Psychology for Digital Behaviour Change

• Psychology for Digital Behavior Change

Behavior = motivation, ability and a trigger coming together.

• Cialdini – seminal book on persuasion• Reciprocity – People tend to return a favor• Commitment and Consistency – If people commit, orally

or in writing, to an idea or goal, they are more likely to honor that commitment because of establishing that idea or goal as being congruent with their self-image• Social Proof – People will do things that they see other

people are doing• Authority – People will tend to obey authority figures,

even if they are asked to perform objectionable acts.• Liking – People are easily persuaded by other people that

they like. • Scarcity – Perceived scarcity will generate demand.

• Two scenarios. Two outcomes. One success.• A door in the face

• "Would you like to donate $100?” • “No.” • “How about $10?" • <Slam>

• A foot in the door • "Will you sign this petition?” • “Ok.” • “Great! Can you also donate $100 to the cause?" • “Ok.”

• An image of a lock is one of the strongest trust signals you can put on your webpage or website for conversion maximization

• It takes 66 days on average to form a habit, not 21. • 95% of people form a habit after 66 days.• Some take as little as 18 days, some as long as 8+ months.

• Elements of brand personality:• Sincerity

• Honest• Down to earth• Wholesome• Cheerful

• Competence• Reliable• Intelligent

• Sophistication• Excitement

• A credible source is:• Believable: key to influencing belief & attitudes.• Dependable: key to inducing action.

• The stages of action:• Concentrating.• Learning.• Desiring.• Deciding.• Trusting.• Acting.• Maintaining.

• Did you know?• The hobby industry has the best email open rate and restaurants have the lowest?• The most effective public health campaign is a seatbelt campaign and least

effective is youth drug use? • On average only 10% of people in online health interventions are still with

program after 5 days?• Most principles of marketing can be found in Aristotle’s “Art of Rhetoric?”• Facebook’s News Feed algorithm has a burst component? You need to get

engagement fast for your message to travel.

• Persuasive websites / media are like persuasive people:• They’re likable.• They’re reputable.• They appear trustworthy.• They demonstrate expertise.• You understand them easily.• They respect you and your time.• They have personality.

• What you can do on your website / pages:• Interacting with a brand is like interacting with a computer: it can seem

human if you focus on the interaction with the thing itself, and not what’s inside.• Persuasive websites and other online media have human qualities:

• Likability• Reputability• Trust• Expertise• Comprehensibility• Respect• Personality.

• Exhibit the two dimensions of source credibility (trust): honesty and expertise.

• Visual design best practices• Position page elements based on a hierarchy of where people look (e.g.

heatmaps).• Reduce cognitive load (“don’t make me think.”)• People remember the first and last things on a list.

• Action-based design• Emphasize the verb in a web page’s function / title, not a description of its

content.• Use possessive pronouns to ascribe value to your product. For example, don’t

characterize software as a tool, but as “your” or “my” software.• “A powerful advertisement makes a promise.”

• Motivation• Loss aversion• Incentivization

More reading: Daniel Kahneman