Behavioural principles for learning
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The document outlines behavioral principles to enhance learning, emphasizing the influence of communication, norms, and incentives on behavior change. It suggests actionable strategies like leveraging social proof, reducing effort in adopting new behaviors, and making learning attractive through personalization and clear messaging. Additionally, it highlights the importance of timing and planning in modifying behaviors, advocating for public commitments and peer sharing to sustain engagement.
Behavioural principles for learning
- 1. Behavioural Principles for Learning Principle Description Action to help learning Messenger We are heavily influenced by who communicates information Create ways for their direct colleague to share how the activity helped them Create ways for their manager to communicate the need Incentives Our responses to incentives are shaped by predictable mental shortcuts such as strongly avoiding losses Show people how much time and how many resources each learning activity will take Norms We are strongly influenced by what others do Show how other people have used the learning Defaults We "go with the flow" of pre-set options Encourage other people to share how they've used the learning Suggest specific frameworks and methods for people to develop their behaviours Salience Our attention is drawn to what is novel and seems relevant to us Use different ways to communicate to different learning styles Priming Our acts are often influenced by sub-conscious cues Use language evoking the behaviours Create situational cues and cultural probes to reinforce learning Affect Our emotional associations can powerfully shape our actions Commitments We seek to be consistent with our public promises, and reciprocate acts Get people to share their commitment publicly through Yammer, email or in 1:1 or team meetings Ego We act in ways that make us feel better about ourselves Get people to share what they've learnt and how it improved their performance EAST: Ways to produce behavioural insights Make it easy Reduce the ‘hassle factor’ of taking up an action. The effort required to perform an action often Produce specific templates to apply these methods
- 2. puts people off. Reducing the effort required can increase uptake or response rates. Making the message clear often results in a significant increase in response rates to communications. In particular, it’s useful to identify how a complex goal can be broken down into simpler, easier actions. Show links between their behaviour, the impact and the improved performance Show links between the method, the behaviour and the framework Show links between the behaviour and the community outcomes Make it attractive We are more likely to do something that our attention is drawn towards. Ways of doing this include the use of images, colour or personalisation. Design rewards and sanctions for maximum effect. Financial incentives are often highly effective, but alternative incentive designs — such as lotteries — also work well and often cost less. Use diagrams, icons and design patterns to describe process Use extrinsic and intrinsic motivations from Staff Survey Get people to use volunteering days to work shadow community group Make it social Describing what most people do in a particular situation encourages others to do the same. Similarly, policy makers should be wary of inadvertently reinforcing a problematic behaviour by emphasising its high prevalence. Use the power of networks. We are embedded in a network of social relationships, and those we come into contact with shape our actions. Governments can foster networks to enable collective action, provide mutual support, and encourage behaviours to spread peer-to-peer. Show how other people have used the learning using videos Encourage other people to share how they've used the learning Create ways for people to share their learning Get people to immerse themselves and see how others are learning Make it timely Prompt people when they are likely to be most receptive. The same offer made at different times can have drastically different levels of success. Behaviour is generally easier to change when habits are already disrupted, such as around major life events. Promote when people need to write their personal development plans and appraisals
- 3. Consider the immediate costs and benefits. We are more influenced by costs and benefits that take effect immediately than those delivered later. Policy makers should consider whether the immediate costs or benefits can be adjusted (even slightly), given that they are so influential. Help people plan their response to events. There is a substantial gap between intentions and actual behaviour. A proven solution is to prompt people to identify the barriers to action, and develop a specific plan to address them. Show people how much time and how many resources each learning activity will take Get people to think about what might make it difficult for them to complete the learning activity