TEDxCambridge
Erez Yoeli: How to motivate people to do good for others
Filmed:
Readability: 3.9
2,228,025 views
How can we get people to do more good: to go to the polls, give to charity, conserve resources or just generally act better towards others? MIT research scientist Erez Yoeli shares a simple checklist for harnessing the power of reputations -- or our collective desire to be seen as generous and kind instead of selfish -- to motivate people to act in the interest of others. Learn more about how small changes to your approach to getting people to do good could yield surprising results.
Erez Yoeli - Research scientist
Erez Yoeli's research focuses on altruism: understanding how it works and how to promote it. Full bio
Erez Yoeli's research focuses on altruism: understanding how it works and how to promote it. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:13
How can we get people to do more good,
0
1440
3056
00:16
to go to the polls,
give to charity, conserve resources,
give to charity, conserve resources,
1
4520
4336
00:20
or even to do something as simple
as washing their mugs at work
as washing their mugs at work
2
8880
3336
00:24
so that the sink isn't
always full of dirty dishes?
always full of dirty dishes?
3
12240
2381
00:26
(Laughter)
4
14645
2011
00:28
(Applause)
5
16680
4336
00:33
When I first started
working on this problem,
working on this problem,
6
21040
2136
00:35
I collaborated with a power company
7
23200
1896
00:37
to recruit customers for a program
that prevents blackouts
that prevents blackouts
8
25120
3536
00:40
by reducing energy demand during peaks.
9
28680
2000
00:43
The program is based
on a tried-and-true technology.
on a tried-and-true technology.
10
31600
2616
00:46
It's one the Obama
administration even called
administration even called
11
34240
2376
00:48
"the cornerstone to modernizing
America's electrical grid."
America's electrical grid."
12
36640
3120
00:52
But, like so many
great technological solutions,
great technological solutions,
13
40880
3496
00:56
it has a key weakness:
14
44400
1440
00:59
people.
15
47760
1200
01:01
People need to sign up.
16
49720
1240
01:04
To try to get people to sign up,
the power company sent them a nice letter,
the power company sent them a nice letter,
17
52000
3536
01:07
told them about
all the program's benefits,
all the program's benefits,
18
55560
2016
01:09
and it asked them to call
into a hotline if they were interested.
into a hotline if they were interested.
19
57600
3056
01:12
Those letters went out,
20
60680
1696
01:14
but the phones, they were silent.
21
62400
2760
01:18
So when we got involved,
we suggested one small change.
we suggested one small change.
22
66080
2760
01:21
Instead of that hotline,
23
69360
1896
01:23
we suggested that they use sign-up sheets
that they'd post near the mailboxes
that they'd post near the mailboxes
24
71280
4616
01:27
in people's buildings.
25
75920
1240
01:30
This tripled participation.
26
78120
2760
01:35
Why?
27
83160
1200
01:37
Well, we all know people care deeply
about what others think of them,
about what others think of them,
28
85680
4216
01:41
that we try to be seen
as generous and kind,
as generous and kind,
29
89920
2656
01:44
and we try to avoid
being seen as selfish or a mooch.
being seen as selfish or a mooch.
30
92600
2720
01:48
Whether we are aware of it or not,
this is a big part of why people do good,
this is a big part of why people do good,
31
96120
4416
01:52
and so small changes that give people
more credit for doing good,
more credit for doing good,
32
100560
5216
01:57
those changes can make
a really big difference.
a really big difference.
33
105800
2336
02:00
Small changes like
switching from a hotline,
switching from a hotline,
34
108160
2896
02:03
where nobody will ever find out
about your good deed,
about your good deed,
35
111080
3016
02:06
to a sign-up sheet
36
114120
1736
02:07
where anyone who walks by
can see your name.
can see your name.
37
115880
3120
02:12
In our collaborations with governments,
nonprofits, companies,
nonprofits, companies,
38
120520
3176
02:15
when we're trying to get people
to do more good,
to do more good,
39
123720
2816
02:18
we harness the power of reputations.
40
126560
2400
02:22
And we have a simple checklist for this.
41
130000
2376
02:24
And in fact, you already know
the first item on that checklist.
the first item on that checklist.
42
132400
3240
02:28
It's to increase observability,
43
136960
2296
02:31
to make sure people find out
about good deeds.
about good deeds.
44
139280
2720
02:35
Now, wait a minute, I know
some of you are probably thinking,
some of you are probably thinking,
45
143440
2896
02:38
there's no way people here thought,
46
146360
1696
02:40
"Oh, well, now that
I'm getting credit for my good deed,
I'm getting credit for my good deed,
47
148080
2656
02:42
now it's totally worth it."
48
150760
1336
02:44
And you're right.
49
152120
1456
02:45
Usually, people don't.
50
153600
1240
02:47
Rather, when they're making
decisions in private,
decisions in private,
51
155760
3056
02:50
they worry about their own problems,
52
158840
1736
02:52
about what to put on the table for dinner
or how to pay their bills on time.
or how to pay their bills on time.
53
160600
4136
02:56
But, when we make
their decision more observable,
their decision more observable,
54
164760
3096
02:59
they start to attend more
to the opportunity to do good.
to the opportunity to do good.
55
167880
3080
03:03
In other words, what's
so powerful about our approach
so powerful about our approach
56
171760
2816
03:06
is that it could turn on
people's existing desire to do good,
people's existing desire to do good,
57
174600
4856
03:11
in this case, to help
to prevent a blackout.
to prevent a blackout.
58
179480
2080
03:15
Back to observability.
59
183160
1656
03:16
I want to give you another example.
60
184840
1856
03:18
This one is from a collaboration
61
186720
1736
03:20
with a nonprofit that gets out the vote,
62
188480
2376
03:22
and it does this by sending hundreds
of thousands of letters every election
of thousands of letters every election
63
190880
3576
03:26
in order to remind people and try
to motivate them to go to the polls.
to motivate them to go to the polls.
64
194480
3320
03:30
We suggested adding
the following sentence:
the following sentence:
65
198760
2160
03:34
"Someone may call you to find out
about your experience at the polls."
about your experience at the polls."
66
202440
3400
03:38
This sentence makes it feel
more observable when you go to the polls,
more observable when you go to the polls,
67
206520
3400
03:43
and it increased the effect
of the letter by 50 percent.
of the letter by 50 percent.
68
211040
3040
03:48
Making the letter more effective reduced
the cost of getting an additional vote
the cost of getting an additional vote
69
216680
3736
03:52
from 70 dollars down to about 40 dollars.
70
220440
1960
03:55
Observability has been used to do things
71
223200
1936
03:57
like get people
to donate blood more frequently
to donate blood more frequently
72
225160
2656
03:59
by listing the names of donors
on local newsletters,
on local newsletters,
73
227840
2976
04:02
or to pay their taxes on time
74
230840
1640
04:05
by listing the names of delinquents
on a public website.
on a public website.
75
233440
2816
04:08
(Laughter)
76
236280
1840
04:12
What about this example?
77
240200
1200
04:14
Toyota got hundreds of thousands of people
to buy a more fuel-efficient car
to buy a more fuel-efficient car
78
242560
4056
04:18
by making the Prius so unique ...
79
246640
3616
04:22
(Laughter)
80
250280
1600
04:24
that their good deed
was observable from a mile away.
was observable from a mile away.
81
252800
2680
04:28
(Laughter)
82
256040
2816
04:30
Alright, so observability is great,
83
258880
2375
04:33
but we all know, we've all seen
84
261279
3537
04:36
people walk by an opportunity to do good.
85
264840
2160
04:40
They'll see somebody
asking for money on the sidewalk
asking for money on the sidewalk
86
268080
3296
04:43
and they'll pull out their phones
and look really busy,
and look really busy,
87
271400
2616
04:46
or they'll go to the museum and they'll
waltz right on by the donation box.
waltz right on by the donation box.
88
274040
3560
04:50
Imagine it's the holiday season
89
278320
2096
04:52
and you're going to the supermarket,
and there's a Salvation Army volunteer,
and there's a Salvation Army volunteer,
90
280440
3696
04:56
and he's ringing his bell.
91
284160
1256
04:57
A few years ago, researchers in San Diego
92
285440
1976
04:59
teamed up with a local chapter
from the Salvation Army
from the Salvation Army
93
287440
3456
05:02
to try to find ways to increase donations.
94
290920
2200
05:06
What they found was kind of funny.
95
294240
1620
05:08
When the volunteer
stood in front of just one door,
stood in front of just one door,
96
296680
2400
05:12
people would avoid giving
by going out the other door.
by going out the other door.
97
300040
2560
05:16
Why?
98
304880
1200
05:19
Well, because they can always claim,
"Oh, I didn't see the volunteer,"
"Oh, I didn't see the volunteer,"
99
307080
3696
05:22
or, "I wanted to get
something from over there,"
something from over there,"
100
310800
2256
05:25
or, "That's where my car is."
101
313080
1400
05:27
In other words, there's lots of excuses.
102
315560
1920
05:30
And that brings us
to the second item on our checklist:
to the second item on our checklist:
103
318640
2976
05:33
to eliminate excuses.
104
321640
1720
05:36
In the case of the Salvation Army,
105
324800
1656
05:38
eliminating excuses just means
standing in front of both doors,
standing in front of both doors,
106
326480
3256
05:41
and sure enough, when they did this,
107
329760
2056
05:43
donations rose.
108
331840
1200
05:47
But that's when things got kind of funny,
109
335280
2176
05:49
even funnier.
110
337480
1200
05:51
The researchers
were out in the parking lot,
were out in the parking lot,
111
339960
2536
05:54
and they were counting people
as they came in and out of the store,
as they came in and out of the store,
112
342520
3176
05:57
and they noticed that when the volunteers
stood in front of both doors,
stood in front of both doors,
113
345720
3816
06:01
people stopped coming
out of the store at all.
out of the store at all.
114
349560
2176
06:03
(Laughter)
115
351760
3056
06:06
Obviously, they were surprised by this,
so they decided to look into it further,
so they decided to look into it further,
116
354840
4136
06:11
and that's when they found that there
was actually a third, smaller utility door
was actually a third, smaller utility door
117
359000
5096
06:16
usually used to take out the recycling --
118
364120
1976
06:18
(Laughter)
119
366120
1536
06:19
and now people were going out that door
in order to avoid the volunteers.
in order to avoid the volunteers.
120
367680
3496
06:23
(Laughter)
121
371200
2360
06:26
This teaches us
an important lesson though.
an important lesson though.
122
374320
2320
06:30
When we're trying to eliminate excuses,
we need to be very thorough,
we need to be very thorough,
123
378480
3536
06:34
because people are
really creative in making them.
really creative in making them.
124
382040
2376
06:36
(Laughter)
125
384440
2200
06:41
Alright, I want to switch to a setting
126
389760
1856
06:43
where excuses can have
deadly consequences.
deadly consequences.
127
391640
2200
06:48
What if I told you that the world's
deadliest infectious disease has a cure,
deadliest infectious disease has a cure,
128
396160
3720
06:52
in fact, that it's had one for 70 years,
129
400960
2936
06:55
a good one, one that works
almost every time?
almost every time?
130
403920
2200
06:59
It's incredible, but it's true.
131
407920
1560
07:02
The disease is tuberculosis.
132
410400
1976
07:04
It infects some 10 million people a year,
133
412400
2296
07:06
and it kills almost two million of them.
134
414720
2120
07:09
Like the blackout prevention program,
we've got the solution.
we've got the solution.
135
417680
4056
07:13
The problem is people.
136
421760
1240
07:16
People need to take their medication
137
424000
1736
07:17
so that they're cured,
138
425760
1896
07:19
and so that they don't
get other people sick.
get other people sick.
139
427680
2160
07:23
For a few years now,
we've been collaborating
we've been collaborating
140
431520
2136
07:25
with a mobile health startup
called Keheala
called Keheala
141
433680
2296
07:28
to support TB patients
as they undergo treatment.
as they undergo treatment.
142
436000
2680
07:31
Now, you have to understand,
TB treatment, it's really tough.
TB treatment, it's really tough.
143
439280
3096
07:34
We're talking about taking
a really strong antibiotic
a really strong antibiotic
144
442400
2576
07:37
every single day for six months or more.
145
445000
2336
07:39
That antibiotic is so strong
that it will make you feel sick.
that it will make you feel sick.
146
447360
2896
07:42
It will make you feel nauseous and dizzy.
147
450280
1976
07:44
It will make your pee turn funny colors.
148
452280
1920
07:46
It's also a problem because
you have to go back to the clinic
you have to go back to the clinic
149
454720
2896
07:49
about every week
in order to get more pills,
in order to get more pills,
150
457640
2416
07:52
and in sub-Saharan Africa
or other places where TB is common,
or other places where TB is common,
151
460080
3456
07:55
now you're talking
about going someplace pretty far,
about going someplace pretty far,
152
463560
2456
07:58
taking tough and slow public transport,
153
466040
3016
08:01
maybe the clinic is inefficient.
154
469080
2056
08:03
So now you're talking about taking
a half day off of work every week
a half day off of work every week
155
471160
3216
08:06
from a job you desperately
can't afford to lose.
can't afford to lose.
156
474400
2880
08:09
It's even worse when you consider the fact
that there's a terrible stigma,
that there's a terrible stigma,
157
477920
3496
08:13
and you desperately don't want people
to find that you have the disease.
to find that you have the disease.
158
481440
3416
08:16
Some of the toughest stories we hear
are actually from women
are actually from women
159
484880
2856
08:19
who, in these places where
domestic violence can be kind of common,
domestic violence can be kind of common,
160
487760
3536
08:23
they tell us that they have to
hide it from their husbands
hide it from their husbands
161
491320
2736
08:26
that they're coming to the clinic.
162
494080
1640
08:29
So it's no surprise
that people don't complete treatment.
that people don't complete treatment.
163
497800
2800
08:33
Can our approach really help them?
164
501840
2136
08:36
Can we really get them to stick it out?
165
504000
1880
08:40
Yeah.
166
508040
1200
08:42
Every day, we text patients
to remind them to take their medication,
to remind them to take their medication,
167
510080
4096
08:46
but if we stopped there,
168
514200
1536
08:47
there'd be lots of excuses.
169
515760
2056
08:49
"Well, I didn't see the text."
170
517840
1456
08:51
Or, "You know, I saw the text,
but then I totally forgot,
but then I totally forgot,
171
519320
2695
08:54
put the phone down
and I just forgot about it."
and I just forgot about it."
172
522039
2217
08:56
Or, "I lent the phone out to my mom."
173
524280
1800
08:59
We have to eliminate these excuses
174
527600
2016
09:01
and we do that by asking patients
175
529640
2016
09:03
to log in and verify
that they've taken their medication.
that they've taken their medication.
176
531680
2960
09:07
If they don't log in, we text them again.
177
535680
2256
09:09
If they don't log in,
we text them yet again.
we text them yet again.
178
537960
2096
09:12
If, after three times,
they still haven't verified,
they still haven't verified,
179
540880
3216
09:16
we notify a team of supporters
180
544120
1816
09:17
and that team will call and text them
181
545960
2256
09:20
to try to get them back on the wagon.
182
548240
1800
09:22
No excuses.
183
550960
1200
09:25
Our approach, which, admittedly,
uses all sorts of behavioral techniques,
uses all sorts of behavioral techniques,
184
553520
3776
09:29
including, as you've
probably noticed, observability,
probably noticed, observability,
185
557320
3216
09:32
it was very effective.
186
560560
1240
09:34
Patients without access to our platform
187
562800
2176
09:37
were three times more likely
not to complete treatment.
not to complete treatment.
188
565000
3160
09:43
Alright,
189
571520
1376
09:44
you've increased observability,
190
572920
1536
09:46
you've eliminated excuses,
191
574480
2216
09:48
but there's still a third thing
you need to be aware of.
you need to be aware of.
192
576720
2640
09:52
If you've been to Washington, DC
or Japan or London,
or Japan or London,
193
580800
3256
09:56
you know that metro riders there
194
584080
1696
09:57
will be very careful to stand
on the right-hand side of the escalator
on the right-hand side of the escalator
195
585800
3456
10:01
so that people can go by on the left.
196
589280
1920
10:04
But unfortunately,
not everywhere is that the norm,
not everywhere is that the norm,
197
592160
2376
10:06
and there's plenty of places
where you can just stand on both sides
where you can just stand on both sides
198
594560
3176
10:09
and block the escalator.
199
597760
1256
10:11
Obviously, it's better for others
200
599040
1616
10:12
when we stand on the right
and let them go by,
and let them go by,
201
600680
2296
10:15
but we're only expected
to do that some places.
to do that some places.
202
603000
2720
10:18
This is a general phenomenon.
203
606720
1416
10:20
Sometimes we're expected to do good
204
608160
2056
10:22
and sometimes not,
205
610240
1816
10:24
and it means that people
are really sensitive to cues
are really sensitive to cues
206
612080
3376
10:27
that they're expected to do good
in a particular situation,
in a particular situation,
207
615480
2960
10:31
which brings us to the third
and final item on our checklist:
and final item on our checklist:
208
619600
3696
10:35
to communicate expectations,
209
623320
1776
10:37
to tell people,
210
625120
1416
10:38
"Do the good deed right now."
211
626560
2080
10:42
Here's a simple way
to communicate expectations;
to communicate expectations;
212
630680
2256
10:44
simply tell them, "Hey, everybody else
is doing the good deed."
is doing the good deed."
213
632960
3176
10:48
The company Opower
sends people in their electricity bill
sends people in their electricity bill
214
636160
4176
10:52
a small insert that compares
their energy consumption
their energy consumption
215
640360
2776
10:55
with that of people
with similarly sized homes.
with similarly sized homes.
216
643160
3240
10:59
And when people find out that their
neighbors are using less electricity,
neighbors are using less electricity,
217
647000
3456
11:02
they start to consume less.
218
650480
1896
11:04
That same approach, it's been used
to get people to vote or give to charity
to get people to vote or give to charity
219
652400
3656
11:08
or even reuse their towels in hotels.
220
656080
2120
11:12
What about this one?
221
660240
1200
11:14
Here's another way
to communicate expectations;
to communicate expectations;
222
662240
2496
11:16
simply do it by saying, "Do the good deed"
just at the right time.
just at the right time.
223
664760
4080
11:23
What about this one?
224
671840
1200
11:26
This ticker reframes
225
674320
2616
11:28
the kind of mundane task
of turning off the lights
of turning off the lights
226
676960
2816
11:31
and turns it instead
into an environmental contribution.
into an environmental contribution.
227
679800
2840
11:36
The bottom line is,
lots of different ways to do this,
lots of different ways to do this,
228
684320
2816
11:39
lots of ways to communicate expectations.
229
687160
2056
11:41
Just don't forget to do it.
230
689240
1286
11:43
And that's it.
231
691320
1296
11:44
That's our checklist.
232
692640
1200
11:48
Many of you are working on problems
with important social consequences,
with important social consequences,
233
696440
4336
11:52
and sometimes you might need
to motivate people to do more good.
to motivate people to do more good.
234
700800
3400
11:57
The tools you learned today
can help you with this.
can help you with this.
235
705520
3016
12:00
And these tools, they don't require
that you raise additional funds
that you raise additional funds
236
708560
3176
12:03
or that you develop
any more fancy technologies.
any more fancy technologies.
237
711760
2896
12:06
They just require harnessing reputations
238
714680
2776
12:09
by increasing observability,
eliminating excuses
eliminating excuses
239
717480
3416
12:12
and communicating expectations.
240
720920
1600
12:16
Thank you.
241
724120
1216
12:17
(Applause)
242
725360
4440
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Erez Yoeli - Research scientistErez Yoeli's research focuses on altruism: understanding how it works and how to promote it.
Why you should listen
Erez (pronounced ‘EH-rez’) Yoeli is a research scientist at MIT's Sloan School of Management, where he directs the Applied Cooperation Team. His research focuses on altruism: understanding how it works and how to promote it. He collaborates with governments, nonprofits and companies to apply these insights to address real-world challenges like increasing energy conservation, improving antibiotic adherence, reducing smoking in public places and promoting philanthropy.
Yoeli teaches the undergraduate Game Theory course at Harvard and regularly publishes theoretical and applied academic research articles. He shares his research highlights through frequent talks and featured articles in the New York Times, The Economist, Quartz and Behavioral Scientist. His research has also been profiled nationally and internationally in publications like TIME and Huffington Post.
Yoeli received his PhD in economics from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Before founding the Applied Cooperation Team, he was an economist at the US Federal Trade Commission and served as an expert witness in cases against companies that defrauded consumers. In an earlier, "pre-economist" life, he was a classical percussionist. He enjoys spicy food, hiking and spending time with his two very cuddly cats.
Erez Yoeli | Speaker | TED.com