PSYC328 -> Community Behavior Change

individual behavior

all learning is individual learning

behavior shaped by consequences

everyone has different histories of reinforcement

all behavior occurs within an environment

• environments can differ in form, temporal location, and function

• can be social or non-social

the social environment

the behavior of others can function as the antecedent or consequence for the behavior of another person

social learning and individual learning refer to the same thing

culture definition

patterns of learned behavior transmitted socially, as well as the products of that behavior (objects, technologies, organizations, etc.)

cultural practices 

two important characteristics 

• include many people performing the same/similar repeated actions 

• those actions have at least one consequence (usually more)

have both immediate and cumulative consequences 

macrobehavior

a class of behaviors that make up a cultural practice

macrocontingencies

the relation between the cultural practice and the cumulative effects that occur due to the repeated actions of individuals 

how to change cultural practices?

requires changing the behavior of many individuals

each individual’s behavior is responsive to their own social environment

need to modify operant contingencies in place to change the behavior of as many as possible

prompts

a visual or auditory aid to remind people to carry out an activity

one of the simplest

should specify clear actions and be noticeable

commitment

a written or oral promise to change behavior

written or verbal, public or private, individual or group

people like to be consistent between what they say and do

education and awareness

inform people of the reasoning behind the targeted change in behavior

provides information that increases people’s awareness about an issue and on how to solve the issue 

workshops are better in small groups

interactive demonstrations best

strategies should encourage participation

mixed results

modeling and social norms

modeling desired behaviors, so that people conform to perceived social norms

can be done through live or video demonstrations

needs to be understandable, relevant, meaningful, and have positive outcomes

tipping point theory → social norms only change when you have enough people who are well connected, well informed, and good communicators to all promote the same message

design strategies

the (re)designing or engineering of environments, devices, or machinery to facilitate the occurrence of the target behavior 

can be more difficult to implement

may not be as effective for long term behavior change

feedback

giving people feedback about their performance or progress towards the target behavior

good for behaviors that are hard for people to monitor on their own

can be quantitative or qualitative

often used in tandem with commitment and goal-setting

incentives

rewards offered to people for undertaking a task or to encourage them to undertake that task more frequently

research generally focused on financial incentives

can be used alone or in conjunction with other strategies 

many undermine intrinsic motivation to perform the target behavior