How to Hack Social Behavior

We go about our days with generally rational behavior, but there are always those moments that seem a bit irrational (or at least go against what we think we want). How can we identify those points and how can we fix them?

Dan Ariely, author of the great book Predictably Irrational and student of human behavior, shares how he approaches hacking social behavior:


For example, the weak point might be the location of the hamburger stand you pass on your walk when heading out for lunch, making it difficult to resist temptation when trying to lose weight. The idea is to provide a specific goal, look closely at the moments when certain behaviors try to mess with that goal, and then imagine what a solution would look like.

This is something you can do with your own behavior. When you have a moment of irrationality in your life, pay attention to what's around you. What's causing temptation? What's making you do what you don't really want to be doing? When you record the problems specifically, you can start thinking about the ways you can minimize or remove them. This may seem simple, but that's kind of the point. As Dan points out, "hacking" isn't about finding an absolute solution, but a simple one with available tools. Sometimes all you need is an easy fix, like taking a different route to lunch that doesn't pass by that hamburger stand.

How to Hack Social BehaviorSocial Hacking | Dan Ariely
