Design, public policy and behaviour

Followers of Deborah Taylor-Pearce’s comments on information design and its connection to food choices might be interested in the UK Cabinet Office publication ‘Mindspace: <http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/Assets/MINDSPACE-Web-01-03-10_tcm6-35936.pdf>  Influencing Behaviour Through Public Policy’ by LSE behavioural economists. Mindspace is an acronym for:

 

Messenger we are heavily influenced by who communicates information

Incentives our responses to incentives are shaped by predictable mental

shortcuts such as strongly avoiding losses

Norms we are strongly influenced by what others do

Defaults we „go with the flow‟ of pre-set options

Salience our attention is drawn to what is novel and seems relevant to us

Priming our acts are often influenced by sub-conscious cues

Affect our emotional associations can powerfully shape our actions

Commitments we seek to be consistent with our public promises, and

reciprocate acts

Ego

 

Pretty depressing on the impact of information (p.15) it has a tiny and (to me) rather vague annexe on the role of design as a ‘latest development’ in influencing behaviour. 

 

Alison

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