People do not always act as we expect them to act
Successful development programs and strategies rely on people to behave and choose in a certain way. Problem is, people don’t always behave and choose in the manner we would expect them to. There is often misalignment between how our policies and strategies expect them to act and how people actually act. Sometimes our policies and strategies do not take the social, cultural or even individual human behaviour into consideration. For example, we may develop a health policy that offers free annual health testing to all disadvantaged citizens in order to ensure early detection of life threatening illnesses. Whilst this may be a great idea, it assumes that people will take the time and effort to go for annual check-ups to ensure sustainable health. Problem is, people do not always go for annual check-ups, even if they are free of charge. If we do not consider people’s resistance or fears regarding health tests, this policy may fail. For instance, (a) people may be reluctant to go for health tests out of fear of receiving a feared diagnosis, or (b) they may simply forget to go for their annual checkup or (c) they may be unable to go due to working hours clashing with the times the clinics are open.
The importance of behaviour in policy and strategy development
Considering the importance of behaviour in policy and strategy development, is a principle that is becoming better understood by visionaries all over the world. These visionaries have turned failure into success by consulting social psychologist and behavioral economics to help us understand why people behave and choose as they do. Behavioural economics has brought together research and insights from psychologists, economists, anthropology, neuro-scientists and others in the quest to understand and predict human behaviour better.
Existing and planned programs and interventions can improve their reach and effectiveness, by incorporating the insights gained from psychological assessments and behavioral economics. In the above example, a policy could include (a) addressing people’s fears of receiving a feared diagnosis, (b) implementing a reminder system for annual check ups or (c) extending clinic hours or allowing for time off work to go for their annual check-ups. This is likely to increase the successful implementation of the policy.
Behavioural economics can be used to inform strategies and programs in a variety of settings such as health, safety, education, productivity, agriculture, finance and the delivery of public services.
These insights have changed the way we think about why people choose as they do and what motivates decisions and actions.
It has helped explain why so many programs and interventions of the past have failed and what can be done to remedy such failures.