Between 2005-2010 the UK government tried a new approach to driving change. It would consciously influence people by positive changes, try different approaches at the same time and watch the results. The old world was make a decision, make one size fit all, take years to implement it, and then see if it worked or failed.
The new approach takes this framework below, the MINDSPACE framework. It was used to transform the way the UK Tax authorities encouraged payment, increasing receipts without any extra threat of fines.
When thinking about changing yourself or others, consider testing your approach with this:
| M | Messenger | We are heavily Influenced by who communicates information to us |
| I | Incentives | Our responses to incentives are shaped by predictable mental shortcuts as strongly as avoiding losses |
| N | Norms others do | We are strongly influenced by what others do |
| D | Defaults | We ‘go with the flow’ of pre-set options |
| S | Salience | Our attention is drawn to what is novel and what seems relevant |
| P | Priming | Our acts are often influenced by sub conscious clues |
| A | Affect | Our emotional associations can powerfully shape our actions |
| C | Commitments | We seek to be consistent with our public promises and reciprocate acts |
| E | Ego | We act in ways that make ourselves feel better about ourselves |
For more information download the MINDSPACE publication on the Behavioural Insights Site
