymath]

Quantify and keeping up with the neighbors.

[@cheeselovingtree]

1. Make evidence tangible and relatable 2. Attitudes don't predict actions. Values do. 3. We don't know what motivates us. Watch the actual video though. The details are good.

[@arafatzbd]

Right, enriched

[@sarvenazkarimi8720]

Amazing

[@stewarthase]

Its interesting to see so many people operating on beliefs rather than the facts in judging this talk. What Cross is saying is pretty well mainstream psychology backed by research and by the neuroscience, which is even more interesting. Mass education programs work because of the advertising gimmicks that are used not the information (Bangladesh etc etc). Just because change is complex doesn't detract from her argument either. The reality is that people think that these three things work-and they don't.

[@chelsearayna9133]

So ironically, all the critics are proving her point: it's the emotional delivery that counts, not the facts. :)

[@hamiltonmays4256]

Watching some TEDx talks is like being required to sit through those presentations at work by overpaid "facilitators" droning on, offering nothing but useless, wrong, and/or worn-out platitudes packaged as brilliant and effective outside-the-box thinking.

[@greggsilk1689]

+Hamilton Mays TEDx kills brain cells

[@fitnesspoint2006]

+Hamilton Mays Agreed!

[@KD-xf6kf]

+Hamilton Mays She is talking about evidence-based science, unlike a lot of TEDx speakers, it's just packaged differently. I think the majority of non-behavior analysts would be bored to tears listening to me talk about behavior analysis in my scientific language. She modified the language to make it more digestible.

[@fitnesspoint2006]

Kelly Dulak Evidence based science is based on the latest silly study with statistical analysis that suits your need and then changes next month based on the latest flavor of the month, it is worse than fashion trends.

[@Typhoon792]

+Hamilton Mays Lol, THANK YOU!

[@freeradical3592]

Our actions are guided by a combination of reason and emotion. Suggesting that our barrier to changing behavior is lack of proper information is the furthest thing from insightful that I have heard so far on TEDx

[@melaniedunn5886]

i love ted talks

[@micap1121]

Fantastic :)

[@chotrungquoc]

an invaluable idea :) Too many people today are going around saying "something" about changes. Well, "make your changes meaningful!" That's the key to keep us moving forward, not moving around :))

[@ullipraneeth3130]

Soo valuable contents

[@EditorialBunny]

There is a difference between giving information and education. You can tell people anything you want. But that isn't educating. Educating has to do with critical analysis and in depth conversation as well. Educating is also teaching by getting someone to think not have someone think for them.

[@Snackay]

False, there are plenty of people who take courses, and then don't follow through with the new behaviors.

[@lazur1]

Common sense is apparently Jeni Cross's greatest enemy: Every adult knows that they can't change other people's behavior by presenting them with logical information. What she presented as a supposedly-alternative choice is, in fact, what common sense *is*.

[@AngelaBreeze99]

good info

[@Anthony_in_Bloomington_Indiana]

Basically, what she spends 18.5 minutes saying here is that a person tends to do things that he or she sees other people doing. One of the examples here is street musicians. A street musician will often put a few dollars into his guitar case to show that - Other people have donated. So you should follow their example and donate too. Jeni said a better strategy is for the street musician to ask a few of his friends to donate. That way people strolling by will SEE someone donating and that is more persuasive than just seeing a few dollars in the guitar case. Here is an example that is not in this talk. Faith healers (Which I call charlatans) have often put their team members in the crowd. Then a man who actually works for the so called faith healer spreads his arms out and proclaims, "Holy waffles, I have been healed of my arthritis! This man is the genuine article!" When I was at Western Michigan University, I saw The Amazing Kreskin perform. He was a complete fake. He asked for 2 dozen volunteers. He went through a talk about - Your eyes are getting heavy. When I say, 'Open your eyes.' You will not be able to open your eyes. Then he said, 'Open your eyes.' All the men and women who could open their eyes, he sent them off stage. With the 6 who remained, he had them flapping their arms and acting like chickens. That's as much as I remember. The whole show was pointless, except for the lesson - Don't let people take advantage of you. It's only worth helping people if your help is appreciated by the people you're trying to help. Stay well away from people who only want to take and not work to make their lives better. Like those street beggars. If you see lots of people giving money to a fat guy with rumpled clothes, should you give as well? I read a study some group did in London which discovered that 80% of those street beggars are drug or alcohol addicts. Some of them are just too lazy to work. They make more money begging than they could working at whatever job they could get. Most of them actually have homes, despite all those cardboard signs that say - Homeless. That's the lesson here, which Jeni does not mention. Think before you do something that entails going with the crowd, ask your friends, your wife or husband. Lots of people are dumping buckets of ice water on their heads right now and donating to supposedly research and cure Lou Gehrig's disease. But the drug companies and even the National Institute of Health block any real cures! There are several videos on You Tube with Professor Boyd Hailey, where he explains his research into mercury and Alzheimer's Disease. He explains that Alzheimer's Disease is caused by mercury. He was getting funding for his research from the National Institute of Health, or NIH. But as soon as he was getting close to making a real breakthrough, they cut his funding! The drug companies don't want diseases to be cured. They want expensive treatments that don't cure anything, cold, heartless, greedy bastards.

[@ASMRGRATITUDE]

Well said!

[@Cyberspark939]

That and changing perspectives.

[@Snackay]

"80% of those street beggars are drug or alcohol addicts. Some of them are just too lazy to work." That's why they are homeless, have you ever been an addiction. It has nothing to do with laziness. Many also are mentally ill. You try begging and see how much it pays. It does not pay more than working.

[@Wiz00111]

One thing about education is that. After the topic has been discussed. People will always have their opinion good or bad, and think that they can explain the topic better than the next person.

[@QueerBiNatureNYC]

#1: Education will change behavior. #2 You need to change attitudes to change behavior. #3 People know what motivates them to take action.

[@ogourment]

+QueerBiNatureNYC This summary is useful, but misleading. For example you can't understand from #2 that you need to change behaviour first before attitudes can changes, which she explains in the talk.which is only 18 minutes long. If you (as in "you who are reading this", not "you who wrote this comment" -thanks BTW) care enough about the topic, you should listen to it.

[@tarzanek5]

I love the guy that had a nap on his right shoulder while this lady talked.

[@sheilastutz7804]

Change of attitude is what the person finds for him or herself,

[@XPK36]

i'm in half agreement with you. Being non-committal in language is pretty popular. The "like" thing for instance. However comma people also have verbal pauses... these ticks of sound they make while their brain and mouth synchronize (Uh, and, um, well) and they also tend to mimic their peers. These tend to become worse when people are nervous. Most people find speaking before groups terrifying. It takes practice to reduce those ticks.

[@v3le]

i have learned how to manipulate other people... thanks for the video

[@zzidaric]

"Change" is bullshit Change is just something different. What we really need is SOLVING PROBLEMS When you solve a problem, change happens.

[@Wutzthedeal]

It's rare to find a 10% dislike percentage on Ted or Tedx; that's pretty high. But that's just information.

[@jackiesantangelo6610]

Good morning from the east coast of the USA ;-) Any idea how I can print off the transcript of this talk?

[@Mkulimabilajembe]

Good work,

[@Mkulimabilajembe]

How can we connected with you in order to learn more about behaviour change?

[@risingsun3907]

Considering the majority of the people on this planet are in a constant state of hunger and are worried about shelter and employment, perhaps we should start there. If people are more concerned with just surviving how can they even begin to think about making changes to their behaviors that may affect the planet or any other positive social change? Until this issue is focused on with laser like precision the chances of affecting anyone's behavior will be very limited. The ultimate question is, how do we affect positive behavior changes in those who are manipulating the social structure and societal norms through propaganda for reasons of greed and power? Are scientist and sociologist experimenting on that?

[@violettippet5246]

Those aren't the people who are ruining the planet.

[@risingsun3907]

Who is in your opinion?

[@violettippet5246]

Rising Sun People who have money and resources. Poor people don't have money to take international flights they are more likely to take public transit,and they are more likely to conserve their resources. I am poor, I walk/public transit everywhere. I have to take reusable bags everywhere because of this fact because plastic bags don't cut it. I buy in bulk, and bring my own containers instead of using plastic bags for a discount. I grow my own tomatoes and herbs. I conserve water. I make my own yogurt. I make my own laundry detergent, deodorant, and all purpose cleaner and I use no packaging for any of the ingredients. I buy my dish soap and hand soap from bulk and reuse the dispensers because it's cheaper. I reuse my olive oil and vinaigrette bottles and refill them from bulk because I get a discount. I buy used clothes and furniture. I don't eat as much meat because it's expensive. I don't buy packaged foods because they are more expensive. I make my own bread because it's cheaper. I eat a lot of beans, barley, rice, oats, and pasta and produce because these are cheap. I use rags, tea towels, handkerchiefs, reusable cotton rounds and cloth napkins because it's cheaper than the alternatives. I use reusable alternatives to expensive ziplock bags. I only produce 1 bag of garbage, and 1 bag or recycling once every 2 months. This is me poor in a developed country, now think of poor people in developing countries, and you'll find they use even fewer resources than me.

[@risingsun3907]

Thinking the core problem is the addiction to greed which is a problem rooted in fear. We are all responsible in one way or another however there are groups of people who behave like parasites feeding from fear and the illusion of control who have major influence on programming human behavior. In the United States for example it is nearly impossible to escape the cohersive bombardment of political and advertising messages/programming which promote competition, convenience, and buy as much shit as you can to be happy propaganda. I have made many adjustments in the last few years and have become very conscious in how I spend my money and utilize resources. Buying used merchandise, recycling, fixing things before buying new things, planting a garden, eating less meat, juicing raw foods. People are easily influenced when in a constant state of hunger and fear. I wonder what it is going to take to find a balance?

[@violettippet5246]

Rising Sun I agree, we are all responsible for the plight of the planet, but poorer people are less responsible because they have no money and as a result they have to be good stewards of their resources. Richer people can just throw things away and buy new stuff without a second thought while poorer people are forced to be more creative with their resources. If rich people are good stewards, I applaud them, and even if I did have money I would continue living the way I do now and in fact I would be even ore eco friendly, since I'd be able to afford green electricity.

[@VickiLovegreenOAM]

Set expectatiojs to make change happen.

[@warrenlauzon5315]

I honestly don't give a crap what some famous person says, as the credibility factor is usually pretty low. Many years ago the single most successful campaign in Japan to stop people littering went something like "Do you want visitors from XX country to see all this trash in the streets?"

[@UnseelieBoggan]

***** That isn't actually true. That is your bias, not a fact. Some of the worst litterbugs are entitled wealthy well-educated people. That poor neighborhoods are not always clean has more to do with a lack of public services allocated to those areas. Rich, well-educated people have more people to clean up after them, and to haul their trash to poor places to dump it.

[@warrenlauzon5315]

UnseelieBoggan And that is YOUR bias. I have never noticed the "entitled" are worse or better.

[@sjwilkins1991]

a study from Berkeley stated that luxury cars were significantly more likely to break the law if it effected their travel time. this is in many areas of the law. but it doesnt leave it to just people in a higher socioeconomic bracket. as a rule, people who have the sense that they are better off economic are less likely to give to any form of charity, more likely to take free anything, consider any success to have been derived from personal ability and less likely to consider their effect on a group, ie littering. but this isnt simply people who are rich, but who feel rich.

[@jopaki]

***** majority counts why? Yes a Democracy when these principles manifest from social forces to law. The majority here counts for a lot I reckon.

[@gabrielcornea9119]

Maybe you and I don't follow the celebrities, but there are many people that do. It may also depend on the celebrity.

[@not8upwthit]

People will do more to avoid pain than to gain pleasure is IMO the first thing we've got to understand when trying to persuade people to do something.

[@augustinehourigan7453]

The secret in getting someone do something is to get him TO WANT TO DO IT!

[@ZsOtherBrother]

It has been my experience that the most successful way to inspire change in others is through personal example ...AND common sense, (maybe I just didn't understand what she meant by "common sense :) ). So lead by example, because your behavior doesnt follow the norm, it creates it !!!

[@byleethomas3190]

Yay I would love to know as a human being how the world works from a HUMAN BEING

[@notkhloe1400]

People change either because; 1. They just want today Or 2. They got hurt too much or just wants to fit in

[@Hiraghm]

"What will motivate you?" None of the above. What motivates me is what benefits *me*. If I protect "the environment", it's because I think a protected "the environment" will benefit me in some way.

[@violettippet5246]

But yes, she did mention you. :) She said people are self involved, and hate losing stuff.

[@adrianbalmes5704]

@@violettippet5246 But how if you frame it as instead of wasting water saving money, u really don't lose water u lose on your water bill... She shoulve put a lamborghini and said stop wasting in your bill and buy a Ferrari 914 or 944. but put it as saving money.

[@shaunlyne6048]

sigma grindset

[@lynn2475]

who woulda thought!

[@kittimcconnell2633]

Giving information is NOT the same as education.

[@dlwatib]

Dylan Richards Here's some education for you: "giving information" and "educating" are verbs, not nouns. The corresponding nouns are "information dissemination" and "education".

[@guthixboy18]

May I ask, Julie, what your comment accomplished?

[@guthixboy18]

Julie Hafer Ah. I did misunderstand. Haha. Sorry about that. Take care :D

[@gingerindian1141]

true. education is about the recipient engaging with the information and learning from it; applying it to life situations or used in practical situations. This video is a great opportunity to learn and therefore educate ones self. It is dependent on the recipient entering a learning contract with this information to be educational.

[@LoovArpad]

This is interesting because I made an experiment, not based on this clip - but I thought how each of us when going to the toilet - why is there alwas some rubish on the floor? ..because if there is some rubish on the floor then it signals to it is okay to throw the rubish on the floor. Well the goal was to change behaviour. What i did was to put up a sign saying. "Thank you for throwing the rubish in the bin". Each time I went to the toilet, I took up the rubish from the floor. Within a week the attitude changed. Next part of the experiment was to remove the sign and you know it still works.. well, for now anyway ;-)

[@NSLM]

As for A or B at the start, it's stupid because the effectiveness really depends on who we're talking about.

[@kittimcconnell2633]

People tell you what they believe will convince them and are incorrect. I have seen this even in family relationships. My ex said he only wanted 'logical arguments' but could not recognize logic. I gave him an if-then statement and his reply was "nuh-uh". He couldn't defend any of his conclusions with anything better than saying, "It just makes sense, can't you see?" People complain that fast food makes them obese...and then refuse to buy the healthier foods when restaurants offer them.

[@seize.ur_life]

Would anyone know of any other resources which apply or include these myths?

[@d.e.b.b5788]

The litter thing? Some places actually take away litter baskets because they say people are putting household garbage in them. They they act surprised when littering goes up because there are no garbage cans to put stuff in.

[@Kombaiyashii]

In England, we have these smoking ad campaigns where you see a cancerous tumour on the packet of cigarettes. Apart from beind disgusting, I always questioned if it actually cutailed smoking. Same with drink driving campaigns, we have very graphic imagery of these kinds of situations. To anyone who has any knowledge on behavioral science, is this really a good way to ease this kind of behaviour?

[@immortal2326]

snoreeeeee!!!

[@darylfaulds6841]

Some criticisms for Jeni Cross. Although buildings represent 40% of American energy consumption, only half that is for residential buildings. Furthermore, residential building energy use is split between water heating, refrig, space heating, air conditioning, light, television and clothes dryers. Residential space heating in its entirety only represents approximately 3% of the national energy consumption. Showing a basketball may be effective, but plugging drafts is not really worth that much. Installing solar panels only to run the household refrigerators (7% energy consumption) during the day would be a far more cost effective way to save energy.

[@Rohan-22]

What is difference between attitude and behaviour? I know the meaning of both the words but it's difficult to differentiate from the parent's example of turning of the lights. How is behavioural expectation different from attitude expectation?

[@pavelpeev1229]

We think that if we show people how big a problem is they would stop doing it Myth 1 : Education will change behavior There are three kinds of ways that common sense leads us astray : +1: We think that if we were to change people's behavior we need to educate them. We are assuming that by providing the information we will fill the missing piece in the equation. Providing people with information is simply not enough. ! ! ! How you present information makes a difference. 1 One of the things that makes a difference is making information tangible. This helps people to understand the importance of a situation. -Example : you have a crack on the roof of your house as big as a basketball. 2: The second thing that makes a difference is personalizing the information. 3 : The third thing is Social interaction and this is one of the most important tools we can use for making a change. When you give people all of these three things you have three times better results. How you present your information triples the effectiveness of your effort. +2.Human beings don't like to lose things. if you tell people what they're losing they will engage in behavior just because you've told them what they're loosing. Hearing that you're losing is more likely to change behavior then hearing that your gaining. Framing loss can make a difference +3.Different audiences need different information You have to give a message that is appealing to the targeted audience. When you are talking to the people the information has to resonates to them and to also present the information that they in particular interested in hearing about. Knowing your audience is a key factor in making any change. Myth 2 : You need to change attitude to change behavior. Attitude follows behavior! attitude does not predict behavior! When people engage in the behavior you want you will be able to measure the attitude you expect but before that, you need to do something else Setting expectations work for all kinds of things. Set behavioral expectations !!! Don't change attitudes set behavioral expectations! Remind people to engage in a change of behavior that you want! If we're not going to change people's behavior by changing the attitude how do we deal with a tough issue such as climate change. How do we deal with that? We don't deal with that by changing anybody's attitude We deal with it by understanding what people's underlying values are. What is it that they really people care about? If you ask people, they will tell you what really matters to them. You must understand values, that's a whole different tactics then changing attitudes Myth 3 : People know what motivates them to take action One of the big things that influence our behavior is social norms. When some people are doing something other people are more likely to do the same or follow. Seeing somebody doing it is a better predictor that you will do it as well. Social norms are a great predictor of behavior. Social norms are the most understood and underestimated by human beings Social norms have the biggest impact on behavior. Social norms are the most influential Making effective change Make your change meaningful

[@evangelistkayeabraham4782]

You can only change someone;s behavior when you change your own behavior too...

[@ktow2]

Any shot this video can get creative commons licensing/option to download? The TED link is blocked as "private".

[@Ethercloud]

That vid was yummy ~nom nom nom~ thanks 4 the meal.

[@ivyrose1831]

💪🏻

[@DrWhom]

Promulgating the myths or debunking them?

[@whatever57010]

I see that 216 people commented on this video... I must comment as well

[@atharvamote4710]

Oh it's 452 at the time of writing this.

[@quinlan9458]

@@atharvamote4710 You replied to this comment, so I must do the same

[@luciakolesarova]

459 now

[@Daviddaze]

Climare change? Sure recycle, go nucler, use less, etc. As a society, our biggest problem is Moral change. Heterophobia lust, selfishness, pride, lying, and family abandonment is causing the most chaos.

[@aspirativemusicproduction2135]

People do good when they are observed. People do bad when they are not observed. So much about privacy being a good thing

[@noahway13]

God, I hate how everyone now starts all their sentences with "So".

[@eaurougeflat]

so, I hate how everyone starts sentences with "God"...;)

[@DaBadger354]

Education does change behavior. The number of people who smoke has been drastically reduces once people were educated about the real dangers of smoking. Currently only about 22-23 % of people in the United States smoke and this has changed the laws regarding where you can smoke and where you cannot, mostly you cannot smoke anywhere where people who don't smoke might be.

[@aaronjohnmaughan]

+Steve Clark ....Was it the education that changed the behavior, or the fact that as more and more people quit, so to others see the value? I see it as both. Early adopters often do so because of information they received, and it's those early adopters that create the example that others who ignored the hard facts then follow.

[@alastairleith8612]

+Aaron Maughan And the fact that most habitual smokers (addicts) loath it but won't change. when they see all their friends read "How to Stop Smoking Permanently" and never have another cigarette and never crave for one they want to follow suit. The author of this book, Alan Carr was very critical of many of the government run Quit campaigns and their methodology.

[@augustinehourigan7453]

You are correct Steve Clark. Education does not change behaviour. ACTION taken as a result of Education CHANGES BEHAVIOUR. It is simple to stop smoking JUST DO NOT PUT A CIGARETTE into your mouth NOW. Repeat, repeat, repeat. DO NOT PUT A CIGARETTE INTO YOU MOUTH NOW!

[@augustinehourigan7453]

Alastair, I have a friend who read ALAN CARR'S BOOK on HOW TO STOP SMOKING. She read it for LAUGHS!!!! At 20 minutes to midnight on New Years Eve 1999, she handed her cigarettes to her son and announced that she had quit. SHE DID QUIT. That is over 16 years ago now. Had she not quit SHE WOULD HAVE DIED BECAUSE OF HER SMOKING HABIT!!!

[@alastairleith8612]

Augustine Hourigan yeah he did amazing work that man.

[@ThuNguyen-fm5cm]

If you can’t change attitudes, what else can you do to affect climate change or environmental issues?

[@janonthemtn]

Count how many times she says conserve or its derivative. Topic is conservation, with a bit about behavior.

[@margogillman2974]

As a social marketer who has conducted extensive research for and led a host of health behavior change campaigns over the past 14+ years, I have to disagree with your argument that attitudes essentially have no bearing on behaviors, and therefore do not need to be changed in order to promote behavior change. This is a sweeping statement, which falls way outside of common social marketing understanding and practice. One particular "real-life" example that I can cite is a campaign I created to help educate Latina women about HPV and encourage them to get tested for it. Research showed that our campaign had to overcome concerns about stigma among this population--which were clearly attitudinal--in order to persuade them to take the necessary action(s).

[@jianyinhe1146]

what about the person on the poster is not famous? will it be still effective?

[@happywelldriller]

Seems like a lot of people want to change other people’s behavior!

[@chrisgoulart2293]

What about the role of consequences in relation to behavior? Aren't consequences the strongest motivators for behavior?

[@xiaolintraditional90]

what about those people who don't like to follow social norms? I for one don't give a shit about what is mainstream or the "norm" and that poster of the celebrity recycling has no effect on me but that sign full of trash does

[@MrRuggedboy27]

that just sounds cool when you say it, the whole idea of being a rebel without a pause, but you will wear clothes when you are out, eat with the knife in right and fork in left hand and ask people how are you, even if you dont care how they are coz those are all things society taught you to say and do, so really now ?

[@justgivemethetruth954]

The problem with your statement is that people do not know what will influence them or what has influenced them and are the worst predictors of their own behavior. People, like you, think things about themselves to bolster their egos, not because of reality. You seem to just like to get attention by being weird because it makes you feel better about something.

[@aarondavis8943]

Assuming that you judge your own behavior accurately, maybe you're part of the minority that is less influenced by social norms. She never said social norms were a perfect, 100% effective motivator, just that they are the bet we know of.

[@Jester123ish]

Maybe you're well above average intelligence and the social enticement presented (sporting celebrity role model) is of little appeal compared to being able to understand for yourself the need for a change in behavior based on the real evidence, because after all if you're able to make up your own mind you've probably learned not to trust all the things you're led to believe as necessary or true. It's also probably true that the first approach would be effective for a percentage of people, given what she said about targeting this shouldn't be a surprise, the trick is to realize that the second approach is going to work on more people.

[@justgivemethetruth954]

Jester123ish Or in the long run the reasoned approach should be used until it is the stable norm. People are so used to being tweaked emotionally it has had a toxic effect on our society. Maybe as one marketing expert says it "The reptile always wins" is true, but we have to see what it does and all agree to not encourage reptile mode behavior. For example, most people think it is a good idea that heroin is illegal because the toxic effects on people's behavior once it gets a chance to take root in their lives is so bad. We just do not realize that high fructose corn syrup or TV advertisements are just part of the same issue.

[@RicardoPetinga]

Common sense is common, as the name says. Good sense is what is rare.

[@lornastremcha1576]

Show don't tell.

[@aaronjohnmaughan]

+Lorna Stremcha....Indeed. Effective parents employ this simple method.

[@alastairleith8612]

+Lorna Stremcha like fiction :-)

[@IBEatColoState]

If anyone is interested in learning more in-depth skills and techniques for facilitating behavior change, Jeni is teaching an upcoming online professional development course. Check out www.online.colostate.edu/certificates/digital-badges/integrated-sustainability-management/

[@loursvanthilai4034]

aww

[@FrogLehane]

I had to stop at myth N1. Education is not about facts. Education is about understanding information and how to use it among other things. At least when it's done right.