To change or not to change: what are the consequences of awareness raising?

Attempting to get customers, or indeed anyone, to alter and change their behaviour can sometimes be counterproductive. You may not get the results you want, says Steve Martin, co-author of Yes! 50 Secrets from the Science of Persuasion.

Most advocates for changing behaviours is that they want to do good, and achieve a positive result. But this may not always be the case. For example, nutritionists advocate for changing eating habits for healthy lifestyles. Selecting a salad instead of a plate of fries may appear to be a positive change. But what if the person then eats dessert? Is this counterproductive? Working until late today may “permit” us to come into work later tomorrow. Is this counterproductive?

These effects, called ‘licensing’ or ‘negative spillover effects’ may negate our own attempts to change behaviours.

A recent study conducted in public toilets clearly shows that some efforts of persuasion backfire. Before starting the experiment, researchers collected data on the number of paper towels typically used in washrooms on a daily basis. After their baseline research, they introduced a large recycling bin/box near the sinks with signs saying that users of this washroom were partipating in a recycling program and that paper towels in the bin would be recycled. When researchers measured the amount of paper hand towels used after the recycling box was installed they found that significantly more hand towels were used than before the recycling box was there. About 12,500 paper hand towels were used annually for each washroom since the installation of recycling bins. Yes, the behaviour had changed – instead of putting their paper hand towels in the rubbish, they were now putting the paper in the recycling bins. Good yes? But now they were using much more paper! Isn’t this counterproductive?

One explanation is that recycling bins serve as a justification cue leading people to think that if the paper can be recycled they can use more because it wouldn’t matter. This idea seems to be evident in other studies too. For example, the presence of office recycling facilities led to an increased use of stationery.

When persuading others to change, one implication is clear: simply providing facilities that make it easy for people to change their behaviour may not be enough.

Insight, Business Life, June 2013