Why willpower alone doesn’t work
Show notes
Three thousand years ago, Odysseus tied himself to a mast to resist the Sirens.
He didn't trust his willpower, so he removed the choice entirely.
Today, Owain Service, co-founder of the Behavioural Insights Team and CEO at CogCo, calls that a commitment device.
And modern evidence shows it works for everything from saving money to staying married.
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Today’s sources:
Asch, S. E. (1951). Effects of group pressure upon the modification and distortion of judgment. In H. Guetzkow (Ed.), Groups, leadership and men (pp. 177–190). Carnegie Press.
Ashraf, N., Karlan, D., & Yin, W. (2006). Tying Odysseus to the mast: Evidence from a commitment savings product in the Philippines. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 121(2), 635–672.
Behavioural Insights Team. (2013). New BIT trial results: helping people back into work. https://www.bi.team/blogs/new-bit-trial-results-helping-people-back-into-work/
Gollwitzer, P. M., & Brandstätter, V. (1997). Implementation intentions and effective goal pursuit. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73(1), 186–199.
Gollwitzer, P. M., & Sheeran, P. (2006). Implementation intentions and goal achievement: A meta-analysis of effects and processes. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 38, 69–119.
Milkman, K. (2021). How to change: The science of getting from where you are to where you want to be. Portfolio/Penguin.
Olson, R. (2014, October 10). What makes for a stable marriage. http://www.randalolson.com/2014/10/10/what-makes-for-a-stable-marriage/
Read, D., Loewenstein, G., & Kalyanaraman, S. (1999). Mixing virtue and vice: Combining the immediacy effect and the diversification heuristic. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 12(4), 257–273.
Service, O., & Gallagher, R. (2017). Think small: The surprisingly simple ways to reach big goals. Michael O'Mara Books.