0:00:01.440,0:00:04.496
How can we get people to do more good,

0:00:04.520,0:00:08.856
to go to the polls,[br]give to charity, conserve resources,

0:00:08.880,0:00:12.216
or even to do something as simple[br]as washing their mugs at work

0:00:12.240,0:00:14.621
so that the sink isn't[br]always full of dirty dishes?

0:00:14.645,0:00:16.656
(Laughter)

0:00:16.680,0:00:21.016
(Applause)

0:00:21.040,0:00:23.176
When I first started[br]working on this problem,

0:00:23.200,0:00:25.096
I collaborated with a power company

0:00:25.120,0:00:28.656
to recruit customers for a program[br]that prevents blackouts

0:00:28.680,0:00:30.680
by reducing energy demand during peaks.

0:00:31.600,0:00:34.216
The program is based[br]on a tried-and-true technology.

0:00:34.240,0:00:36.616
It's one the Obama[br]administration even called

0:00:36.640,0:00:39.760
"the cornerstone to modernizing[br]America's electrical grid."

0:00:40.880,0:00:44.376
But, like so many[br]great technological solutions,

0:00:44.400,0:00:45.840
it has a key weakness:

0:00:47.760,0:00:48.960
people.

0:00:49.720,0:00:50.960
People need to sign up.

0:00:52.000,0:00:55.536
To try to get people to sign up,[br]the power company sent them a nice letter,

0:00:55.560,0:00:57.576
told them about[br]all the program's benefits,

0:00:57.600,0:01:00.656
and it asked them to call[br]into a hotline if they were interested.

0:01:00.680,0:01:02.376
Those letters went out,

0:01:02.400,0:01:05.160
but the phones, they were silent.

0:01:06.080,0:01:08.840
So when we got involved,[br]we suggested one small change.

0:01:09.360,0:01:11.256
Instead of that hotline,

0:01:11.280,0:01:15.896
we suggested that they use sign-up sheets[br]that they'd post near the mailboxes

0:01:15.920,0:01:17.160
in people's buildings.

0:01:18.120,0:01:20.880
This tripled participation.

0:01:23.160,0:01:24.360
Why?

0:01:25.680,0:01:29.896
Well, we all know people care deeply[br]about what others think of them,

0:01:29.920,0:01:32.576
that we try to be seen[br]as generous and kind,

0:01:32.600,0:01:35.320
and we try to avoid[br]being seen as selfish or a mooch.

0:01:36.120,0:01:40.536
Whether we are aware of it or not,[br]this is a big part of why people do good,

0:01:40.560,0:01:45.776
and so small changes that give people[br]more credit for doing good,

0:01:45.800,0:01:48.136
those changes can make[br]a really big difference.

0:01:48.160,0:01:51.056
Small changes like[br]switching from a hotline,

0:01:51.080,0:01:54.096
where nobody will ever find out[br]about your good deed,

0:01:54.120,0:01:55.856
to a sign-up sheet

0:01:55.880,0:01:59.000
where anyone who walks by[br]can see your name.

0:02:00.520,0:02:03.696
In our collaborations with governments,[br]nonprofits, companies,

0:02:03.720,0:02:06.536
when we're trying to get people[br]to do more good,

0:02:06.560,0:02:08.960
we harness the power of reputations.

0:02:10.000,0:02:12.376
And we have a simple checklist for this.

0:02:12.400,0:02:15.640
And in fact, you already know[br]the first item on that checklist.

0:02:16.960,0:02:19.256
It's to increase observability,

0:02:19.280,0:02:22.000
to make sure people find out[br]about good deeds.

0:02:23.440,0:02:26.336
Now, wait a minute, I know[br]some of you are probably thinking,

0:02:26.360,0:02:28.056
there's no way people here thought,

0:02:28.080,0:02:30.736
"Oh, well, now that[br]I'm getting credit for my good deed,

0:02:30.760,0:02:32.096
now it's totally worth it."

0:02:32.120,0:02:33.576
And you're right.

0:02:33.600,0:02:34.840
Usually, people don't.

0:02:35.760,0:02:38.816
Rather, when they're making[br]decisions in private,

0:02:38.840,0:02:40.576
they worry about their own problems,

0:02:40.600,0:02:44.736
about what to put on the table for dinner[br]or how to pay their bills on time.

0:02:44.760,0:02:47.856
But, when we make[br]their decision more observable,

0:02:47.880,0:02:50.960
they start to attend more[br]to the opportunity to do good.

0:02:51.760,0:02:54.576
In other words, what's[br]so powerful about our approach

0:02:54.600,0:02:59.456
is that it could turn on[br]people's existing desire to do good,

0:02:59.480,0:03:01.560
in this case, to help[br]to prevent a blackout.

0:03:03.160,0:03:04.816
Back to observability.

0:03:04.840,0:03:06.696
I want to give you another example.

0:03:06.720,0:03:08.456
This one is from a collaboration

0:03:08.480,0:03:10.856
with a nonprofit that gets out the vote,

0:03:10.880,0:03:14.456
and it does this by sending hundreds[br]of thousands of letters every election

0:03:14.480,0:03:17.800
in order to remind people and try[br]to motivate them to go to the polls.

0:03:18.760,0:03:20.920
We suggested adding[br]the following sentence:

0:03:22.440,0:03:25.840
"Someone may call you to find out[br]about your experience at the polls."

0:03:26.520,0:03:29.920
This sentence makes it feel[br]more observable when you go to the polls,

0:03:31.040,0:03:34.080
and it increased the effect[br]of the letter by 50 percent.

0:03:36.680,0:03:40.416
Making the letter more effective reduced[br]the cost of getting an additional vote

0:03:40.440,0:03:42.400
from 70 dollars down to about 40 dollars.

0:03:43.200,0:03:45.136
Observability has been used to do things

0:03:45.160,0:03:47.816
like get people[br]to donate blood more frequently

0:03:47.840,0:03:50.816
by listing the names of donors[br]on local newsletters,

0:03:50.840,0:03:52.480
or to pay their taxes on time

0:03:53.440,0:03:56.256
by listing the names of delinquents[br]on a public website.

0:03:56.280,0:03:58.120
(Laughter)

0:04:00.200,0:04:01.400
What about this example?

0:04:02.560,0:04:06.616
Toyota got hundreds of thousands of people[br]to buy a more fuel-efficient car

0:04:06.640,0:04:10.256
by making the Prius so unique ...

0:04:10.280,0:04:11.880
(Laughter)

0:04:12.800,0:04:15.480
that their good deed[br]was observable from a mile away.

0:04:16.040,0:04:18.856
(Laughter)

0:04:18.880,0:04:21.255
Alright, so observability is great,

0:04:21.279,0:04:24.816
but we all know, we've all seen

0:04:24.840,0:04:27.000
people walk by an opportunity to do good.

0:04:28.080,0:04:31.376
They'll see somebody[br]asking for money on the sidewalk

0:04:31.400,0:04:34.016
and they'll pull out their phones[br]and look really busy,

0:04:34.040,0:04:37.600
or they'll go to the museum and they'll[br]waltz right on by the donation box.

0:04:38.320,0:04:40.416
Imagine it's the holiday season

0:04:40.440,0:04:44.136
and you're going to the supermarket,[br]and there's a Salvation Army volunteer,

0:04:44.160,0:04:45.416
and he's ringing his bell.

0:04:45.440,0:04:47.416
A few years ago, researchers in San Diego

0:04:47.440,0:04:50.896
teamed up with a local chapter[br]from the Salvation Army

0:04:50.920,0:04:53.120
to try to find ways to increase donations.

0:04:54.240,0:04:55.860
What they found was kind of funny.

0:04:56.680,0:04:59.080
When the volunteer[br]stood in front of just one door,

0:05:00.040,0:05:02.600
people would avoid giving[br]by going out the other door.

0:05:04.880,0:05:06.080
Why?

0:05:07.080,0:05:10.776
Well, because they can always claim,[br]"Oh, I didn't see the volunteer,"

0:05:10.800,0:05:13.056
or, "I wanted to get[br]something from over there,"

0:05:13.080,0:05:14.480
or, "That's where my car is."

0:05:15.560,0:05:17.480
In other words, there's lots of excuses.

0:05:18.640,0:05:21.616
And that brings us[br]to the second item on our checklist:

0:05:21.640,0:05:23.360
to eliminate excuses.

0:05:24.800,0:05:26.456
In the case of the Salvation Army,

0:05:26.480,0:05:29.736
eliminating excuses just means[br]standing in front of both doors,

0:05:29.760,0:05:31.816
and sure enough, when they did this,

0:05:31.840,0:05:33.040
donations rose.

0:05:35.280,0:05:37.456
But that's when things got kind of funny,

0:05:37.480,0:05:38.680
even funnier.

0:05:39.960,0:05:42.496
The researchers[br]were out in the parking lot,

0:05:42.520,0:05:45.696
and they were counting people[br]as they came in and out of the store,

0:05:45.720,0:05:49.536
and they noticed that when the volunteers[br]stood in front of both doors,

0:05:49.560,0:05:51.736
people stopped coming[br]out of the store at all.

0:05:51.760,0:05:54.816
(Laughter)

0:05:54.840,0:05:58.976
Obviously, they were surprised by this,[br]so they decided to look into it further,

0:05:59.000,0:06:04.096
and that's when they found that there[br]was actually a third, smaller utility door

0:06:04.120,0:06:06.096
usually used to take out the recycling --

0:06:06.120,0:06:07.656
(Laughter)

0:06:07.680,0:06:11.176
and now people were going out that door[br]in order to avoid the volunteers.

0:06:11.200,0:06:13.560
(Laughter)

0:06:14.320,0:06:16.640
This teaches us[br]an important lesson though.

0:06:18.480,0:06:22.016
When we're trying to eliminate excuses,[br]we need to be very thorough,

0:06:22.040,0:06:24.416
because people are[br]really creative in making them.

0:06:24.440,0:06:26.640
(Laughter)

0:06:29.760,0:06:31.616
Alright, I want to switch to a setting

0:06:31.640,0:06:33.840
where excuses can have[br]deadly consequences.

0:06:36.160,0:06:39.880
What if I told you that the world's[br]deadliest infectious disease has a cure,

0:06:40.960,0:06:43.896
in fact, that it's had one for 70 years,

0:06:43.920,0:06:46.120
a good one, one that works[br]almost every time?

0:06:47.920,0:06:49.480
It's incredible, but it's true.

0:06:50.400,0:06:52.376
The disease is tuberculosis.

0:06:52.400,0:06:54.696
It infects some 10 million people a year,

0:06:54.720,0:06:56.840
and it kills almost two million of them.

0:06:57.680,0:07:01.736
Like the blackout prevention program,[br]we've got the solution.

0:07:01.760,0:07:03.000
The problem is people.

0:07:04.000,0:07:05.736
People need to take their medication

0:07:05.760,0:07:07.656
so that they're cured,

0:07:07.680,0:07:09.840
and so that they don't[br]get other people sick.

0:07:11.520,0:07:13.656
For a few years now,[br]we've been collaborating

0:07:13.680,0:07:15.976
with a mobile health startup[br]called Keheala

0:07:16.000,0:07:18.680
to support TB patients[br]as they undergo treatment.

0:07:19.280,0:07:22.376
Now, you have to understand,[br]TB treatment, it's really tough.

0:07:22.400,0:07:24.976
We're talking about taking[br]a really strong antibiotic

0:07:25.000,0:07:27.336
every single day for six months or more.

0:07:27.360,0:07:30.256
That antibiotic is so strong[br]that it will make you feel sick.

0:07:30.280,0:07:32.256
It will make you feel nauseous and dizzy.

0:07:32.280,0:07:34.200
It will make your pee turn funny colors.

0:07:34.720,0:07:37.616
It's also a problem because[br]you have to go back to the clinic

0:07:37.640,0:07:40.056
about every week[br]in order to get more pills,

0:07:40.080,0:07:43.536
and in sub-Saharan Africa[br]or other places where TB is common,

0:07:43.560,0:07:46.016
now you're talking[br]about going someplace pretty far,

0:07:46.040,0:07:49.056
taking tough and slow public transport,

0:07:49.080,0:07:51.136
maybe the clinic is inefficient.

0:07:51.160,0:07:54.376
So now you're talking about taking[br]a half day off of work every week

0:07:54.400,0:07:57.280
from a job you desperately[br]can't afford to lose.

0:07:57.920,0:08:01.416
It's even worse when you consider the fact[br]that there's a terrible stigma,

0:08:01.440,0:08:04.856
and you desperately don't want people[br]to find that you have the disease.

0:08:04.880,0:08:07.736
Some of the toughest stories we hear[br]are actually from women

0:08:07.760,0:08:11.296
who, in these places where[br]domestic violence can be kind of common,

0:08:11.320,0:08:14.056
they tell us that they have to[br]hide it from their husbands

0:08:14.080,0:08:15.720
that they're coming to the clinic.

0:08:17.800,0:08:20.600
So it's no surprise[br]that people don't complete treatment.

0:08:21.840,0:08:23.976
Can our approach really help them?

0:08:24.000,0:08:25.880
Can we really get them to stick it out?

0:08:28.040,0:08:29.240
Yeah.

0:08:30.080,0:08:34.176
Every day, we text patients[br]to remind them to take their medication,

0:08:34.200,0:08:35.736
but if we stopped there,

0:08:35.760,0:08:37.816
there'd be lots of excuses.

0:08:37.840,0:08:39.296
"Well, I didn't see the text."

0:08:39.320,0:08:42.015
Or, "You know, I saw the text,[br]but then I totally forgot,

0:08:42.039,0:08:44.256
put the phone down[br]and I just forgot about it."

0:08:44.280,0:08:46.080
Or, "I lent the phone out to my mom."

0:08:47.600,0:08:49.616
We have to eliminate these excuses

0:08:49.640,0:08:51.656
and we do that by asking patients

0:08:51.680,0:08:54.640
to log in and verify[br]that they've taken their medication.

0:08:55.680,0:08:57.936
If they don't log in, we text them again.

0:08:57.960,0:09:00.056
If they don't log in,[br]we text them yet again.

0:09:00.880,0:09:04.096
If, after three times,[br]they still haven't verified,

0:09:04.120,0:09:05.936
we notify a team of supporters

0:09:05.960,0:09:08.216
and that team will call and text them

0:09:08.240,0:09:10.040
to try to get them back on the wagon.

0:09:10.960,0:09:12.160
No excuses.

0:09:13.520,0:09:17.296
Our approach, which, admittedly,[br]uses all sorts of behavioral techniques,

0:09:17.320,0:09:20.536
including, as you've[br]probably noticed, observability,

0:09:20.560,0:09:21.800
it was very effective.

0:09:22.800,0:09:24.976
Patients without access to our platform

0:09:25.000,0:09:28.160
were three times more likely[br]not to complete treatment.

0:09:31.520,0:09:32.896
Alright,

0:09:32.920,0:09:34.456
you've increased observability,

0:09:34.480,0:09:36.696
you've eliminated excuses,

0:09:36.720,0:09:39.360
but there's still a third thing[br]you need to be aware of.

0:09:40.800,0:09:44.056
If you've been to Washington, DC[br]or Japan or London,

0:09:44.080,0:09:45.776
you know that metro riders there

0:09:45.800,0:09:49.256
will be very careful to stand[br]on the right-hand side of the escalator

0:09:49.280,0:09:51.200
so that people can go by on the left.

0:09:52.160,0:09:54.536
But unfortunately,[br]not everywhere is that the norm,

0:09:54.560,0:09:57.736
and there's plenty of places[br]where you can just stand on both sides

0:09:57.760,0:09:59.016
and block the escalator.

0:09:59.040,0:10:00.656
Obviously, it's better for others

0:10:00.680,0:10:02.976
when we stand on the right[br]and let them go by,

0:10:03.000,0:10:05.720
but we're only expected[br]to do that some places.

0:10:06.720,0:10:08.136
This is a general phenomenon.

0:10:08.160,0:10:10.216
Sometimes we're expected to do good

0:10:10.240,0:10:12.056
and sometimes not,

0:10:12.080,0:10:15.456
and it means that people[br]are really sensitive to cues

0:10:15.480,0:10:18.440
that they're expected to do good[br]in a particular situation,

0:10:19.600,0:10:23.296
which brings us to the third[br]and final item on our checklist:

0:10:23.320,0:10:25.096
to communicate expectations,

0:10:25.120,0:10:26.536
to tell people,

0:10:26.560,0:10:28.640
"Do the good deed right now."

0:10:30.680,0:10:32.936
Here's a simple way[br]to communicate expectations;

0:10:32.960,0:10:36.136
simply tell them, "Hey, everybody else[br]is doing the good deed."

0:10:36.160,0:10:40.336
The company Opower[br]sends people in their electricity bill

0:10:40.360,0:10:43.136
a small insert that compares[br]their energy consumption

0:10:43.160,0:10:46.400
with that of people[br]with similarly sized homes.

0:10:47.000,0:10:50.456
And when people find out that their[br]neighbors are using less electricity,

0:10:50.480,0:10:52.376
they start to consume less.

0:10:52.400,0:10:56.056
That same approach, it's been used[br]to get people to vote or give to charity

0:10:56.080,0:10:58.200
or even reuse their towels in hotels.

0:11:00.240,0:11:01.440
What about this one?

0:11:02.240,0:11:04.736
Here's another way[br]to communicate expectations;

0:11:04.760,0:11:08.840
simply do it by saying, "Do the good deed"[br]just at the right time.

0:11:11.840,0:11:13.040
What about this one?

0:11:14.320,0:11:16.936
This ticker reframes

0:11:16.960,0:11:19.776
the kind of mundane task[br]of turning off the lights

0:11:19.800,0:11:22.640
and turns it instead[br]into an environmental contribution.

0:11:24.320,0:11:27.136
The bottom line is,[br]lots of different ways to do this,

0:11:27.160,0:11:29.216
lots of ways to communicate expectations.

0:11:29.240,0:11:30.526
Just don't forget to do it.

0:11:31.320,0:11:32.616
And that's it.

0:11:32.640,0:11:33.840
That's our checklist.

0:11:36.440,0:11:40.776
Many of you are working on problems[br]with important social consequences,

0:11:40.800,0:11:44.200
and sometimes you might need[br]to motivate people to do more good.

0:11:45.520,0:11:48.536
The tools you learned today[br]can help you with this.

0:11:48.560,0:11:51.736
And these tools, they don't require[br]that you raise additional funds

0:11:51.760,0:11:54.656
or that you develop[br]any more fancy technologies.

0:11:54.680,0:11:57.456
They just require harnessing reputations

0:11:57.480,0:12:00.896
by increasing observability,[br]eliminating excuses

0:12:00.920,0:12:02.520
and communicating expectations.

0:12:04.120,0:12:05.336
Thank you.

0:12:05.360,0:12:09.800
(Applause)