New Year's resolutions, carrots and sticks - Part 1!

Not being able to keep a resolution is something cross-border and of all ages. A glance at a pair of random top ten resolutions (here and here) shows why it might be difficult. A common factor in literally every resolution is the necessity for some sort of behaviour change. Be it to spend more time with your family (i.e., better planning) or to stop smoking (i.e., do not light a cigarette), you have to renounce a pattern. But how to best change behaviour, it is a question that has been occupying behavioural researchers for many years. The “carrot and stick principle” is well known and has been around for decades. The carrot represents a promised reward, whereas the stick refers to a threatened penalty.

In the humanitarian sector drivers of behaviour and drivers of behaviour change are just as relevant, as both Fleur and Sophie have shown. The work that Fleet Forum carries out here in India involves influencing road safety behaviour on two different levels. The micro-level, where for staff members of humanitarian organisations change starts with the individual. The “carrot” to change behaviour here, is for individuals to realize the major reduction in risk they face by wearing a seat belt and by adhering to speed regulations.

On a macro-level however, institutions such as multinationals and the Indian government need the same push to change behaviour. Bureaucracy in the decision making process and organisational inertia tend to prevent behaviour change, just as with the individual. By joining forces with different parties in the Indian Road Safety Partnership last August, hopefully we can give that nudge that is needed to change road safety behaviour at a macro, decision-making, level. The “carrot(s)” for government should be clear; to drastically reduce the number of fatalities on Indian roads, reducing emotional hardship for thousands of families but also retaining productivity to further stimulate economical growth.

An observant reader might be wondering whether I am deliberately omitting the “stick” in the previous paragraphs? I am not and my next blog post will discuss the "stick" with regards to road safety.

To end where I started, my New Year’s resolution is to try and positively change people’s road behaviour. Therefore please watch this clip, as well as this one!

Thanks and, once again, all the best for 2011. Drive safe!