A few years back, I stumbled on a MOOC being taught by a professor named Dan Ariely. The subject was behavioral economics, and the title of the course was “A Beginner’s Guide To Irrational Behavior.” (It was offered via the Coursera platform. Not sure if it’s still being offered. I can’t seem to find it there, but if you search you may find it.)
I took the class and found it immensely enjoyable and valuable, not just personally but also for my work as an eco communicator and motivator.
As Dr. Ariely explains on his website, “Behavioral economics is the study of humans and their (occasionally irrational) interactions with the world.” For me the class was like a fusion of psychology, sociology, and consumer behavior.
Yesterday, I went surfing on the web to revisit behavioral economics and Dr. Ariely. I found an interesting interview (linked below), where he brings up the phrase “choice architecture.” This phrase isn’t referring to one’s ideal house or the crème de la crème of buildings.
Rather, “choice architecture” is the idea that a lot of our choices are actually not as free or as rooted in our core beliefs and principles as we think. We are very influenced by our physical surroundings.
For example: If the store is only a few blocks away, but I drive my car instead of cycling or walking because the roads are hazardous thanks to high-speed traffic and no sidewalks, would you assume that I don’t care about climate change? Possibly!
Conversely, in cities and countries where it’s easy and fun to walk to the store or pub, people are more likely to walk, whether or not they particularly care about the ecological situation. It’s baked into the built environment.
Another example is if you’re living in a food desert. You’re more likely to depend on the corner minimart, which doesn’t usually have fresh produce. (Although some of them have tried to fill a bit of that need in recent years. I see lots of convenience stores carrying apples and bananas.) Whereas if you live in walking distance of the grocery store or farmers market, you’re more likely to be able to choose a healthier bag of groceries that includes plenty of fresh produce.
This “choice architecture” can even include how an application form is structured. For example, in one experiment, more people signed up to be organ donors when the process was changed from opt-in to opt-out. Meaning that the default was changed so that people were organ donors unless they specifically stated otherwise.
I think choice architecture isn’t just the physical built environment; it’s also social norms. And the entire culture we are steeped in.
Further Reading:
• This post on Dr. Ariely’s website (same page as I linked above) is a real goodie from a DEEP GREEN standpoint. It pertains to Black Friday consumer behavior. (For readers outside the USA, Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving and is a day when big stores have what are supposed to be super bargain sales. USA-merican shoppers turn out en masse for the sales, and engage in some rather extreme behavior, such as lining up outside the store while it’s still dark or even the night before.) Here you go: The 7 Irrational Behaviors of Black Friday. Enjoy!
• Interview with Dr. Ariely, regarding choice architecture: “Dan Ariely: When Are Our Decisions Made for Us?” Audio recording and transcript. (NPR; host Guy Raz.)