CUBIC x UPENN Students Design Challenge 2023
CUBIC, along with Save the Children Spain, spent February to May 2023 working with the students at the University of Pennsylvania’s Master of Behavioral and Decision Science program as part of their Capstone Design Challenge.
Online gender-based violence against high school students is a grave concern in Spain with devastating impacts for victims. A systematic review found that 57.5% of adolescents were subject to cyberbullying victimization in Spain – the highest of all the countries included in the study (Zhu et al., 2021). We sought a solution to encourage action by adolescent bystanders of online violence. The design challenge: How can we encourage adolescents (15-18 years old) in Spain to speak up and report acts of online gender-based violence?
Guided by Alejandra Leyton (CUBIC), Augustina Dellasanta and Michelle Katherine Quintero Diaz (SC Spain), the brilliant team of two students, Darcie Piechowski and Mai Nguyen, went above and beyond with their final submission. They provided 7 different interventions utilizing behavioral science, accompanied by skillful visuals. The interventions targeted the behavioral barriers that contribute to being a bystander of online violence and enablers that can help reduce online violence: overcoming inertia, resetting norms, re-evaluating inaction, and creating commitment. These interventions leverage social media to promote awareness of online violence and how to recognize it, foster inclusive online communities, encourage and establish a higher standard for positive digital interactions, and above all, embolden upstanders.
Let’s dive into the behavioral science behind these interventions.
Breaking down barriers to being an upstander
Overcoming inertia: For adolescents who do not know what to do or where to start
Materials: Upstander Cheat Sheet (linked below) and Social Media Video Challenge, where students create videos (could be dancing, singing, talking etc.) with their ideas on how to stand up against online gender-based violence to spread awareness.
BeSci: Following the EAST framework (Easy, Attractive, Social, Timely), this intervention presents the Action Cheat Sheet with 5 simple steps and easily digestible wording, makes it easily accessible (by proposing to print physical posters and QR code stickers, as well as share this on social media), and utilizes attractive graphics. The Social Media Challenge harnesses social media to show others what most people do and should do when confronted with online violence. This educates and encourages others to do the same in a similar situation. To make this intervention timely, the video challenge could prompt viewers to identify their barriers to action and develop a specific plan to address them.
Resetting norms: For adolescents who believe doing nothing is the norm
Materials: Upstander Spotlights - Request and post stories from adolescents who are willing to share their experience being an upstander or being positively affected by an upstander.
BeSci: Adolescents are eager to fit in. This approach provides role modeling and challenges the belief that their peers do nothing when they witness cyber bullying, resetting their normative expectations, the beliefs about what others think we should do.
Re-evaluating inaction: For adolescents who believe doing nothing is a better choice
Materials: Inaction Infographic (linked below)
BeSci: Bringing awareness to consequences of inaction helps adolescents to overcome omission bias.
Enabling adolescents to be upstanders
Creating commitment: For adolescents who say it is right to act, but don’t end up taking action
Materials: Public Pledge - A pledge is started with themes around being an upstander. People can post the pledge and/or comment with their account name and repeat the pledge as a way to publicly “sign”.
BeSci: People have a tendency to want to act in accordance with their public statements. This is a form of a commitment device, which has been shown to help people form healthy habits and perform desirable behaviors. Studies have shown that by simply writing down a commitment or telling a commitment to someone else, the individual was more likely to stick to it, compared to not sharing it with others or concretely jotting it down.
Darcie and Mai’s proposals will contribute to an upcoming communication campaign that will be launched in Spain next year.