In the News (from bakadesuyo.com): “Behavior change is not easy. But there’s a great TED talk that shows a simple way to influence people to do the right thing. And it leverages a principle we can all use in our daily lives.

“Alex Laskey spoke about how we can use the psychology of behavior change to get people to reduce their energy consumption.

“Grad students hung signs on people’s doorknobs, asking them to turn off their air-conditioning and turn on their fans. What varied was the message the signs used.

“Which message do you think was most effective?

‘Save money’

‘Save the planet’

‘Be a good citizen.’

Actually, none of them were.

Nobody paid attention. Nobody turned off their air conditioners.

“But a fourth message did work:

‘Your neighbours are doing better.’

“When surveyed, 77% of your neighbors said that they turn off their air conditioners and turn on their fans. Please join them.

“This is Social Proof at work. Robert Cialdini, author of the classic book Influence, explained it in my interview with him: ‘People will be likely to say yes to your request if you give them evidence that people just like them have been saying yes to it, too.’

“We don’t like to think that we’re influenced by other people’s behavior but we all are. And one of the best ways to cause behavior change is to tap into that.”

My Comment: Kabbalah uses this great property of the influence of the environment on people for their correction. Under the influence of the environment, a person is ready to do even altruistic actions. That is why, when placed in the correct environment, he will be ready to submit himself to it without prior consent. So, instead of trying to influence a person, we need to create the right environment around him.
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Related Material:
The Bystander Effect
The Influence Of The Environment On Decisions And Memory
Stanford Prison Experiment

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