88 household individuals were split into three groups and  asked to either wear a badge supporting a  charity, asked to wear one along with another family member or not to wear at all. That same evening, all groups were then asked for a financial donation to the charity.

Those who were first asked the small request were far more likely to go on and donate money than those who weren’t.

Start with a question promoting reflection on one’s values. Their answers will create a desire to be consistent with their beliefs.

Have people perform a small related action. e.g. People who put a small “Drive carefully” sign in their window are more likely to follow the instruction than those who merely say they will. Frame it as a social norm.

Prime the ‘helpful’, ‘cooperative’ ‘supporter’ with positive feedback prior to a future request. 

Make the target request a continuation of the initial one. The more similar the activity, the greater success. Also balance your request sizes. If the initial request is too big, people won’t do it, never getting to the target request. But too-small tasks will widen the gulf between the two.

226 people were asked to go to the gym and split into three groups:  a control and two other groups given devices with audio books. Recommenders were told to restrict playback to when at the gym and Committers had to store their device in the locker after use.

It was found that commiting to this restriction boosted gym visits by 51% next to the control.

Bundle feats with treats.

‍What sort of behaviors do you want to encourage with your team or customers? Temptation bundling can be very effective in areas where short-term self-control is weakest, like saving, exercise or food choices. What complementary experiences can you bundle alongside the toughest tasks? 

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Create your own “If-Then” commitments.

‍Ideas include only listening to your favorite podcasts if cleaning the house, getting a coffee on the way to work only if you cycle or walk, or committing to a nice hot bath only if you’ve kept to your weekly spending budget.

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Keep it fresh.

‍Commitments are a powerful way to maintain long-term behavior change (Royer et al., 2012). However, life does get in the way and we tend to eventually hedonically-adapt to all good things. Keep engagement high by highlighting people’s past successes and creating new bundled experiences that are uniquely attractive. For instance, a gym having all streaming services, even those you might not have access to at home.

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