Behavior Change For Good

Behavior Change For Good X Account (Screenshot)

The Behavior Change For Good (BCFG) Initiative at the University of Pennsylvania, led by Professors Katherine Milkman and Angela Duckworth is designed to "Nudge" people into doing what they are told, ostensibly for their own good.

According to a job posting, Behavior Change For Good "is conducting large-scale field experiments designed to promote sustained behavior change across multiple domains. Our world-class team of scientific experts can continually test and improve behavior change programs by seamlessly incorporating the latest insights from their research into massive random-assignment experiments."

Mask Wearing Coercion

Behavioral Science Tips to Encourage Mask-Wearing Flyer (Screenshot)

A flyer by Behavior Change For Good titled "Behavioral Science Tips to Encourage Mask-Wearing" was designed to coerce citizens to wear masks using a variety of methods.

Emphasize the Many and the Influential Who Are Wearing Masks

Psychological insight: We often look to how others behave to inform our own decisions.

1. Advertise mask-wearing as common within the community:

• Use factual statistics which show most people wear masks (e.g., “8 out of 10 Philadelphians mask-up before

leaving their homes”).

• Feature the voices of “convert communicators,” who once believed mask-wearing was unnecessary, and can

tell powerful, nonpolitical stories explaining why they changed their minds.

• Feature images of many individuals wearing masks.

• Avoid highlighting accounts of high-risk behaviors (i.e., photos of crowded bars) as these exaggerate its

frequency and can create a counterproductive social norm (i.e., “All those people are doing it, so I can too.”)

2. Highlight mask-wearing among influential authority figures:

• Provide information about what scientific and medical experts do (e.g., “Most doctors wear masks every time

they leave their homes, even when they’re off-duty.”)

• Enlist local leaders and celebrities to post selfies of themselves wearing masks on social media.

3. Invite people to join in on increasing mask-wearing in their community:

• Emphasize that wearing a mask helps convince others to wear a mask too.

• Encourage parents to create rituals with their children around mask-wearing.

• Recommend that people carry extra masks to give to others.

Respect Individual Freedom

Psychological insight: If we perceive a threat to our individual freedom, we can react against what is being advocated.

Softening the ask can help mitigate this tendency.

1. Reduce any perceived threat by drawing the focus to individual freedoms:

• Emphasize that wearing masks is a choice, not a mandate.

• Communicate to citizens when/where they don’t need to wear a mask.

• Distribute clear masks.

2. Reframe the issue:

• Create easy-to-understand analogies to other safety measures that individuals are already receptive to (i.e.,

comparing the life-saving effects of seatbelts to those of masks).

• Encourage businesses to normalize mask-wearing by integrating it into existing requirements: “No shoes, no

shirt, no mask, no service.”

• Celebrate that something as simple as wearing a mask effectively prevents the spread of COVID-19. Treat it as

an easy solution rather than a necessary burden.

3. Establish guidance that is unambiguous, categorical, and concise to reduce confusion and eliminate plausible

excuses for not wearing a mask.

Make It The Right Thing to Do

Psychological insight: We are more likely to engage in behaviors that are aligned with our morals and values.

1. Emphasize the moral component of wearing a mask:

• Communicate the benefit to the community, not just the individual (i.e. do it for others, not for yourself;

wearing a mask makes you a hero).

• Emphasize reciprocity toward healthcare workers who are risking their lives to care for others.

2. Highlight how mask-wearing is consistent with a person’s identity and values:

• Ask individuals to reflect on the people that are important to them. Implore them that wearing a mask is a

small sacrifice to make to protect friends and family.

• When targeting certain groups, seek quotes and images highlighting that masks do not conflict with their

values or sense of identity. i.e. Some men may feel that wearing a mask undermines their masculinity. Quotes and imagery should align mask-wearing with independence and strength.

Use Emotional Appeals

Psychological insight: We find emotional appeals far more compelling than even the most staggering health statistics

(i.e. rate of infection, death rate, probability of transmission).

1. Remind people that masks reduce the chance of experiencing significant illness about which there are still

many unknowns.

2. Emphasize that failing to wear a mask can harm others, and remind people of the guilt they would feel if they

infected a friend or loved one.

3. Trigger disgust and aversion to contagion by reminding people that without masks, they are likely to get up

close and personal with undesirable germs.

4. Remind people that they may miss out on important life events if they contract COVID-19.

Invite Ownership and Personalization

Psychological insight: We place greater value on things we own and helped create. Opportunities for personalization

can increase the perceived value of a mask and promote more frequent use.

1. Distribute masks that can easily be decorated and provide inspiration and instructions.

2.Distribute masks with local sports team logos.

3. Distribute masks with snappy slogans.

4.Convey that masks can be fashion items allowing for self-expression

The following were cited:

Lalin Anik, Gretchen Chapman, Robert Cialdini, Dani Cosme, Keisha Cutright, Julie Downs, Angela Duckworth, Emily Falk, Ayelet Fishbach, Craig Fox, Noah Goldstein, Hal Hershfield, Robert Hornik, Rick Hoyle, Katy Milkman, Carey Morewedge, Mary Murphy, Michael Norton, Sophia Pink, Aneesh Rai, David Rand, Todd Rogers, Sim Sitkin, Richard Thaler, Peter Ubel, Robb Willer, David Yeager, and Erez Yoel.

Team

From the Behavior Change For Good website:

"Our team unites experts in the social sciences, medicine, computer science, and neuroscience who study human behavior creating the greatest interdisciplinary effort in history to solve the problem of enduring behavior change."

• Cass R. Sunstein - Robert Walmsley University Professor - Harvard University
• Richard Thaler - Charles R. Walgreen Distinguished Service Professor of Behavioral Science and Economics - University of Chicago Booth School of Business
• Katherine Milkman - Director of BCFG Savings and Health, James G. Dinan Professor - The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
• Angela Duckworth - Director of BCFG Education, Rosa Lee and Egbert Chang Professor - University of Pennsylvania
• Dena Gromet, PHD - Executive Director - Behavior Change for Good Initiative
• Shlomo Benartzi - BCFG Distinguished Senior Fellow & Team Scientist, Professor Emeritus of Behavioral Decision Making - University of California, Los Angeles Anderson School of Management
• Sean F. Ellis, PHD - Director of Analytics - Behavior Change for Good Initiative
• Joseph Kay, PHD - Director of Research Operations - Behavior Change for Good Initiative
• Ahra Ko, PHD - Research Project Manager - Behavior Change for Good Initiative
• Seth Cannon - Research Coordinator - Behavior Change for Good Initiative
• Ella DeMay - Research Coordinator - Behavior Change for Good Initiative
• Jay Jung - Research Coordinator - Behavior Change for Good Initiative
• Callie Rosenzweig - Research Coordinator - Behavior Change for Good Initiative
• Mia Simmons - Research & Communications Coordinator - Behavior Change for Good Initiative
• Modupe Akinola - Barbara and David Zalaznick Professor of Business - Columbia Business School
• Dolores Albarracín - Alexandra Heyman Nash University Professor of Communication - University of Pennsylvania
• Hunt Alcott - Professor of Global Environmental Policy - Stanford University
• David Asch - John Morgan Professor of Medicine - University of Pennsylvania
• Susan Athey - The Economics of Technology Professor - Stanford University
• Linda Babcock - James M. Walton Professor of Economics - Carnegie Mellon University
• Rachel Baker - Associate Professor - Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania
• Max Bazerman - Jesse Isidor Straus Professor of Business Administration - Harvard Business School
• Ron Berman - Associate Professor of Marketing - The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
• John Beshears - Professor of Business Administration - Harvard Business School
• Cristina Bicchieri - S. J. Patterson Harvie Professor of Social Thought and Comparative Ethics - University of Pennsylvania
• Jon Bogard - Assistant Professor of Organizational Behavior - Olin Business School of Washington University in St. Louis
• Markus Brauer - Professor - Institute for Diversity Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Alison Wood Brooks - O’Brien Associate Professor of Business Administration - Harvard Business School
• Christopher J. Bryan - Assistant Professor of Business, Government, and Society - McCombs School of Business of the University of Texas at Austin
• Alison M. Buttenheim - Patricia Bleznak Silverstein and Howard A. Silverstein Term Endowed Professorship in Global Women’s Health - University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing
• Colin Camerer - Robert Kirby Professor of Behavioral Economics - California Institute of Technology
• Scott E. Carrell - Professor of Economics - University of Texas at Austin
• Ben Castleman - Newton and Rita Meyers Associate Professor in the Economics of Education - University of Virginia
• Christopher F. Chabris - Professor of Decision Sciences - Geisinger Health System
• Edward H. Chang - Assistant Professor of Business Administration - Harvard Business School
• Tom Y. Chang - Associate Professor of Finance and Business Economics - University of Southern California Marshall School of Business
• Gretchen Chapman - Professor of Social & Decisional Sciences - Carnegie Mellon University
• Keith Chen - Professor of Behavioral Economics and Strategy - University of California, Los Angeles Anderson School of Management
• James J. Choi - Professor of Finance - Yale School of Management
• Nicholas Christakis - Sterling Professor of Social and Natural Science - Yale University
• Dolly Chugh - Jacob B. Melnick Term Professor of Management - New York University Stern School of Business
• Robert Cialdini - Regents’ Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Marketing - Arizona State University
• Geoffrey L. Cohen - James G. March Professor of Organizational Studies in Education and Business - Graduate School of Education of Stanford University
• Benjamin Converse - Associate Professor of Public Policy and Psychology - Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy of the University of Virginia
• Alia Crum - Associate Professor of Psychology - Stanford University
• Cynthia Cryder - Associate Professor of Marketing - Washington University in St. Louis
• Hengchen Dai - Assistant Professor of Management; Organizations; Behavioral Decision Making - University of California, Los Angeles Anderson School of Management
• Jennifer E. Dannals - Assistant Professor of Organizational Behavior - Yale School of Management
• Wendy De La Rosa - Assistant Professor of Marketing - The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
• Stefano DellaVigna - Daniel E. Koshland Sr. Distinguished Professor of Economics - University of California, Berkeley
• Ravi Dhar - George Rogers Clark Professor of Management and Marketing - Yale School of Management
• Kristin Donnelly - Assistant Professor of Marketing - University of Chicago Booth School of Business
• Jalpa Doshi - Professor of Medicine - University of Pennsylvania
• Carol Dweck - Lewis and Virginia Eaton Professor of Psychology - Stanford University
• Dean Eckles - Associate Professor of Marketing - Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management
• Ezekiel Emanuel - Diane v.S. Levy and Robert M. Levy University Professor of Health Care Management - University of Pennsylvania
• Lauren Eskreis-Winkler - Assistant Professor in Management & Organizations - Kellogg School of Management of Northwestern University
• Emily Falk - Professor of Communication, Psychology, and Marketing - University of Pennsylvania
• Ernst Fehr - Professor of Microeconomics and Experimental Economics - University of Zurich
• Eli J. Finkel - Professor of Psychology and Management & Organizations - Northwestern University
• Ayelet Fishbach - Jeffrey Breakenridge Keller Professor of Behavioral Science and Marketing - University of Chicago Booth School of Business
• Gary Foster - Adjunct Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry - University of Pennsylvania
• Craig Fox - Harold Williams Chair in Management - University of California, Los Angeles Anderson School of Management
• Jana Gallus - Associate Professor of Behavioral Decision Making and Strategy - University of California, Los Angeles
• Michele J. Gelfand - Professor of Organizational Behavior - Stanford Graduate School of Business
• Rachel Gershon - Assistant Professor of Marketing - Haas School of Business of the University of California, Berkeley
• Tom Gilovich - Irene Blecker Rosenfeld Professor of Psychology - Cornell University
• Ayelet Gneezy - Professor of Behavioral Sciences and Marketing - Rady School of Management of the University of California, San Diego
• Uri Gneezy - Professor of Economics and Strategy - Rady School of Management of the University of California, San Diego
• Daniel Goldstein - Senior Principal Research Manager - Microsoft Research
• Noah J. Goldstein - Professor of Management & Organizations - University of California, Los Angeles Anderson School of Management
• Adam Grant - Saul P. Steinberg Professor of Management - The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
• James Gross - Ernest R. Hilgard Professor of Psychology - Stanford University
• Kareem Haggag - Assistant Professor of Behavioral Economics - University of California, Los Angeles Anderson School of Management
• Crystal C. Hall - Associate Professor of Public Policy and Governance - Evans School of Public Policy & Governance of the University of Washington
• Johannes Haushofer - Professor of Economics - Stockholm University
• Jim Heckman - Henry Schultz Distinguished Service Professor of Economics - University of Chicago
• Hal E. Hershfield - Professor of Marketing and Behavioral Decision Making - University of California, Los Angeles Anderson School of Management
• Cassie Mogilner Holmes - Professor of Marketing and Behavioral Decision Making - University of California, Los Angeles Anderson School of Management
• Tatiana Homonoff - Associate Professor of Economics and Public Service - New York University Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service
• Rick Hoyle - Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience - Duke University
• Christopher K. Hsee - Theodore O. Yntema Professor of Behavioral Science and Marketing Emeritus - University of Chicago Booth School of Business
• Alex Imas - Assistant Professor of Behavioral Science and Economics - University of Chicago, Booth School of Business
• Michael Inzlicht - Professor of Psychology - University of Toronto
• Jon M. Jachimowicz - Assistant Professor of Business Administration - Harvard Business School
• Kirabo Jackson - Abraham Harris Professor of Human Development and Social Policy - Northwestern University
• Leslie K. John - James E. Burke Professor of Business Administration - Harvard University
• Eric Johnson - Norman Eig Professor of Business - Columbia Business School
• Joseph Kable - Jean-Marie Kneeley President’s Distinguished Professor of Psychology - University of Pennsylvania
• Dean Karlan - Frederic Esser Nemmers Distinguished Professor of Economics and Finance - Kellogg School of Management of Northwestern University
• Supreet Kaur - Associate Professor of Economics - University of California, Berkeley
• Tim Kautz - Senior Researcher - Mathematica
• Judd Kessler - Howard Marks Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy - The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
• Erika Kirgios - Assistant Professor of Behavioral Science - University of Chicago Booth School of Business
• Ethan Kross - Professor of Psychology and Management/Organizations - University of Michigan
• Rahul Ladhania - Assistant Professor of Health Informatics - University of Michigan
• David Laibson - Robert I. Goldman Professor of Economics - Harvard University
• Cait Lamberton - Alberto I. Duran President’s Distinguished Professor of Marketing - The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
• Rick Larrick - Professor of Management and Organizations - Fuqua School of Business of Duke University
• Thomas Lee - Professor of Health Policy and Management - Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
• Jennifer S. Lerner - Thornton F. Bradshaw Professor of Public Policy, Decision Science, and Management - Harvard Kennedy School
• Emma Levine - Associate Professor of Behavioral Science - University of Chicago Booth School of Business
• Steve Levitt - William B. Ogden Distinguished Service Professor of Economics - University of Chicago
• Neil Lewis, Jr. - Assistant Professor of Communication and Social Behavior - Cornell University
• Alicea Lieberman - Assistant Professor of Marketing and Behavioral Decision Making - University of California, Los Angeles
• Elizabeth Linos - Emma Bloomberg Associate Professor of Public Policy and Management - Harvard Kennedy School
• John List - Kenneth C. Griffin Distinguished Service Professor in Economics - University of Chicago
• George Loewenstein - Herbert A. Simon Professor of Economics and Psychology - Carnegie Mellon University
• Bridget Terry Long - Saris Professor of Education and Economics - Harvard Graduate School of Education
• Michael Luca - Lee J Styslinger III Associate Professor of Business Administration - Harvard Business School
• Jens Ludwig - Edwin A. and Betty L. Bergman Distinguished Service Professor - University of Chicago
• Ulrike M. Malmendier - Edward J. and Mollie Arnold Professor of Finance and Professor of Economics - Haas School of Business of the University of California, Berkeley
• Sandra Matz - David W. Zalaznick Associate Professor of Business - Columbia Business School
• Nina Mazar - Professor of Marketing - Questrom School of Business of Boston University
• Barbara Mellers - George I. Heyman University Professor of Psychology and Marketing - University of Pennsylvania
• Michelle N. Meyer - Associate Professor of Bioethics & Decision Sciences - Geisinger
• Olivia S. Mitchell - Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy - The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
• Ahmed Mushfiq Mobarak - Jerome Kasoff ’54 Professor of Management and Economics - Yale University
• Don Moore - Professor of Management of Organizations - Haas School of Business of the University of California, Berkeley
• Carey K. Morewedge - Professor of Marketing - Questrom School of Business of Boston University
• Sendhil Mullainathan - Roman Family University Professor of Computation and Behavioral Science - University of Chicago Booth School of Business
• Mary Murphy - Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences - Indiana University
• Muriel Niederle - Levin Professor of Economics - Stanford University
• Michael Norton - Harold M. Brierley Professor of Business Administration - Harvard Business School
• Ziad Obermeyer - Blue Cross of California Distinguished Associate Professor of Health Policy and Management - University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health
• Axel Ockenfels - Professor of Economics - University of Cologne
• Ted O'Donoghue - Zubrow Professor of Economics - Cornell University
• Gabriele Oettingen - Professor of Psychology - New York University
• Paul A. O'Keefe - Associate Professor of Organisational Behaviour - University of Exeter Business School
• Philip Oreopoulos - Professor of Economics and Public Policy - University of Toronto
• Emily Oster - JJE Goldman Sachs University Professor in Economics - Brown University
• Betsy Levy Paluck - Professor of Psychology and Public Affairs - Princeton University
• Mitesh Patel - Chief Clinical Transformation Officer and National Vice President - Ascension
• Devin Pope - Steven G Rothmeier Professor of Behavioral Science and Economics - University of Chicago
• Stefano Puntoni - Sebastian S. Kresge Professor of Marketing - The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
• Matt Rabin - Pershing Square Professor of Behavioral Economics - Harvard University
• Aneesh Rai - Assistant Professor of Management & Organization - Robert H. Smith School of Business of the University of Maryland
• David Rand - Erwin H. Schell Professor of Management Science and Brain and Cognitive Sciences - Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management
• Rebecca Ratner - Dean’s Professor of Marketing - The Robert H. Smith School of Business of the University of Maryland
• Daniel Read - Professor of Behavioural Science - University of Warwick Business School
• Joseph Reiff - Assistant Professor of Marketing - Robert H. Smith School of Business of the University of Maryland
• Jason Riis - CEO and Chief Behavioral Scientist - Behavioralize
• Jane Risen - H.G.B. Alexander Professor of Behavioral Science - University of Chicago
• Todd Rogers - Professor of Public Policy - Harvard Kennedy School
• Roy Rosin - Chief Innovation Officer - Penn Medicine
• Heather Royer - Professor of Economics - University of California, Santa Barbara
• Silvia Saccardo - Associate Professor of Social and Decision Sciences - Carnegie Mellon University
• Sally Sadoff - Professor of Economics and Strategy - Rady School of Management of the University of California, San Diego
• Anya Samek - Associate Professor of Economics and Strategy - Rady School of Management of the University of California, San Diego
• Laurie Santos - The Chandrika and Ranjan Tandon Professor of Psychology - Yale University
• Barbara Schneider - John A. Hannah Chair and Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Education - Michigan State University
• Juliana Schroeder - Associate Professor of Management of Organizations - Haas School of Business of the University of California, Berkeley
• Maurice Schweitzer - Cecilia Yen Koo Professor of Operations, Information and Decisions - The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
• Martin Seligman - Zellerbach Family Professor of Psychology - University of Pennsylvania
• Övül Sezer - Assistant Professor of Management and Organizations - Cornell University
• Anuj Shah - Associate Professor - Princeton University
• Marissa Sharif - Assistant Professor of Marketing - The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
• Paschal Sheeran - Stephen J. Walsh Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Deborah Small - Adrian C. Israel Professor of Marketing - Yale School of Management
• Jack Soll - Gregory Mario & Jeremy Mario Distinguished Professor of Management and Organization - Fuqua School of Business of Duke University
• Dilip Soman - Canada Research Chair in Behavioural Science and Economics - Rotman School of Management of the University of Toronto
• Eugenia Catarina South - Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine - University of Pennsylvania
• Jann Spiess - Assistant Professor of Operations, Information & Technology - Stanford Graduate School of Business
• Charles Sprenger - Professor of Economics - California Institute of Technology
• Bradley Staats - Ellison Distinguished Professor of Operations - Kenan-Flagler Business School of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Gaurav Suri - Associate Professor of Psychology - San Francisco State University
• Abigail Sussman - Professor of Marketing - University of Chicago Booth School of Business
• Justin Sydnor - Leslie P. Schultz Professor in Risk Management and Insurance - University of Wisconsin School of Business
• Barnabas Szaszi - Assistant Professor - Eotvos Lorand University (ELTE)
• Harsha Thirumurthy - Professor of Medical Ethics and Health Policy - University of Pennsylvania
• Severine Toussaert - Associate Professor of Economics - University of Oxford
• Yaacov Trope - Professor of Psychology - New York University
• Peter A. Ubel - Madge and Dennis T. McLawhorn University Professor of Business - Fuqua School of Business of Duke University
• Lyle Ungar - Professor of Computer and Information Science - University of Pennsylvania
• Oleg Urminsky - Professor of Marketing - University of Chicago Booth School of Business
• Jay J. Van Bavel - Professor of Psychology and Neural Science - New York University
• Christophe Van den Bulte - Gayfryd Steinberg Professor and Professor of Marketing - The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
• Madalina Vlasceanu - Assistant Professor - Stanford University
• Kevin Volpp - Mark V. Pauly President's Distinguished Professor of Medicine - Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
• Greg Walton - Professor of Psychology - Stanford University
• Caleb Warren - Susan and Philip Hagenah Associate Professor of Marketing - Eller College of Management of the University of Arizona
• Duncan J. Watts - Stevens University Professor of Computer and Information Science - University of Pennsylvania
• Elke Weber - Gerhard R. Andlinger Professor in Energy and the Environment - Princeton University
• Ashley Whillans - Associate Professor of Business Administration - Harvard Business School
• Robb Willer - Professor of Sociology - Stanford University
• Wendy Wood - Provost Professor of Psychology and Business - University of Southern California
• George Wu - John P. and Lillian A. Gould Professor of Behavioral Science - University of Chicago Booth School of Business
• David Yeager - Associate Professor of Psychology - University of Texas at Austin
• Jonathan Zinman - R. Stephen Cheheyl Professor of Economics - Dartmouth College
• Julian Zlatev - Assistant Professor of Business Administration - Harvard Business School