How can we make people more mindful of their poor decisions?
Let’s take an example, the global catastrophe that is the overuse of antibiotics. This has become a huge problem in the last several years. In both the UK and the US over half of antibiotic prescriptions are inappropriate and likely ineffective. In order to prevent the growth of antibiotic resistance and fatal, untreatable infections, we all need to cut our use of antibiotics dramatically.
Our latest article published by The Marketing Society looks at how behavioural economics can help us to reduce our use of antibiotics.
A team of behavioural scientists in California recently tested a number of simple, behavioural science-inspired interventions aimed at getting doctors to reduce their prescriptions of antibiotics. Two of these interventions were astoundingly successful, demonstrating the considerable power of behavioural science.
Whilst we should never neglect or dismiss other ways of changing behaviour such as regulation or policy change, when simple, low cost messaging can lead to such significant changes in behaviour, behavioural science is an indisputably useful tool.