#33: Our Undivided Attention

Adding an extra dose of behavioral science to your week with our series In a Nutshell— a collection of behavioral science principles, explained in 150 words or less, written weekly by CUBIC director Allison Zelkowitz.

Think back to the last time you visited your bank, doctor or dentist’s office. Did you see informational posters or leaflets? What did they say?

What – you have no idea?

One principle that behavioral science teaches is that it’s wise to assume that people are paying much less attention to our programs, materials, trainings, and emails than we’d like them to. For example, in one observational study in fast food restaurants, only 6 (0.1%) of the 4311 customers looked at a nutritional poster or leaflet.

Human attention is extremely limited – we focus on one thing at a time and neglect everything else. Even multitaskers are just shifting their attention quickly from one area to another. So gaining someone’s attention is often the first, most overlooked piece of any behavior change intervention, and one reason information or messages alone usually don’t lead to change – it’s likely many people never noticed them.