Chapter 6: Motivation Is Overrated; Environment Often Matters More Flashcards
Kurt Lewin’s Formula
Behavior is a function of the Person in their Environment, or B = f (P,E). We behave as a function of our context.
Suggestion Impulse Buying
People buy based on presentation rather than need. E.g., buying things positioned at eye level.
Location matters
People often buy based on where something is rather than what it is. I.e., reducing friction enhances buying behavior
Salience and effort
Make new habits obvious and easy by engineering the environment in such a way that cues (SDs) are salient and it takes very little effort to initiate the behavior. E.g., healthy food is in the top shelf in the refrigerator (near eye level and easy to access).
Fly in urinal
Cleaning staff put a fly sticker in urinals and men aimed for the sticker reducing the amount of spilled urine in the bathroom. Salient and easy.
Cue salience (priming)
By sprinkling triggers throughout your surroundings, you increase the odds that you’ll think about your habit throughout the day.
Importance of context
over time your habits become associated not with a single trigger but with the entire context surrounding the behavior.
New environment rule
Habits can be easier to change in a new environment. It helps to escape the subtle triggers and cues that nudge you toward your current habits. It is easier to associate a new habit with a new context than to build a new habit in the face of competing cues.
One space, one use rule
Create a separate space for work, study, exercise, entertainment, and cooking.
Habit mixing rule
Whenever possible, avoid mixing the context of one habit with another. When you start mixing contexts, you’ll start mixing habits—and the easier ones will usually win out. If your space is limited, divide your room into activity zones: a chair for reading, a desk for writing, a table for eating.
Do the same with digital spaces—I.e., read on tablet, write on laptop, social media and texting on phone.
