Design and behaviour

Traditional ways of encouraging people to change their behaviour are inadequate, says the RSA’s Jamie Young. Here, he introduces a new RSA project seeking to apply persuasive technology techniques to solve the big issues of today 

Earlier this year Professor John Beddington, the UK’s Chief Scientific Advisor, warned of a 'perfect storm' of interconnected food, water and energy shortages that will climax around 2030. Rising populations will lead to an increased demand on these resources that, compounded by the problem of climate change, will be difficult to meet – causing destabilisation, rioting, and mass migration.

Fixing big problems like these is challenging for any government but for those caught up in the global recession, when spending on public services is being squeezed dry, the difficulties become severe.

Policymakers, whether from the left or right of the political spectrum, are convinced that behaviour change is essential. Effective ways to do this are urgently needed, but the traditional methods of encouraging people to change their behaviour are inadequate. Unfortunately in a deepening recession, many businesses are reluctant to invest in the riskier pursuit of innovation to find better ones.

Into this context, the RSA’s design team is developing a new project that will help one innovation cross from academia into the real world. This innovation is the emerging interdisciplinary discourse of Persuasive Technology, which describes products and services which have intentionally been designed to change people’s attitudes or behaviours. The term was coined by BJ Fogg (who describes the concept in more detail in his article), who, noting the potential of combining insights from psychology with the mass communication capability and flexibility of computer technology, developed a set of techniques that show how intelligent products can be designed to intentionally shape their users’ behaviour.

 'Measure what is measurable, and make measurable what is not so', said Galileo Galilei. Too often the harmful side effects of our behaviour are hidden from us and if we don’t see them, it’s difficult to do anything about them. One common technique of Persuasive Technology is to make them visible. Designers can use the technique of self-monitoring – when products give people feedback on the effects of their behaviour – to do this. This simple step makes people more resourceful, giving them the ability to learn about, and then change, their behaviour.

Self-monitoring is one of the few persuasive design techniques that have been taken up by business so far. The ECO Pedal that Nissan is developing, for example, pushes back on your accelerator foot if the car detects that your driving is too ‘lead-foot’ – a tactile form of self-monitoring to encourage more energy-efficient driving.

Many other persuasive design techniques are available, but there is little understanding among businesses and policymakers of how they can best be applied to help solve the big problems that society faces. The RSA’s project will work with designers and communities of people to explore how these techniques can be used in appropriate and effective ways.

We plan a series of creative design sessions, each with the aim of applying the techniques of Persuasive Technology to social problems. Working in three particular fields – the environment, health, and civic participation – we hope to create new ways to encourage people to adopt new behaviours such as managing their energy use in the home, exercising regularly, or simply getting to know their neighbours.

The RSA’s project will also develop models for using such techniques on a wider scale, and explore the implications for national policy that tries to encourage behavioural change. Using design in this way is at the heart of the RSA, which has a rich heritage of recognising the role of design in solving social problems; in 1796, it ran a competition to encourage equipment for 'obviating the necessity of children being employed within flues' that resulted in the first prototype chimney sweeping brushes. Today, the RSA’s Design Directions awards encourage young designers to focus on key social challenges.

Although the rather mechanical and top-down way that politicians talk about 'behaviour change' may not be how we would choose to think about it, it’s clear that a society of resourceful citizens will be key to tackling those big problems that require everyone’s contribution. This project builds on the RSA’s growing knowledge of new models of human behaviour arising from psychology, neuroscience and behavioural economics.

Related article - The new rules of persuasion

Get involved

One of the key benefits that the RSA contributes to this area is the expertise and social conscience of its Fellowship. If you are interested in attending one or two creative design sessions during the summer – to think about how design can be used to encourage people to change their behaviour – contact Jamie Young by email or on +44 (0)20 7451 6935 for more information.