Unlocking Behaviour Change

Justice is in the eye of the beholder

Our sense of justice plays a huge role in our moral judgements and our behaviour. But there are many different versions of justice - what is justice for one person is gross unfairness for another.
In their journey through things we like and dislike, Robert and Jamie delve into this thorny topic and what it means for behavioural scientists.
Want more? Check out our latest books:  
Energise: The Secrets Of Motivation: https://shorturl.at/bbA7y 
React: Harness Your Animal Brain: https://shorturl.at/yiFQ9  
Sign up to Robert’s Substack: https://robertwest100.substack.com/  
Subscribe to the UBC YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@unlockingbehaviourchange

Power struggles and group identity

Robert and Jamie continue to explore sources of likes and dislikes (in the broadest sense) and in this episode move on to 'power' and how that relates to leadership. Robert reflects on the idea that often people don;t just want power for themselves, but for groups with whom they identify - and this is an extremely important source of conflict. 
Here is a link to the Substack article containing the pretty comprehensive list of sources of likes and dislikes.
Want more? Check out our latest books:  
Energise: The Secrets Of Motivation: https://shorturl.at/bbA7y 
React: Harness Your Animal Brain: https://shorturl.at/yiFQ9  
Sign up to Robert’s Substack: https://robertwest100.substack.com/  
Subscribe to the UBC YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@unlockingbehaviourchange  
 

The extraordinary motivating force of 'purpose' and 'transcendence'

Humans appear to need some kind of purpose to our existence. It might be directed at spiritual enlightenment, furthering the well-being of the species, personal growth, getting good at something, or even just collecting stamps. Robert and Jamie discuss this as part of their examination of things that act as sources of wants and needs.
They also delve briefly into the related topic of 'transcendence' - the sense of there being something beyond the physical world.
Like other sources of wants and needs, these can be extremely pervasive and powerful influences on our behaviour and need to be considered when examining why people do things and how we can influence what they do.
The full list of things we like and dislike can be found in this substack article.
Before they get into the nitty-gritty of the topic, Robert raves about a new musical phenomenon, Angine do Poitrine. For anyone interested, here is a link to one of the very rapidly growing list of YouTube videos.
Want more? Check out our latest books:  
Energise: The Secrets Of Motivation: https://shorturl.at/bbA7y 
React: Harness Your Animal Brain: https://shorturl.at/yiFQ9  
Sign up to Robert’s Substack: https://robertwest100.substack.com/  
Subscribe to the UBC YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@unlockingbehaviourchange  

The mysterious power of 'craving' and its role in addiction

What are cravings and what causes them? Craving is weird. You'd think that the more we enjoy something the more we would crave it. Not so. We crave things we don’t even like! As part of the series on what people do and do not like, Robert is on to one of his favourite topics.  
Here is a link to the Substack article setting out all the various things people tend to like and dislike.
Want more? Check out our latest books:  
Energise: The Secrets Of Motivation: https://shorturl.at/bbA7y 
React: Harness Your Animal Brain: https://shorturl.at/yiFQ9  
Sign up to Robert’s Substack: https://robertwest100.substack.com/  
Subscribe to the UBC YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@unlockingbehaviourchange  

Never underestimate the importance of being 'amused' as a motivational force

What would life be like without entertainment? Is beauty integral to a good life? Is all art subjective? As part of their wide-ranging look at what people do and do not like, Robert and Jamie explore the world of aesthetic pleasure and displeasure . . .  Here is a link to the Substack article that they are drawing on.
Want more? Check out our latest books:  
Energise: The Secrets Of Motivation: https://shorturl.at/bbA7y 
React: Harness Your Animal Brain: https://shorturl.at/yiFQ9  
Sign up to Robert’s Substack: https://robertwest100.substack.com/  
Subscribe to the UBC YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@unlockingbehaviourchange  

Matters of life and death

Staying alive is terribly important to us . . . under certain circumstances. Why do we behave in ways that actually damage our bodies and shorten our lifespan? Robert and Jamie discuss what is going on and how life and death fit in with and compete with other motives. 
Here is a link to the Substack article with quite a comprehensive list of our sources of motivation. 
Want more? Check out our latest books:  
Energise: The Secrets Of Motivation: https://shorturl.at/bbA7y 
React: Harness Your Animal Brain: https://shorturl.at/yiFQ9  
Sign up to Robert’s Substack: https://robertwest100.substack.com/  
Subscribe to the UBC YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@unlockingbehaviourchange  
 
 

How important are 'agency' and 'understanding' as drivers of our behaviour?

Robert continues to explore the different factors that act as sources of liking and disliking and has asked his AI friend Claude to review his list and suggest how these could be usefully grouped. One crucial grouping concerns being in control of ourselves, other people and events, and understanding the world around us.
Robert and Jamie delve into this and reflect on the importance, when teaching people of all ages, of avoiding the unpleasant feeling that comes from not understanding.
Here is a list of the current version of Robert's list of things we tend to like and dislike:
Want more? Check out our latest books:  
Energise: The Secrets Of Motivation: https://shorturl.at/bbA7y 
React: Harness Your Animal Brain: https://shorturl.at/yiFQ9  
Sign up to Robert’s Substack: https://robertwest100.substack.com/  
Subscribe to the UBC YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@unlockingbehaviourchange  

Lots of things motivate our behaviour: Robert has been making a list ...

Robert has been busy making a list of things we like and things we dislike... Or do we? One person’s meat is another person’s poison. The duo also discuss drinking culture, life and death, and wanting to feel less bored... and make a passing reference to the wonderful Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy for no very good reason... 
Want more? Check out our latest books:  
Energise: The Secrets Of Motivation: https://shorturl.at/bbA7y 
React: Harness Your Animal Brain: https://shorturl.at/yiFQ9  
Sign up to Robert’s Substack: https://robertwest100.substack.com/  
Subscribe to the UBC YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@unlockingbehaviourchange  

How pleasure and comfort versus pain and discomfort drive our behaviour

So much of what we do stems from anticipated comfort, pleasure or satisfaction, or relief from pain or discomfort.  So a really important target when trying to change behaviour is creating these anticipated feelings. We do this in lots of different ways, from rewarding and punishing behaviours, through prompting them to vividly imagine what may happen if they do the behaviour. Robert and Jamie continue their exploration of the updated COM-B model and the CACTIS tool to help create effective behaviour change interventions.
Want more? Check out our latest books:  
Energise: The Secrets Of Motivation: https://shorturl.at/bbA7y 
React: Harness Your Animal Brain: https://shorturl.at/yiFQ9  
Sign up to Robert’s Substack: https://robertwest100.substack.com/  
Subscribe to the UBC YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@unlockingbehaviourchange  

What makes us accept that changing our behaviour is a good idea?

As part of their exploration into the updated COM-B and the CACTIS tool, Robert and Jamie discuss one of the big reasons for changing behaviour: because people think it's a good idea! But there is so much to unpack here when it comes to how we can provoke behaviour change. Do we improve their capability by helping them truly understand the benefits of changing over the costs, or try to persuade them about the merits of change when they already know the facts? Or something else. And how do lotteries exploit the way we view likelihoods ...?
Want more? Check out our latest books:  
Energise: The Secrets Of Motivation: https://shorturl.at/bbA7y 
React: Harness Your Animal Brain: https://shorturl.at/yiFQ9  
Sign up to Robert’s Substack: https://robertwest100.substack.com/  
Subscribe to the UBC YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@unlockingbehaviourchange