A few weeks ago I moved into a new house. As per usual with moving, it led to buying some new things. Nothing exciting, really. Mainly refillable soap dispensers, new bathmats, and a few extra hand towels.
After looking at several options online (and obsessing over different designs), I finally bought a few items.
And now, all of my social media feeds serve me endless ads for linens, houseware items, furniture, and more. Some of them are even selling me the exact items I just purchased.
I know you all have experienced this before, and we make jokes about it…
What do other people do?
When we are in new or different situations and are unsure what to do, we will often look to those around us — including strangers — to provide cues on how we should behave.
This is a natural instinct of ours since we’re a herd species.
Acceptance and belonging is very valuable to us, and conforming to the herd provides comfort and security. This also means we actively avoid situations that could result in being ostracized from the herd.
It’s the feeling of: if most people are behaving in this way, in this place, then I should probably do the…
I kicked off this series with pandemusing #1: Humans are terrible at determining distance.
This article features my other 3 musings all together.
To set expectations: these are not as fun as the previous one, but I do hope they spark some of your own musings as well.
Musing #2: Behavior change fatigue impacts everyone
We see how individuals are relaxing their covid protection protocols and letting their guard down as time wears on. Although it’s frustrating to see, it’s also understandable — they’re tired of the rules and restrictions.
I’ve noticed that change-makers are tired, too.
When prevention measures first went into effect last year, there…
There has been a lot of coverage on what we’re learning about behavior change through the Covid-19 pandemic. Rightfully so, since:
“We’ve probably undergone the greatest behavior change experiment in human history in the last nine months.”
- Jay Van Bavel, Association Professor of Psychology at New York University, during this webinar on How to Change Behavior During a Pandemic.
This past year left me with a set of reflections on what it takes to create and communicate change. This is what I’m calling my pandemic musings, or my “pandemusings”….
I have 4 points to share overall: one is featured…
A big lesson that came out of 2020 was the need for agility.
With a global pandemic suddenly upon us, it became critical to quickly pivot the way we work, what we offer, how we offer it, and our related messages.
Which wasn’t easy for many conservation organizations to do.
Some struggled to adapt existing projects to online and remote formats, and had to quickly learn by trial-and-error on the fly.
Others felt frustrated at how slow and difficult it can be to steer a program in a different direction.
And many froze for a bit when facing the challenge…
As I’m sure you all know, the United States just held it’s Presidential election, which means it’s demographic central over here.
Lots and lots of charts that look like these:
Why should anyone bother to do the actions or behaviors we ask them do?
Well, we could probably come up with a lot of reasons:
» It’s important to protect our natural resources.
» Because we need to curb the effects of climate change.
» We’re consuming and wasting too much.
» There’s too much pollution.
» If we don’t, then we’ll lose important species.
» The planet and future generations need us to take action.
» We have to save the planet.
Those are all accurate and real reasons to take action.
But those are OUR reasons why it’s important to do something.
Our whys. But…
Our whys are not their whys
We could spend all our time making…
Not long ago, I got my annual flu shot.
I knew flu shot season was upon us (it’s all over the news) and had intended to get one a while back.
I have my own motivations for getting the flu shot. Mainly to keep myself healthy and to reduce the risk of getting my parents or in-laws sick.
But, I still hadn’t done it yet. (We all know how that goes).
Then, I received a text from my pharmacy: “Schedule a flu shot now to save time in store. Pharmacists are taking precautions to keep you safe. Click here.”
Cool. I clicked on the link and it brought me…
I enjoy teaching people about the Diffusion of Innovation Theory (which you can watch below and read about here) because it always sparks interesting questions about larger social shifts we see happening around us.
As I describe how trends and behaviors grow, I sometimes note that fads will fizzle out after the Early Adopter phase and not progress further.
Recently someone asked me if there’s a way to predict what will become a fad instead of a trend, or if it’s only identifiable in hindsight. A great question!
While it’s not always possible to perfectly predict what will stand…
Can shame be used to motivate change?
Increasingly, I receive this question.
At first, the question was sparked by mainstream coverage of the Swedish term “flygskam”, which means “flight shame” and was created 2 years ago to encourage people to take fewer flights.
Today the question comes up more frequently as we witness public shaming around mask wearing, physical distancing, socializing, and more, during the COVID-19 pandemic. (This article in The Atlantic does a wonderful job covering this topic.)
Before I get into my point-of-view on the question, let’s explore what shame is.
Shame /SHām/ Noun: a painful feeling of humiliation or distress caused by the consciousness…
Brooke Tully
Helping you create conservation movements that stick!
