Simple Science: Why don't they do what we say?

Most public outreach and education programs these days are very ambitious, Not only do they hope to raise people's awareness of an issue or provide them with information. They also expect people to behave differently because of what they've learned; to use less water, drive more safely, turn off lights, exercise more or even vote. The expectation is that if people know something, they will align their behavior with what they know.

Unfortunately this rarely happens. Social science has shown that people have all kinds of reasons for not aligning their behavior to their beliefs. Think of New Year's Resolutions. How often do you list what you know is best, good, or right, only to find yourself doing the same old things just a few months, weeks, days, even minutes later? It's a common experience.

Behaviors are complicated things, and there are lots of reasons people do or don't do what aligns with their knowledge or even their values. To really understand the complexities takes more than a good guess.

I encourage folks who want to create programs to explore people's motivations and behaviors thoroughly, then design their education or outreach program accordingly. Exploring people's behavior isn't difficult, but it does require contact with the folks for whom you are designing your program.

Focus groups are an excellent and efficient method for hearing from people. But if you've got no skill or no budget for it, there's no need to skip this step entirely. Being a good listener and using a few consistently chosen questions can move you a long way into understanding what might help people do what you're hoping they will. Taking the time to explore these things before you choose your program's approach can yeild much more satisfying returns than a good guess.