How we think about human-decision making influences the solutions proposed to life’s big challenges: including how to create equitable, diverse and inclusive workplaces.
This 2024 article by Madsen and colleagues, provides a discussion of how our underlying assumptions of human behaviour influence the design and delivery of behaviour change interventions.
The authors argue that inaccurate assumptions can result in interventions that are either ineffective or have unintended consequences.
They propose that some scientists and policy makers argue that humans are predictably irrational and therefore design interventions from this start point.
The authors suggest that rather than assume irrationality, we should start from the assumption that humans are reasonable. They define reasonable to mean that when people have knowledge of the situation (including social pressures), they can see the behaviour as a satisfactory way to achieve a particular goal.
For example, the adoption of beliefs commonly regarded as irrational can be modelled as a reasonable consequence of how experiences in different social environments shape who can be trusted.
Therefore according to the authors, the solution is to understand explanations for behaviour based on people’s goals and social environments and engage participants as partners and not just targets of interventions.
Critically, assuming people are reasonable:
• Refocuses our attention to how trust can be earned and maintained.
• Shifts the focus to different questions and solutions.
• Does not imply that all behaviour is ethical or socially acceptable.
Implications for organisations
In the context of EDI, assumed reasonableness might lead us to ask:
Given the evidence that it is good for business, the social pressure to take action and it is ethically the right thing to do, why might senior leaders hold back from investing in creating more inclusive organisations?
Answering this question from within the context of your organisation might start to help you to understand what needs to happen to create the change you are seeking.
More generally, when designing behaviour change interventions, the authors suggest:
- Nudge participants to reflect on whether the suggested change in behaviour aligns with their values or goals.
- Enable participatory engagement at different stages of an intervention, including during the design and prior to launch.
You can access the original article here.
