DeepSummary
Sam Patazopoulos, a former business student, was determined to develop healthy habits and get fit. She discovered the field of behavioral economics and the concept of using incentives to motivate behavior change. Sam reached out to behavioral economist Uri Gneezy at UC San Diego, and together they launched a health tech company called Visor, which utilized incentives like vouchers and charity donations to encourage users to achieve their fitness goals.
Gneezy explained that incentives can provide both motivation and information, sometimes sending mixed signals. He described his experiment where paying students to go to the gym for a month initially increased their attendance, but the effect wore off after a few months. However, he emphasized the importance of commitment devices and finding enjoyable activities to build sustainable habits.
The episode explores practical strategies for sticking to New Year's resolutions, such as setting up penalties for missed goals, exercising with friends for social pressure, and finding forms of exercise that bring personal satisfaction. Gneezy and Patazopoulos share insights from their research and experiences on using behavioral economics principles to develop and maintain positive habits.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Financial incentives and penalties can provide initial motivation to develop new habits, but commitment devices are needed to sustain changes long-term.
- Finding inherently enjoyable activities increases the likelihood of habits persisting once external incentives are removed.
- Social pressure from groups can provide accountability and added incentive to stick with habit changes.
- Reframing activities positively through incentives and avoiding punishment framing is important for lasting motivation.
- Setting up systems that restrict the ability to rationalize missed commitments is crucial for developing habits.
- Gradually developing habits over time by starting small can make it easier to sustain long-term behavioral changes.
- Combining incentives like charitable donations with personal rewards can amplify the motivating effects.
- Conducting real-world experiments is valuable for understanding how behavioral principles actually manifest in practice.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “Don't negotiate with yourself. Don't allow to yourself, oh, yeah, today, no. If you committed, even if you feel really lousy, go and do it right. That's, I think, a really important aspect.“ by Uri Gneezy
- “If you have a group, you don't want to disappoint your friend, right? So that could be some kind of pressure.“ by Uri Gneezy
- “Every day you worked out, you had the opportunity to donate a meal, and then you could earn rewards for yourself.“ by Sam Patazopoulos
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Episode Information
The Indicator from Planet Money
NPR
12/20/23
Today on the show, we talk to a behavioral economist about one of the best ways to stick to your New Year's resolutions using the power of economics.
Mixed Signals: How Incentives Really Work by Uri Gneezy
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
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