Sparrows were blamed for eating the grain crops, so in 1958, the Chinese government set out to eradicate them.
Between 1 and 2 billion birds were killed.
But instead of the crops flourishing, something strange happened.
They were decimated.
It turned out that the sparrows hadnโt been destroying the crops - theyโd been protecting them by eating insects.
Without the birds, locusts reached plague proportions and China was thrown into a prolonged and heartbreaking famine.
This happens in behavioural influence, too.
-
We rely on what people tell us the problem is.
-
We rely on telling them what they should do to resolve it.
The lure of the obvious is so strong that Nobel Laureate Daniel Kahneman labelled it our โWhat You See Is All There Isโ bias.
But that means weโre navigating our lives blaming the sparrows.
Instead, we need to understand the root causes of behaviour.
And in my work, that boils down to three issues.
Apathy. Overwhelm. Fear.
๐ If you found this interesting, let me know! Buy me a virtual coffee โ or forward this email โ๏ธ to someone who also might like it. Your occasional support means I can keep sharing ideas about behavioural science for free.
๐ง Learn the science of Influencing Action
๐ Be shown exactly what to do to get better results for your small business
Hey, are we connected yet?
