Wait, I don’t know anything about behavioral economics or psychology!

You’re human, aren’t you? All humans exhibit behavioral and cognitive quirks – both the ones that help with a deeper understanding of behavioral barriers and the ones that make nudges effective. Your context and your goal behavior may be different from your clients, but I bet at some point you’ve put off doing something until tomorrow or been too mentally exhausted to make yet another decision at the end of a long day. I buy junk food when I go to the grocery store because I’m hungry. That’s an example of the hot-cold empathy gap – that we make different decisions and take different actions when we’re in a “hot” state – which in my case is being hungry. This quirk is also a key reason why someone might not use a condom, despite intending to use one. I ostrich, I procrastinate, I don’t take action because of a negative stereotype in my head, I see other people doing something and follow their lead, and I can bet that you have mirrored many of those same behaviors in your own lives.

We are all experts in human behavior, even if we’re not experts in behavioral theory! A careful process of considering how the quirks are affecting behavior, then working with clients to confirm or deny those, then co-designing solutions to address those barriers will help strengthen your program and make it more sustainable. It will require some thought and an open mind. But you don’t need a PhD to do it and in the end, it will help connect you to clients and help improve your program and the lives of your clients.