action design nyc april 2014 - gretchen chapman
DESCRIPTION
Gretchen Chapman's presentation to Action Design NYC in April 2014 on the psychology of judgment and decision making applied to technology.TRANSCRIPT
Judgment & Decision Making+ Technology .Behavior Change
Gretchen ChapmanDepartment of Psychology
School of Arts & Sciences, Rutgers University
2 Modes of Decision Making
With your mind:Deliberative
With your gut:Intuitive
System 1 System 2Fast ParallelAutomaticEffortlessAssociativeSlow-learningEmotional
SlowSerialControlledEffortfulRule-governedFlexibleNeutral
Psychology of Decision Making• Normative Models: Rational or
normative models of decision making– e.g. economic theory
• Descriptive Models: How people actually make decisions– e.g., behavioral economics
• Decision biases = systematic differences between the two
Framing Effects Imagine that the U.S. is preparing for outbreak of an
unusual disease, which is expected to kill 600 people. Two alternative programs to combat the disease have been proposed. Assume that the exact scientific estimates of the consequences of the program are as follows:
• Kahneman, D. & Tversky, A. (1984). Choices, values, and frames. American Psychologist, 39, 341-350.
Gain Frame If Program A is adopted, 200 people will be saved.
(72%)
If Program B is adopted, there is a one-third probability that 600 people will be saved and a two-thirds probability that no people will be saved. (28%)
Loss Frame If Program A’ is adopted, 400 people will die. (22%)
If Program B’ is adopted, there is a one-third probability that nobody will die and a two-thirds probability that 600 people will die. (78%)
Perception is driven by change (or comparison)
Can we use technology to harness decision psychology to
encourage good behavior?
be healthy
Pedometers• Encourage walking• Track progress• Provide feedback
Research Question• Is feedback more motivating when it is
compared to a reference point?
Chapman, Colby, Convery, & Coups (in prep)Funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
2 weeks of active phase with open pedometer
1 week of baseline with sealed pedometer
Random assignment to a personal goalBaseline average
+ 10%Baseline average
+ 50%Baseline average
+ 100%
Study 1 (goal magnitude)
Walking Goals Study (N=145)
Low (n=49) Medium (n=49)
High (n=50)0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
14000
16000
69567664
6687
83088862
10220
7651
11483
13373
Baseline PeriodIntervention PeriodGoal
Experimental Goal Condition
LS M
ean
Step
s Pe
r Day
2 weeks of active phase with open pedometer
1 week of baseline with sealed pedometer
Random assignment to condition
Control Social Comparison
Study 2 (social comparison)
Social Comparison Study (N=64)
Control Group• Daily web log• Personal feedback only• Twice weekly reminder
emails
Social Comparison Group• Daily web log• Personal feedback +
social comparison¥
• Twice weekly social comparison emails
Web log compliance:75% 88%*
¥(Today’s steps – baseline average) as a percentile relative to performance by Study 1 participants.
02000400060008000
10000
6556 735473888508
Baseline PeriodIntervention Period
Experimental Condition
LS M
ean
Step
s Pe
r Day
2 weeks of active phase with open pedometer
1 week of baseline with sealed pedometer
Random assignment to condition
Count Up• Pedometer starts at 0• Counts up to goal
Count Down• Pedometer starts at goal• Counts down to zero
The Study That Never Was (counting up or down)
Counting Up vs. Down• The up/down pedometers were not
accurate• Participants (N=14) complained• Study discontinued
Walking Study• People walk more with a goal• Higher goals are better• Social comparisons act like a goal
• Results are in line with theories of reference points
The power of social norms
Prosocial Motivation
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Hand hygiene prevents you from catching diseases
Hand hygiene prevents patients from catching diseases
Grant & Hoffman, 2011
Conclusions
• Technology provides, information, feedback, & prompts
• Psychological principles can be harnessed to make those more effective– Reference points– Social comparisons & social norms– Prosocial motives?
• We need field experiments to find out if these interventions really work
Thank you
Gretchen ChapmanDepartment of Psychology School of Arts & Sciences
Rutgers [email protected]