How to motivate people to do good for others | Erez Yoeli

翻译人员: Ying Lu 校对人员: jacks peng

How can we get people to do more good,

我们要如何激励人们多行善事，

to go to the polls, give to charity, conserve resources,

参与民意调查，投身慈善事业，保护资源，

or even to do something as simple as washing their mugs at work

或者只是在工作中清洗 自己的马克杯这种小事，

so that the sink isn't always full of dirty dishes?

从而避免水槽堆满用过的餐具？

(Laughter)

（笑声）

(Applause)

（掌声）

When I first started working on this problem,

我第一次面对这个难题时，

I collaborated with a power company

是在与一家电力公司合作，

to recruit customers for a program that prevents blackouts

招募在用电高峰期通过节能

by reducing energy demand during peaks.

来避免停电的项目的用户。

The program is based on a tried-and-true technology.

该项目基于一个行之有效的技术，

It's one the Obama administration even called

甚至被奥巴马政府称为

"the cornerstone to modernizing America's electrical grid."

“铸造美国现代电网的基石。”

But, like so many great technological solutions,

但是，与其他众多技术解决方案类似，

it has a key weakness:

它也有一个致命弱点：

people.

人。

People need to sign up.

需要让人们注册。

To try to get people to sign up, the power company sent them a nice letter,

为了吸引人们注册，电力公司 寄出了一封措辞动人的信,

told them about all the program's benefits,

告诉人们项目的一切好处，

and it asked them to call into a hotline if they were interested.

并让有兴趣的人拨打电话热线。

Those letters went out,

信件寄出去后，

but the phones, they were silent.

热线却无人问津。

So when we got involved, we suggested one small change.

因此我们在参与项目后， 提议了一个小的改动。

Instead of that hotline,

与其用热线电话，

we suggested that they use sign-up sheets that they'd post near the mailboxes

我们建议他们去居民住宅区的邮箱旁边

in people's buildings.

张贴注册表单。

This tripled participation.

这招让参与人数涨到了三倍。

Why?

为什么会这样？

Well, we all know people care deeply about what others think of them,

众所周知，人们非常在意 其他人如何看自己，

that we try to be seen as generous and kind,

我们希望被认为慷慨大方和善良，

and we try to avoid being seen as selfish or a mooch.

而非自私自利或者爱贪小便宜。

Whether we are aware of it or not, this is a big part of why people do good,

不管是否认同，这的确是 人们做善行的很大一部分原因，

and so small changes that give people more credit for doing good,

所以细微的改变就能让 人们更乐意参与善行，

those changes can make a really big difference.

这些改变可以带来很大的不同。

Small changes like switching from a hotline,

像换掉热线电话这样细微的改变，

where nobody will ever find out about your good deed,

从无人知晓你的善行，

to a sign-up sheet

到别人只要路过

where anyone who walks by can see your name.

就能看到有你名字的注册表单。

In our collaborations with governments, nonprofits, companies,

在我们与政府、非盈利组织 和公司的合作中，

when we're trying to get people to do more good,

当我们想让人们实施更多善行时，

we harness the power of reputations.

就会利用声誉的力量。

And we have a simple checklist for this.

并且我们有一个超简清单。

And in fact, you already know the first item on that checklist.

事实上，你们已经知道 清单上第一条是什么。

It's to increase observability,

那就是提升可观察性，

to make sure people find out about good deeds.

确保人们会发现这些善行。

Now, wait a minute, I know some of you are probably thinking,

稍等一下，我知道你们当中有人在想，

there's no way people here thought,

人们不可能想，

“噢，好吧，既然我的 善行得到了赞誉，

"Oh, well, now that I'm getting credit for my good deed,

现在完全值了。“

now it's totally worth it."

And you're right.

没错。

Usually, people don't.

通常，人们不会这样想。

Rather, when they're making decisions in private,

事实上，当人们私下做决定时，

they worry about their own problems,

他们更关注自己现有的问题，

about what to put on the table for dinner or how to pay their bills on time.

例如晚上吃什么或者 如何按时支付账单。

But, when we make their decision more observable,

但是，当我们让人们的决定 可以被人观察到时，

they start to attend more to the opportunity to do good.

他们就会开始参与更多慈善活动。

In other words, what's so powerful about our approach

换句话说，我们的方式之所以有效

is that it could turn on people's existing desire to do good,

是因为将人们已有的欲望 实践到做好事中，

in this case, to help to prevent a blackout.

在这个案例中，就是避免停电。

Back to observability.

回到可观察性的话题。

I want to give you another example.

我想说说另一个例子。

This one is from a collaboration

这是关于与某非盈利机构

with a nonprofit that gets out the vote,

合作来获取投票的例子，

and it does this by sending hundreds of thousands of letters every election

每次选举，此机构都会 发送数十万封信

in order to remind people and try to motivate them to go to the polls.

来提醒和鼓励人们进行民调投票。

We suggested adding the following sentence:

我们建议其添加下面一句话：

"Someone may call you to find out about your experience at the polls."

“有人可能会打电话了解 你在民调中的经历。”

This sentence makes it feel more observable when you go to the polls,

这句话让你觉得参与民调 会获取更多的关注，

and it increased the effect of the letter by 50 percent.

这让信件的效果提升了50%。

Making the letter more effective reduced the cost of getting an additional vote

提升信件的效果也将 额外投票所需的花费

从70美金降到了40美金。

from 70 dollars down to about 40 dollars.

Observability has been used to do things

可观察性已经被运用于很多方面，

like get people to donate blood more frequently

例如通过在当地报纸列举献血者的名字

by listing the names of donors on local newsletters,

来吸引人们更常去献血，

or to pay their taxes on time

或者通过在公共网站上 公布未按时缴税名单

by listing the names of delinquents on a public website.

来督促人们按时缴税。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

What about this example?

那这个例子呢？

Toyota got hundreds of thousands of people to buy a more fuel-efficient car

丰田通过凸显普锐斯（Prius）的与众不同

by making the Prius so unique ...

吸引了数十万人来购买 这款更省油的车…

(Laughter)

（笑声）

that their good deed was observable from a mile away.

他们的善行在一英里外就能看得见。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Alright, so observability is great,

所以可观察性是非常有效的，

but we all know, we've all seen

但是我们都知道，我们都见过有人

people walk by an opportunity to do good.

对能做善行的机会视而不见。

They'll see somebody asking for money on the sidewalk

遇到路边有人要钱时

and they'll pull out their phones and look really busy,

他们会拿出手机假装很忙，

或去博物馆的时候 华丽丽的错过捐赠箱。

or they'll go to the museum and they'll waltz right on by the donation box.

Imagine it's the holiday season

假设在节日期间，

and you're going to the supermarket, and there's a Salvation Army volunteer,

你要去超市，遇到一个救世军志愿者，

他正在摇铃铛。

and he's ringing his bell.

A few years ago, researchers in San Diego

数年前，圣地亚哥的研究者们

teamed up with a local chapter from the Salvation Army

与当地的一个救世军教堂合作，

to try to find ways to increase donations.

以寻求获取更多捐款的方式。

What they found was kind of funny.

他们得到了一个有趣的结论。

When the volunteer stood in front of just one door,

当志愿者站在一扇门前，

people would avoid giving by going out the other door.

人们会避开他从另一扇门通过。

Why?

为什么？

Well, because they can always claim, "Oh, I didn't see the volunteer,"

因为他们有托辞： “噢，我没看到志愿者。”

or, "I wanted to get something from over there,"

或者，“我想去那边找东西。”

或者，“我车停在那边。”

or, "That's where my car is."

In other words, there's lots of excuses.

换句话说，他们有各种各样的借口。

And that brings us to the second item on our checklist:

这时，我们就需要看看清单上的第二条：

to eliminate excuses.

消除借口。

In the case of the Salvation Army,

拿救世军的例子来看，

eliminating excuses just means standing in front of both doors,

去除借口的方式就是同时站在两扇门前，

and sure enough, when they did this,

毫无悬念，当他们这样做时，

donations rose.

捐款数目就开始上升了。

But that's when things got kind of funny,

但同时事情也开始变得有点意思了，

even funnier.

甚至说更有意思了。

The researchers were out in the parking lot,

当研究者在停车场外面，

and they were counting people as they came in and out of the store,

他们开始计算进出商店的人数，

and they noticed that when the volunteers stood in front of both doors,

他们发现当志愿者们站在两扇门前时，

people stopped coming out of the store at all.

人们压根就不出来了。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Obviously, they were surprised by this, so they decided to look into it further,

显然，他们很诧异， 因此决定一探究竟，

and that's when they found that there was actually a third, smaller utility door

结果发现商店还有第三个很小的杂物门，

usually used to take out the recycling --

往常是用来处理资源回收的通道——

(Laughter)

（笑声）

and now people were going out that door in order to avoid the volunteers.

现在人们为了躲避志愿者， 转而从那个门出去了。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

This teaches us an important lesson though.

这给我们上了重要的一课。

When we're trying to eliminate excuses, we need to be very thorough,

当我们想要消除借口时， 一定要考虑周到，

because people are really creative in making them.

因为人们都太有创造力了。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Alright, I want to switch to a setting

好的，我想转换到一个

where excuses can have deadly consequences.

借口会导致致命后果的场景中。

What if I told you that the world's deadliest infectious disease has a cure,

如果我告诉你世界上 最可怕的传染病可治愈，

in fact, that it's had one for 70 years,

事实上，70年前就有了，

a good one, one that works almost every time?

一个几乎每次都有效的 方法，你觉得如何？

It's incredible, but it's true.

听上去不可思议，但是千真万确。

The disease is tuberculosis.

这个疾病就是结核病。

It infects some 10 million people a year,

每年有1000万人感染，

and it kills almost two million of them.

其中几乎有200万人死亡。

Like the blackout prevention program, we've got the solution.

就像避免停电的项目， 我们也有解决方案。

The problem is people.

问题在于人。

People need to take their medication

人们需要服药

so that they're cured,

才能康复，

and so that they don't get other people sick.

而且不会传染给其他人。

For a few years now, we've been collaborating

最近几年，我们与一个

with a mobile health startup called Keheala

移动健康创业公司Keheala合作

to support TB patients as they undergo treatment.

来帮助结核病患者接受治疗。

Now, you have to understand, TB treatment, it's really tough.

你一定要了解结核病的 治疗是非常难的。

We're talking about taking a really strong antibiotic

具体点说，在6个月甚至是 更长时间里，每天都要

every single day for six months or more.

服用一款药效很强的抗生素。

That antibiotic is so strong that it will make you feel sick.

这款抗生素药效强到 会让你感觉很难受，

It will make you feel nauseous and dizzy.

让你感到恶心和头晕，

It will make your pee turn funny colors.

并会让你的小便呈现奇怪颜色。

It's also a problem because you have to go back to the clinic

你还要每周回到诊所领取

about every week in order to get more pills,

更多的药片，这也是个问题，

and in sub-Saharan Africa or other places where TB is common,

在撒哈拉周边的非洲或 结核病常见的其他地方，

now you're talking about going someplace pretty far,

就等于要去一个很远的地方，

taking tough and slow public transport,

乘坐非常不便且速度极慢的交通工具，

maybe the clinic is inefficient.

又或者诊所效率极低。

So now you're talking about taking a half day off of work every week

进一步说，就是每周要从 根本不敢轻易丢掉的

from a job you desperately can't afford to lose.

工作中请假半天。

It's even worse when you consider the fact that there's a terrible stigma,

当考虑到患病是一个耻辱的 事实时情况会更糟，

因为你不想让人发现你得病了。

and you desperately don't want people to find that you have the disease.

Some of the toughest stories we hear are actually from women

我们听说过最令人痛心的 故事来自这样一些女人，

who, in these places where domestic violence can be kind of common,

家庭暴力对她们而言就是家常便饭，

they tell us that they have to hide it from their husbands

她们提到自己的丈夫会追到诊所，

所以她们不得不东躲西藏。

that they're coming to the clinic.

So it's no surprise that people don't complete treatment.

这样一来，人们无法 完成治疗也就不足为奇了。

Can our approach really help them?

我们的方式真的能帮助他们吗？

我们真能让她们 坚持完成治疗吗？

Can we really get them to stick it out?

Yeah.

是的。

Every day, we text patients to remind them to take their medication,

每天我们都会给患者 发信息提醒他们服药，

but if we stopped there,

但如果仅仅止步于此，

there'd be lots of excuses.

他们就会有很多的借口。

"Well, I didn't see the text."

“我没看到信息啊。”

Or, "You know, I saw the text, but then I totally forgot,

或者，“其实我看到了信息， 但之后我就忘了，

手机一放，我就忘得一干二净了。”

put the phone down and I just forgot about it."

Or, "I lent the phone out to my mom."

又或者，“我把手机借我妈了。”

We have to eliminate these excuses

我们要消除这些借口，

and we do that by asking patients

于是我们要求患者

to log in and verify that they've taken their medication.

登录并确认他们已服用药品。

If they don't log in, we text them again.

如果他们没有登录， 我们会再次发消息提醒。

If they don't log in, we text them yet again.

如果他们还没登录，我们再接着发消息。

If, after three times, they still haven't verified,

如果在三次之后，他们还没有确认，

we notify a team of supporters

我们会通知支持组队员，

and that team will call and text them

他们会打电话和发送消息，

to try to get them back on the wagon.

让患者回归治疗。

No excuses.

任何借口都没用。

Our approach, which, admittedly, uses all sorts of behavioral techniques,

需要承认，我们的方式 是运用各种行为技巧，

including, as you've probably noticed, observability,

包括你可能已经了解的可观察性，

it was very effective.

这的确非常有效。

Patients without access to our platform

没登录我们平台的病人

were three times more likely not to complete treatment.

无法完成治疗的概率高出3倍。

Alright,

好的，

you've increased observability,

你已经提升了可观察性，

you've eliminated excuses,

你已经消除了所有借口，

but there's still a third thing you need to be aware of.

但仍有第三件事情要注意。

If you've been to Washington, DC or Japan or London,

如果你去过华盛顿特区、日本或伦敦，

you know that metro riders there

你会意识到人们乘坐自动扶梯时，

will be very careful to stand on the right-hand side of the escalator

通常都小心翼翼地站在右侧，

so that people can go by on the left.

以便让人们在左侧通行。

But unfortunately, not everywhere is that the norm,

但遗憾的是，并不是所有地方 都有这种约定俗成的规矩，

and there's plenty of places where you can just stand on both sides

在很多地方你可以站在任何一侧，

于是就阻挡了人们在扶梯上的通行。

and block the escalator.

Obviously, it's better for others

很显然，我们站在右侧，

when we stand on the right and let them go by,

将左边空间腾出来给大家 通行是更好的方式，

but we're only expected to do that some places.

但也仅能期望在某些地方实现。

This is a general phenomenon.

这是一个普遍现象。

Sometimes we're expected to do good

有时我们期望能做善事，

and sometimes not,

但有时则不，

and it means that people are really sensitive to cues

这意味着人们在某个特定场景下

that they're expected to do good in a particular situation,

做善事需要特别的提醒，

which brings us to the third and final item on our checklist:

这也引出我们清单上的 第三条，也是最后一条：

to communicate expectations,

去传达你的期待，

to tell people,

去告诉人们，

"Do the good deed right now."

“现在立刻做善行。”

Here's a simple way to communicate expectations;

分享一个简单的传达期待的方式；

simply tell them, "Hey, everybody else is doing the good deed."

直接告诉他们，“其他人都在做善事。”

The company Opower sends people in their electricity bill

Opower公司向人们发送电费账单时，

a small insert that compares their energy consumption

附上了与拥有相似大小房子的

with that of people with similarly sized homes.

其他家庭的耗能对比信息。

And when people find out that their neighbors are using less electricity,

当人们发现周围的邻居 消耗更少的电时，

they start to consume less.

他们也开始节能。

That same approach, it's been used to get people to vote or give to charity

同理，这种方法也可以用来 吸引人们投票或捐款，

or even reuse their towels in hotels.

或者在宾馆提升毛巾的重用率。

What about this one?

我再来说一个。

Here's another way to communicate expectations;

的确还有别的方式来传达期待；

simply do it by saying, "Do the good deed" just at the right time.

在合适的时候坦诚告知“做善行”。

What about this one?

这个怎么样？

This ticker reframes

这个小装饰

the kind of mundane task of turning off the lights

将随手关灯的小事转变成了

and turns it instead into an environmental contribution.

为保护环境做贡献。

The bottom line is, lots of different ways to do this,

归根结底，有很多 不同的方式来做这件事，

lots of ways to communicate expectations.

有各种不同的方式来传达期待。

Just don't forget to do it.

只需要牢记这一点。

And that's it.

仅此而已。

That's our checklist.

这就是我们的清单。

Many of you are working on problems with important social consequences,

你们当中很多人都致力于 解决重要的社会问题，

and sometimes you might need to motivate people to do more good.

有时你们需要激励人们做善行。

The tools you learned today can help you with this.

今天你学到的将会有所帮助。

And these tools, they don't require that you raise additional funds

这些方式并不需要你投入额外的资金，

or that you develop any more fancy technologies.

或者发明眼花缭乱的高科技。

They just require harnessing reputations

它们只需利用好的声誉，

by increasing observability, eliminating excuses

通过提升可观察性，消除借口，

and communicating expectations.

以及传达期待。

Thank you.

谢谢大家。

(Applause)

（掌声）