Motivation & Behaviour Change

Watch

• The psychology of self-motivation | Scott Geller | TEDxVirginiaTech ↗TEDx Talks
• The Secret to Understanding Humans | Larry C. Rosen | TEDxsalinas ↗TEDx Talks
• Change Your Life – One Tiny Step at a Time ↗Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell
• OB | Organisational behaviour | Organisational behaviour definition,organizational behavior, mba bba ↗DWIVEDI GUIDANCE

Read

• Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness ↗Discover how subtle changes in "choice architecture" can steer individuals towards better decisions without restricting freedom, a cornerstone of applied behavioural economics.Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein
• Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones ↗A practical guide to understanding and implementing the small, incremental changes that compound into significant behavioural shifts, essential for personal and organisational improvement.James Clear
• Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us ↗Challenge conventional wisdom on motivation by exploring the power of autonomy, mastery, and purpose in driving performance and satisfaction beyond mere external rewards.Daniel H. Pink
• Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion ↗Unpack the six universal principles of persuasion that underpin effective communication and behavioural influence, crucial for anyone seeking to understand or effect change.Robert Cialdini
• Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral changeDelve into the seminal theory that posits an individual's belief in their capacity to execute behaviours as a powerful determinant of motivation and action.Albert Bandura

Voices to follow

• Angela Duckworth ↗Her research on 'grit' and self-control offers compelling insights into the psychological underpinnings of sustained achievement.Professor of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania
• James Clear ↗His 'Atomic Habits' provides a widely adopted, practical framework for understanding and engineering behavioural change through small, consistent actions.Author and speaker on habits and decision-making
• Cass Sunstein ↗As a co-architect of 'nudge theory', he illuminates how subtle environmental design can steer individual choices towards more beneficial outcomes.Professor of Law, Harvard University; co-author of 'Nudge'
• Carol Dweck ↗Her influential work on 'mindset' demonstrates how fundamental beliefs about one's abilities profoundly shape motivation and resilience.Professor of Psychology, Stanford University

Glossary

• Behaviour ChangeBehaviour change is the process of modifying or altering how you act or react in certain situations. It involves consciously choosing to adopt new habits or stop old ones. For example, deciding to start exercising regularly after school is an example of behaviour change.
• Extrinsic MotivationExtrinsic motivation is when you do something to get an external reward or avoid a punishment. The drive comes from outside yourself, like grades, money, or praise. For example, you might clean your room to earn your allowance, which is an external reward.
• Goal SettingGoal setting is the process of deciding what you want to achieve and planning how you'll get there. It gives you a clear target to work towards. For example, setting a goal to finish your science project by Friday means you've decided what to do and when.
• HabitA habit is an action you do regularly and almost automatically, often without thinking much about it. It's something your brain has learned to do on its own. For example, brushing your teeth every morning is a habit because you do it without much effort or conscious decision.
• Intrinsic MotivationIntrinsic motivation is when you do something because you genuinely enjoy it or find it personally satisfying, not because of an external reward. The activity itself is the reward. For example, you might read a book just because you love stories, not because you have to for school.
• MotivationMotivation is the reason or drive that makes you want to do something, whether it's studying hard or playing a sport. It's the 'why' behind your actions. For example, your motivation to study for a test might be to get good grades and understand the subject better.
• ProcrastinationProcrastination is the act of delaying or putting off tasks that need to be done, often until the last minute. It's when you know you should do something but choose to do something else instead. For example, instead of starting your essay, you might procrastinate by scrolling through social media or watching videos.
• RewardA reward is something good you get or experience after doing a specific action, which makes you more likely to repeat that action. It can be a prize, praise, or a good feeling. For example, if your parents give you extra screen time for finishing your homework early, that's a reward.
• Self-EfficacySelf-efficacy is your belief in your own ability to succeed at a task or achieve a goal. It's about how confident you feel about handling challenges. For example, if you believe you can learn a new dance move with practice, you have high self-efficacy for dancing.
• WillpowerWillpower is the mental strength you use to control your impulses, resist temptations, and stick to your decisions, even when it's difficult. It helps you push through challenges. For example, using your willpower, you might choose to study for an exam instead of playing video games, even though you really want to play.

Threads 6

Where this connects to other fields, and why it's worth knowing.

• Non-Western Philosophy Philosophy

  Ancient Daoist thinkers praised 'wu wei,' meaning action so smooth it feels effortless, like you're not even trying. Centuries later psychologists studying peak performance found the same state and called it 'flow.' The best moments often come from getting out of your own way, an idea two very different worlds landed on separately.

• Organizational Design & People Business

  Give people a number to hit and they'll chase the number, not the real goal behind it; pay a call center by call length and workers rush customers off the phone. Psychologists keep rediscovering this: reward schemes warp the very behavior they're trying to encourage. Aim at a target and you often hit something you didn't want.

• Corporate Finance Business

  Finance treats the future with a smooth, steady discount, so a spreadsheet weighs next year calmly. Human brains don't; we crave the reward right now and shrug off later, a lopsided 'hyperbolic' curve. That math gap is the real reason we blow off the gym while a calculator never procrastinates.

• Censorship & Banned Books Literature

  Tell someone they can't read a book and suddenly everyone wants it. Your mind has a rebellious reflex called 'reactance': block an idea and we lunge toward it. So a banned book gets a thrilling, forbidden glow, a free gift of hype that the censor accidentally handed it.

• Climate Change Science

  Your brain treats a reward far in the future as almost worthless, which is why studying tonight for an exam next month feels impossible. Now scale that up: a climate disaster decades away feels weightless to whole societies, so we put it off. Countries procrastinate on climate for the exact same brain-glitch reason you procrastinate on saving money.

• Incentives & Rational Choice Economics

  Economics says pay people more and they'll do more of something. But offer cash for donating blood and donations can actually drop. The money crowds out the good feeling of giving, replacing a generous act with a cheap transaction. Sometimes a price tag kills the very motivation it was meant to boost.