Awareness and intention not being enough for behaviour change

Behaviour Change

All the efforts really did the trick. By the measures available, the educational program was a stunning success. In August 1991, right before the effort began, the National Cancer Institute and the produce growers conducted a telephone survey. About 8 percent of Americans were aware that they should eat at least five servings of produce daily. By 1997, the results were strikingly different. Thirty-nine percent of Americans knew that they should eat five servings a day. That’s a campaign that any political adviser would be proud of.

But this is not a book about campaigns and policy. This is a book about actually changing lives. So the real question is: What about people’s actual behavior? The program’s purpose was to get people to consume more fruits and vegetables. Did it?

In 1991, about 8 per cent of Americans knew they should eat five portions of fruit and vegetables a day. Six years later, awareness had reached 39 per cent. Actual daily consumption remained at 11 per cent.

That is a successful education campaign attached to an unsuccessful behaviour-change programme. The distinction matters because awareness is easy to celebrate. It can be surveyed, reported and improved without anyone having to alter price, availability, routine or the physical environment. People knew the recommendation. At 6.30pm, tired and hungry, they still faced whatever food was cheap, close and familiar. The same gap appears after security training when login procedures reward shortcuts, or after recycling instructions when the correct bin is inconvenient. Information helps when missing information caused the problem. Where intention already exists, another leaflet may only document that people understand the behaviour they keep failing to perform.

Measurement should begin with the action and the moment it breaks down. Is produce visible, affordable and ready when dinner is chosen? Does the default include it? Which small inconvenience repeatedly diverts the shopper? The campaign can continue teaching five portions, but the more consequential work may happen in store layout, meal design and availability. At 6.30pm, somebody still has to choose between vegetables that need preparation and the meal already in the oven.