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The kinds of influences on individual behaviour outlined in Mindspace can also work to reinforce each other, potentially creating greater changes.
For example, Suzzane Stock et al (2007) ran study in schools that used norms, commitments and the influence of particular messengers to assess whether they could impact student behaviour. In particular they wanted to see if they could increase children’s understanding of healthy eating, and if this would translate into how the students actually behaved.
To do this they trialled a buddy system, pairing older children (10-13 years old) with younger ones (8-9 years old) for a year.
They hoped that in the case of the older children norms of how mentors were supposed to behave and public commitments to their buddies would encourage them to learn effectively, and that the younger children would be more receptive to learning from a peer rather than a teacher.
Key points of significance
- The study showed reported increases both in understanding (via standardised tests on healthy eating) but also physical attributes such as height, BMI, and blood pressure. This strongly suggests the increase in understanding led to a change in behaviour and associated physical appearance.
- The study reported changes both for the older students teaching, and the younger students who were being mentored. Therefore it can confirm the influence both of norms and commitments with regards to children, and the significance of the messenger in terms of the younger students.
- The age of the children involved demonstrates how intervention at an early age can result in significant changes in behaviour.
Relevance for MyBnk
· Similar to this study MyBnk aims for changes both in understanding and behaviour. Evidence that such influences can result in changes in both categories is therefore potentially very significant in terms of programme development and delivery.
· While health is clearly a different subject area to financial knowledge, the similarity in evaluation method via standardised tests shows that these evaluative methods are common practice. In addition, while it may not be as easy to translate financial indicators as evidence of behaviour as compared to physical measurements such as height, the principle is the same.
· In terms of delivering sessions, norms, messengers and commitments could all potentially be used.
· Perhaps one of the strongest reasons young adults don’t draw up budgets is their perception that it is the ‘norm’, can this be challenged? Only 1 in 4 adults regularly make a budget, but maybe it could be made the norm of a group young people aspire to join? (maybe working age professionals)
· Messengers are obviously important, but naturally tricky to change. Could peer to peer learning be incorporated in a session to mimic the buddy system?
· There are limits to how public commitments could be made, but perhaps a show of hands at the end of session after asking something like, ‘who is now going to make a budget’? Young people could be encouraged to put their savings goals on social media.
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