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Decision-Making

Cialdini interviewed two groups of adults in the run up to the election. Half told they were classed as “above average citizens likely to participate in political events”. The other half were told they were about average in terms of their likelihood to vote. In reality, these two labels were assigned at random. But the effects were huge. The respondents labelled as above-average citizens ultimately proved 15 per cent more likely to vote in the election, They had been told they were something; and so they became it.

Behavioural principles

Behavioural ideas at play in this post

Short, plain-English explanations of the principles behind this post, with links to related books and examples in the archive.

Processing fluency

Easy-to-process things feel truer, safer, and more appealing.

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Base-rate neglect

We focus on vivid specifics and ignore the wider statistical odds.

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Overconfidence effect

We are often more certain than the evidence really allows.

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Want better behaviour? Start with a better label

Behavioural ideas at play in this post

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