The Center for Utilizing Behavioral Insights for Children

CUBIC is officially 4! We've been busy using behavioral insights to tackle challenges for children across the globe. Join the party and watch our birthday video to learn more! #CUBICbirthday #BehavioralScience #BehavioralInsights https://www.cubic-sci.org/ -------------------------------------- Music by www.bensound.com License code: LJ5A6SOANZFQPM9N License code: 1YPFRNAZASU7DBLJ License code: LJ5A6SOANZFQPM9N

What does the Largest Study Say about Changing Human Behavior? Read more in this week’s 𝙄𝙣 𝙖 𝙉𝙪𝙩𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙡. Have you ever designed programs or activities with the goal of changing behavior? Did you wonder what 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 works? New research* led by Professor Dolores Albarracin from the University of Pennsylvania answers that question, and it’s not what people usually think.  Albarracín’s team reviewed 147 meta-analyses focused on health or environmental behaviors and determined which interventions generally have negligible, small, medium or large effects. As Albarracín explains in this article** (𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢 9-𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥), “Interventions targeting knowledge, general attitudes, beliefs, administrative and legal sanctions, and trustworthiness — these factors researchers and policymakers put so much weight on — are actually quite ineffective. They have negligible effects." So . . . what does usually work (as portrayed in Figure A)? Interventions focused on 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀, such as providing transportation to vaccination centers or changing the default***, had large effects. Interventions focused on 𝗵𝗮𝗯𝗶𝘁𝘀 and 𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 both had medium-sized effects. #BehavioralScience #BeSci #BehavioralInsights #CUBIC #HumanBehavior To view more: www.cubic-sci.org/blog ************* *https://lnkd.in/g5qh8PbM **https://lnkd.in/e2y_gs2j ***https://lnkd.in/dTrVE9-V

Do you ever wish you had more influence? Learn more in this week’s 𝙄𝙣 𝙖 𝙉𝙪𝙩𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙡: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙈𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙘 𝙌𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣.   Professor Zoe Chance¹ teaches the course, “Mastering Influence and Persuasion” at Yale, which inspired her book, Influence is Your Super Power: How to Get What you Want Without Compromising Who You Are².   As described in this podcast³, Chance’s favorite strategy is “the magic question.” She retells a story by Gloria Steinem⁴, who visited a village in Zambia that had lost two women to sex-trafficking. Steinem asked women there, “𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 to keep that from happening again?”   They told her: an electric fence. Elephants kept trampling the villages’ crops, leaving families poor and vulnerable to exploitation.   Steinem raised the money, villagers erected the fence, and no more women were trafficked.   “𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦?” may be “magical” because it empowers the respondent, elicits unexpected answers, and it can be asked to community members, a friend, a partner, or even your boss. #BehavioralScience #BehavioralInsights #SuperPower #Influence #BeSci #Psychology #BehaviouralScience *** ¹ https://lnkd.in/dp8AbbxK ² https://lnkd.in/dY9dHh2S ³ https://lnkd.in/d9rqVrb7 ⁴ https://lnkd.in/djeRaJct

When was the last time you were rejected? Was it painful? Did you dwell on it? Learn more in this week's 𝙄𝙣 𝙖 𝙉𝙪𝙩𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙡: 𝙎𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙮, 𝙣𝙤.   Fear of rejection is very common. Unfortunately, it can prevent us from achieving our goals because we don’t ask for what we want.   When Jia Jiang moved from China to the US, he dreamed of becoming an entrepreneur. However, he knew his fear of rejection was holding him back. Jiang therefore embarked on 100 Days of Rejection¹, during which he made ridiculous requests to strangers, such as borrowing $100 or asking for Olympic-style doughnuts². Jiang overcame his fear, his videos went viral, and he became CEO of Rejection Therapy³. Rejection therapy is a form of stress inoculation training⁴ that increases our confidence through exposure to mild stress. Additionally, by 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵 rejection, we begin associating rejection 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 rather than failure. Want to assess 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 rejection resilience?  Take this quiz⁵, then go get rejected! #BehavioralScience #BehavioralInsights #CUBIC #SavetheChildren #Rejection #RejectionTherapy #BehaviouralScience **** ¹https://lnkd.in/gMJrxUG ² https://shorturl.at/b4yge ³ https://lnkd.in/ebkVahw ⁴ https://shorturl.at/qPZqL ⁵ https://lnkd.in/dFahHXXb

Continuing with our monthly series, get ready to meet Indrajeet Ghatge, a CUBIC Behavioral Scientist who's making a difference! 𝙄 𝙟𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝘾𝙐𝘽𝙄𝘾 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚... I was motivated to apply my knowledge and experience in behavioral science and management related areas to bring about a positive change in the lives of those from the marginalized communities. 𝙈𝙮 𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠 𝙖𝙩 𝘾𝙐𝘽𝙄𝘾 𝙞𝙣𝙫𝙤𝙡𝙫𝙚𝙨... working with country offices to understand why people behave the way they do, conducting research to delve deeper into the human mind using behavioral tools and frameworks (and an open mind and a big heart!), designing solutions to address behavioral challenges, monitoring and evaluation of experiments, and behavioral science project management in general. Plus, I support or lead various capacity building initiatives in behavioral science and also contribute to recruitment and communications related tasks. 𝙈𝙮 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙤 𝙛𝙖𝙧... is that bringing about behavioral change is easier said than done! We shouldn't underestimate the power of the human mind, must take into account cultural and social influences, and strive to design behavioral interventions that can bring about positive sustainable change that is acceptable to and facilitated by the communities we serve. 𝙄 𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙡𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙤𝙧𝙖𝙡 𝙨𝙘𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙗𝙮... observing keenly and listening intently without jumping to conclusions. I like to give myself and others the benefit of doubt for our actions and reactions. After all, we as humans are prone to error and although we must work assiduously towards becoming more productive and efficient, it's important that we are not too harsh on ourselves and on others. #CUBIC #BehavioralScience #Behavioralinsights #Employee #Psychology

Think back to the last time you took the train, bus, or a flight – did you strike up a conversation with the person next to you, or fixate on your phone and put your earphones in, so you wouldn’t have to speak to anyone? Read more in this week's 𝙄𝙣 𝙖 𝙉𝙪𝙩𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙡: 𝙇𝙚𝙩'𝙨 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙩 by CUBIC Director, Allison Zelkowitz.   If you’re like me, you probably did the latter, certain that you’d be happier keeping to yourself.   Research by Psychologist Gillian Sandstrom*, however, reveals that in these situations, our instincts are often wrong. Numerous studies** have demonstrated that short interactions with “weak ties,” such as coffee baristas, service workers, and acquaintances, improve our social and emotional wellbeing.    As explained in this podcast***, Sandstrom’s research shows that, when we overcome our reluctance to talk to strangers and initiate more of these conversations, we actually increase our happiness and satisfaction with life. (To see how one Dutch grocery chain is encouraging connections, read about “chat checkout lanes” here****.) #BehavioralScience #BeSci #BehavioralInsights #CUBIC #Communication #Psychology To view more: www.cubic-sci.org/blog *** *https://lnkd.in/dXqRYQzE **https://lnkd.in/d4piu8EQ ***https://lnkd.in/exhrBy8Q ****https://shorturl.at/Dg9qs

CUBIC's Indrajeet Ghatge wrapped up an amazing 2-day workshop with Save the Children in Vietnam in Hanoi for the LEGO Girls Unstoppable project by The LEGO Foundation and supported by Save the Children Denmark. The project uses Behavioral Science to help girls advocate for their goals and rights in a playful manner, and the workshop was held in both English and Vietnamese thus enabling our partner organizations and government entities in Vietnam to take active part. The enthusiasm of the participants was contagious, and we loved being there! #LEGO #GirlsUnstoppable #SaveTheChildren #Vietnam #Workshop #CapacityBuilding #BehavioralScience #BehavioralInsights

Do you ever tell yourself, “I’ll just check Instagram/Tik Tok/Facebook for five minutes, then I’ll go to bed”? If you’re like me, you find yourself 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 scrolling 30 minutes later. Apps like these have perfected the use of variable rewards*. As Nir Eyal, author of the books Hooked** and Indistractable*** explains, pursuing unpredictable rewards releases dopamine in our brains. This motivates us to keep searching for the next chuckle-worthy or goosebump-inducing video, or an interesting post from a friend. We don’t know what will come next, so we keep scrolling. Variable rewards can be harnessed to encourage a positive behavior, like regularly studying a language or getting your kid to eat broccoli. But they can also foster bad habits. So, if you suffer from too much nighttime scrolling, try: 1.      Charging your phone outside your bedroom. 2.      Removing the tempting app for 3-4 weeks, to help break the habit. #BehavioralScience #BeSci #BehavioralInsights #CUBIC #TikTok #Instagram #SocialMedia #Habits #NirEyal To view more: www.cubic-sci.org/blog ***  *https://shorturl.at/Jejdo **https://lnkd.in/e8UKY-B ***https://lnkd.in/eqy2d83

The CUBIC team's Allison, Matteo & Indrajeet kicked off a three-part training program at the Queen Rania Foundation in Jordan to build their behavioral science expertise last week! These sessions explored the TESTS framework, focusing on understanding the target audience and exploring potential solutions. Thanks to all who participated in what was a very productive week! #QueenRaniaFoundation #BehavioralScience #ChroniclesofCUBIC #CapacityBuilding #Jordan

I once heard a powerful story about Save the Children’s advocacy work in a politically sensitive country. Our teams wanted to gain the government’s support for a national breastfeeding campaign. They first began thanking the Ministry of Health publicly for their support (despite not yet having secured it). Then they convinced the Minister to speak about that support at the campaign launch. Presto! The Minister and the MoH became campaign partners. This strategy was effective in part due to the saying-is-believing effect*, which arises when a speaker communicates a message to a group**, and thereby increases their own belief in that message. Psychologists have identified at least two reasons this effect occurs: Speakers tend to attune themselves to their audience’s attitudes. We all want to reduce cognitive dissonance***. As behavioral science often teaches, when our actions change first, our attitudes and beliefs may follow. #inanutshell #CUBIC #behavioralscience #behavioralsciences #sayingisbelieving #BeSci #behavioralinsights #selffulfillment #attitudes #behavior #actions #behavioranalysis #nonprofitorganization To view more: www.cubic-sci.org/blog *** *https://lnkd.in/ggVZqBi3 **https://shorturl.at/B7ADs ***https://shorturl.at/6VUXK