Switch - Chip Heath [115]
Some research suggests that shrinking the change may provide a good game plan for building self-efficacy. Al Bandura and Dale Schunk tried to teach subtraction skills to elementary school kids who had been identified as having “gross deficits in arithmetic.” On an initial 25-question subtraction test, two-thirds of their kids got less than one problem correct. The researchers developed seven modules to teach key subtraction skills (such as how to borrow from the next column). Each module outlined a principle, gave two examples, and provided six pages of problems to be worked by the students. All kids were brought in for seven 30-minute, self-paced sessions with no coaching from a teacher. One group was given a big, distant goal of completing the seven modules by the end of the seventh session. Another group was given a close-by, shrink-the-change goal of completing one module during each session. On the final test, the proximal-goals group solved 81 percent of the problems, and the distal-goals groups solved only 45 percent. Later, after the study sessions were over, kids were given a free play period and two sets of exercises to entertain themselves—some subtraction problems and some “solve the code” puzzles. The kids with distant goals did only one subtraction problem on average. But the kids who built self-efficacy through proximal goals—even though they initially hated math just as much—solved fourteen subtraction problems on average during the free play period. Stretch goals (or BHAGs) may be fine when you already have strong self-efficacy. But Bandura and Shunk’s study suggests that when you’re building self-efficacy, you might want to shrink the change. See Albert Bandura and Dale H. Schunk (1981), “Cultivating Competence, Self-Efficacy, and Intrinsic Interest Through Proximal Self-Motivation,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 41, 586–598.
5-Minute Room Rescue. Check out http://www.flylady.net/pages/FLYFaq.asp (accessed December 17, 2008).
Personal finance guru Dave Ramsey. Dave Ramsey describes the Farrars’ situation and his debt-fighting techniques in Ramsey (2007), The Total Money Makeover, Nashville, Thomas Nelson. The Farrars’ story is on pp. 116–117. We’ve looked at a lot of financial plans by various gurus, and Ramsey’s strikes us as the most consistent with the psychological principles of change we review in Switch. Ramsey’s own experience is on page 3, and the “motivation is more important than math” quote is on p. 114.
Steve Kelman … procurement reform. See Steve Kelman (2005), Unleashing Change: A Study of Organizational Renewal in Government, Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press. Kelman disputes the classic assumption in the organizational change literature that people resist change. He argues that in many situations there is a pent-up demand for change that merely needs to be “unleashed” by top leaders; he makes a compelling—and inspiring—argument that this is the case. The chocolate-chip cookie milspecs is on p. 4. The “set other changes in motion” quote is on p. 83. The story of the credit card and past performance pledges is on pp. 82–88. The A grade from the Brookings Institution is on p. 4.
$320 billion in discetionary purchases. The dollar amount is from Kelman, Unleashing Change, p. 3. The comparison is from the Statistical Abstract of the United States, 2004–2005, Washington, DC; U.S. Census Bureau. Table 642 reports the 2002 output of “computer and electronic products