The Power of Temptation
I was a little giddy when the first copies of How to Change were slipped through my mail slot in mid-April. See if you can spot the newest items on my shelf below (hint: be on the lookout for both the US and UK book spines!).
Today, I’m incredibly excited to share an exclusive sneak peek at the introduction of How to Change. I hope it will whet your appetite for more!
I’ll ping you again on May 4th (publication day!) as a reminder, but I’m hoping you’ll help me make the book’s launch a big splash by:
Pre-ordering your copy now.
Telling everyone you know why you’re excited about the book and encouraging others to pre-order it, too. Here are some graphics you can use on social media if you’d like.
Joining one or more of the events on my virtual book tour and inviting friends to come along. I’ll be making a few stops at universities (naturally) as well as popping by San Francisco’s Commonwealth Club with Charles Duhigg. See the full schedule below.
Other Recommended Reading
While I’m on the topic of books, I want to excite you about two more behavioral science books that will be released next month. These recommended reads are by brilliant scientists whose work has influenced my thinking immensely, and I’ve had the good fortune to pore over early copies of both terrific books. I strongly encourage you to pick these titles up along with How to Change for a marvelously enlightening May.
Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment by Daniel Kahneman, Oliver Sibony and Cass Sunstein. This fabulously cerebral book explains why the unreliability of our judgment can be a bigger problem than bias. Reading it will change the way you think.
Influence, New and Expanded: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini. This is simply the best book on what influences our decisions, and a new, expanded version with 220 fresh pages of insights is about to be released. (Be sure to order the hardcover so you’ll get the new edition!)
Instead of My Usual Q+A: Dan Ariely on Temptation Bundling
Dan Ariely is a professor of psychology and behavioral economics at Duke University and the best-selling author of Predictably Irrational. When I interviewed Dan for Choiceology, he described a technique he used to solve a problem years ago. As he spoke, I immediately recognized his technique as temptation bundling. I’m breaking from the traditional Q+A format of past newsletters to share Dan’s story.
Dan: I was badly burned many years ago and in the hospital for a very long time. In life, we all have to reward ourselves for things we think are the right thing to do but aren’t fun in the moment. And if you're a burn patient, there are lots of things to reward yourself for: bath treatment, wearing pressure bandages, and so on.
But the real test of self-control came quite a few years after I was originally injured. I got Hepatitis C from a bad blood transfusion when I was in the hospital. Later, when I was in grad school, I was feeling badly so checked myself into the hospital and they asked if I wanted to join a treatment — the FDA was testing a combination of two medications for Hepatitis C.
I agreed to the trial, but the problem was that every time I took the medication I had a headache, I was vomiting and shaking, I had a fever, and all kinds of other nasty side effects — it was miserable. Imagine you come back from work and you open your refrigerator and you have all these needles filled with medication. If you take one, you'll certainly have a miserable night. But if you don't take it, you might die a painful death 30 years from now. That was my dilemma, and I had to take these injections three times a week for a year and a half.
When I went for my final checkup and my final liver biopsy, my physician was very happy that I beat the disease. They told me I was the only patient who took the medication every time.
Now the question is: What was it about me that made me succeed while others didn’t? You could say maybe I have better self-control or maybe I like my liver more than the others. But neither of those is true.
What happened was that I created a system for myself based on my love of movies. If had time, I would watch lots and lots of movies, but I didn't have much time. So my idea was that on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, first thing in the morning, I'd go to the video store (at that time there were still video stores) and rent a few videos. I carried them in my backpack all day. Then I would come home, I would put the video in, I would inject myself, and I would start watching the video. The important thing was that I connected the injection itself with something I wanted.
That experience was very important, because livers are really important. And while I love movies, I would give up all the movies in the world for my liver. But on a day-to-day level, forcing myself to take that medication was really hard to do. And what we know is that long-term rewards are just not enough to compel people to act in their best interest. So we have to determine what else can get us to behave as if we care about our livers or whatever other long-term goals we have.
I love this story because Dan created a temptation bundle for himself. He paired something he dreaded doing that had large, long-term benefits with a short-term pleasure. And that made taking care of what mattered most a lot easier. You can learn more about temptation bundling in How to Change or in the episode of Choiceology where Dan shared this story.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
That’s all for this month. See you in May (on pub day)!
Katy Milkman, PhD
Professor at Wharton, host of Choiceology, an original podcast from Charles Schwab, and author of How to Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be