Persuading Us To Be Good
As long-standing readers will know (if there are any), when I'm not putting in freedom of information requests, I am often to be found making political documentaries for Radio 4.
My latest one is called Persuading Us To Be Good. It's about how the state can use principles from the psychology of persuasion to influence us into recycling more, drinking less, turning up for our medical appointments, and everything else it wants good citizens to do.
(Unfortunately, this agenda doesn't seem to include keeping up with blog posts, so apologies for the fact I've been quiet here recently while working on the programme.)
I've written about it elsewhere on the BBC news website, so won't repeat that. But I will add a freedom of information angle here.
Through an FOI request I obtained a report commissioned by the Home Office in 2007 analysing the effectiveness of some literature aimed at discouraging anti-social behaviour.
It was written by Steve Martin of the consultancy Influence at Work, and concluded that some leaflets were more likely to encourage anti-social behaviour than discourage it.
This is one example, issued by the Suffolk Coastal Crime Reduction Partnership. In Mr Martin's view, the fact that it shows five graffiti artists and only one person protesting against them presents graffiti-writing as a social norm while marginalising objections to it. It is therefore counter-productive.
In the programme (presented by Daniel Finkelstein of the Times), we examine the role of factors such as peer pressure in influencing public behaviour. It's on BBC Radio 4 at 8.00pm tonight, repeated at 5.00pm on Sunday, and online here. Please let me know what you think of it.
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Martin:
It is always a good thing to persuade us to be good...
=Dennis Junior=
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Perhaps it is time for leaders and those who would bring about social change to look at their own behaviour.
It's called "leading by example".
We have disastrous examples of hypocrisy, over-remuneration, ridiculous levels of incompetent bureaucracy, shallow political bickering and insult-throwing masquerading as leadership.
And they want to persuade the British public to be "good"? I suggest they clean up their own "anti-social" behaviour first.
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I had realised myself the power of positive persuasion. I work in a clinic for alcoholics, and when they ask about locks for their rooms I always say;
"Oh, we don't have any problems with theft here. Everyone is in the same boat."
and generally that works very well, but then if we do get a theft, and it gets discussed, then there will be a whole spate of thefts, which I put down to people thinking they can get away with it, because someone else already has.
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Maybe the government could set an example. Do as I say not as I do is always a weak message. Could we start with trying to change the behavior of bankers as that is far more costly than some painting on a wall by young people. Who would take any moral direction given out by government seriously after the events of the past year. They were able to pick the pockets of citizens to fund the bankers without a revolution ensuing so I guess they have accomplsihed something....but maybe I speak too soon.
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An excellent programme, which whilst it didn't contain radical new ideas from the world of psychology did present them in an effective way. Could it be made available as a pod cast to down load as it is one to return to on occasions.
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Dear Martin,
Any idea why Heather Brooke's evidence given to the commission dealing with the actions of those in this Fraudsters' Parliament has mysteriously disappeared from their website in spite of a statement that all evidence would be published online?
Check out the details on yrtk.org
I am surprised that no journalist has yet flagged this as a concern!
... or did I miss the tanks rolling onto the streets 'a la Mugabe'
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I think politicians will have given up on the psycological methods of wooing the UK citizenry.
Since spin has become more prevalent and painfully prominent over the past 15 years, the British electorate have developed an ever-more jaundiced attitude to what politicians say.
We look for the hidden agenda. We look for the omitted points, and despise equivocation when clarification is sought.
Just call "a spade a spade", and it'll be far more successful than any spin or psycological gimcracks.
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