Changing Others’ Behaviour & Recent Trends
📘 12.7 Changing Others’ Behaviour & Recent Trends
Understanding how and why people’s behaviour changes is at the core of applied psychology — relevant for governance, education, public health, marketing, and conflict resolution.
🔹 PART A: Behaviour Change – Strategies & Theories
✅ 1. Classical Conditioning (Pavlov)
Behavior can be changed by associating a neutral stimulus with an automatic response.
🧠 Application:
- Political campaigns pairing leader’s image with patriotic music.
- Using jingles in advertisements to create emotional recall.
✅ 2. Operant Conditioning (Skinner)
Behaviour is shaped by reinforcement (rewards) and punishment.
🧠 Application:
- Government schemes using incentives (e.g., Ujjwala Yojana gas connections) to change fuel-use behavior.
- Fines for littering = negative reinforcement.
✅ 3. Social Learning Theory (Bandura)
People learn by observing and imitating role models.
🧠 Example:
- Influencers and celebrities promoting eco-friendly practices.
- IAS officers acting as model leaders in rural development.
✅ 4. Persuasion Techniques
Change via influencing attitudes and beliefs.
Key Models:
- Elaboration Likelihood Model (Petty & Cacioppo):
- Central route: Logical argument (e.g., budget debate)
- Peripheral route: Emotions, credibility, image (e.g., visual posters)
🧠 Use in India:
- Swachh Bharat ads showing respected leaders promoting hygiene.
✅ 5. Cognitive Dissonance (Festinger)
When a person’s actions contradict beliefs, it causes tension → leads to change in either belief or behavior.
🧠 Example:
A smoker knows it’s harmful → either quits or justifies it (“It relaxes me”).
✅ 6. Foot-in-the-door Technique
Start with a small request → escalate to bigger one.
🧠 Use in NGOs:
Asking people to attend awareness sessions before requesting donations or volunteering.
✅ 7. Nudge Theory (Thaler & Sunstein)
Subtle policy changes that encourage better choices without forcing them.
🧠 Indian Examples:
- Default pension enrollment
- Organ donation opt-out systems
- Changing placement of healthy food in school canteens
📊 Summary Table
| Method | Key Idea | Real-Life Example |
|---|---|---|
| Classical Conditioning | Association | Patriotic songs in election campaigns |
| Operant Conditioning | Rewards & Punishment | LPG incentives for rural women |
| Social Learning | Imitation of models | Eco-actions by celebrities |
| Persuasion | Logical/emotional appeal | Road safety campaigns |
| Cognitive Dissonance | Belief-action mismatch | Smokers justifying or quitting |
| Foot-in-the-door | Gradual commitment | Volunteer → Donor in NGOs |
| Nudge Theory | Choice architecture | Healthy food placement in cafeterias |
🔹 PART B: Recent Trends in Behaviour Change
📌 1. Digital Nudges
- Using apps, push notifications, and gamification to encourage behavior.
E.g., Aarogya Setu app reminding users to stay safe.
📌 2. Behavioural Insights Units
- Governments now have dedicated “nudge” or “behavioural economics” teams.
NITI Aayog partnered with the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) from the UK.
📌 3. AI and Behaviour Prediction
- Algorithms predict behaviour (e.g., creditworthiness, crime hotspots).
- Raises ethical issues regarding consent and bias.
📌 4. Community-Led Behaviour Change
- Programs like Total Sanitation Campaign rely on peer pressure, local role models.
📌 5. Cultural Tailoring
- Behaviour change messages are now adapted to local language, symbols, festivals for deeper impact.
📌 6. Value-Based Behaviour Interventions
- Instead of rules, targeting core beliefs (e.g., honesty, empathy).
- Seen in ethics training for public servants.
🧠 Mnemonic: “SCOPED”
- Social learning
- Conditioning (classical & operant)
- Opinion change (persuasion)
- Policy nudges
- Emotional conflict (dissonance)
- Digital trends
✍️ UPSC Answer Writing Tips
- Define behavior change with 1 line
- Mention 3–5 core theories with practical Indian examples
- Add 2–3 recent trends like digital nudges and behavioural units
- Conclude with importance for governance, education, and public policy
