A design tool for ‘behaviour placement’
My major design project is a tool that helps creative professionals place positive behaviour into mass media. After much primary and secondary research, I have designed a set of issue cards accompanied by a visual outline, packaged as a tool called Place it!. The target audience for this tool includes professionals that write for television, stage and screen; advertising copywriters; directors; producers; art and set directors; and advertising and marketing executives.
Background. The focus of my research is how we can better communicate sustainability to the public. My major project builds on a previous project for the MA course that argues storytelling is a better way to communicate sustainability than authoritative approaches. Authoritative schemes, such as campaigns by governments that inform the public of the best course of action for society, tend to be more common. However these schemes rely on a self-interest driver that is present with issues such as personal health, but generally not present for environmental sustainability—where our actions are not likely to hurt ourselves, but rather those that come after us.
The science. Behavioural science teaches that humans learn by observing others. Stories give us a safe space within which to observe others in action, and help shape our idea of acceptable behaviour. In addition, neuroscience confirms that we are hard-wired to learn through narratives, as they are a primary way that we analyse information, accept new ideas, and develop new behaviours. Research using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) technology shows that the human brain creates stories to order complex information. Narrative is therefore an essential tool, allowing the mind to make sense of the world, especially when faced with the complexities of logic versus emotion. Indeed, morality tales and other stories are universal, with common themes appearing throughout history and in different parts of the world.
Harnessing the power of storytelling for social good, the field of public health pioneered what is called ‘entertainment education’—the creation of stories with the explicit intention of influencing behaviour—more than 30 years ago. For example, in 2005 Health Unlimited (a British NGO) established a campaign to reduce HIV/AIDS infections by increasing public awareness and discussion of its causes and consequences. A central part of the strategy was to create a serial radio soap opera set in a fictional Rwandan village, with the programme airing two nights a week. The drama format allowed writers to connect with the audience using familiar characters, storylines and humor to deliver relevant and accurate information and show model behaviours. The campaign was a great success, with 74 per cent of Rwandans tuning into the show and a large portion reporting that the show increased their awareness and influenced personal decision-making regarding sexual health.
Behaviour placement. While entertainment education is a proven, powerful tool for behaviour change, audiences in developed nations are increasingly media savvy and therefore easily put off by overt attempts to communicate behaviour change. Given this reality, my project examines the idea of ‘behaviour placement’. Much like product placement in television and movies, behaviour placement involves writing positive behaviours into scenes. For example, a main character in a television series uses a car sharing service instead of owning a car, but this fact has nothing to do with the plot, which could be a romantic comedy or hospital drama. Regardless of the plot, a car sharing service suddenly seems like a normal way to get around.
As with product placement, behaviour placement can only be effective if actions and/or props are implicit rather than explicit; they must be portrayed as commonplace and not unusual. Placements should be subtle but unmistakable, and should not be topics of conversation or debate. As we learn by observing others, this subtle ‘social norm’ approach to communicating sustainability could reach those less inclined to act altruistically or more inclined to ignore authoritative communication approaches.
Designing the tool. After gathering primary information about how creative media professionals work (through surveys and interviews), as well as secondary data regarding sustainable behaviour, I created Place it!, a set of idea cards that feature: a brief description of an important sustainability issue; a list of possible settings specific to that issue; and examples of props, actions, and things to avoid appropriate regarding the issue. The issues are divided into five categories: waste, water, consumption, energy and transport.
The cards offer two types of behaviour placement: props and actions. Props are static items incorporated into the scene, and actions require a character to engage in a certain behaviour. For example, a prop for the issue of road vehicles (under the category of transport) would be an electric or hybrid car on the street, while an action would be a character driving or buying such a car.
There are two ways to search for appropriate behaviour placements in Place it!: by issue or by location. The board (which also serves as the packaging) displays an illustration that serves as a visual outline of modern life, to spark creativity, as well as a key to various locations. Each issue card features location icons appropriate to that issue. The six locations are: home, office, outdoors, shops and entertainment, connectors (area of transport, such as roads), industrial zone and school.
Along with the issue cards is a Scene Builder card that helps guide the behaviour placement process. It contains questions that help the user plan particular scenes, such as: “if placing a prop, will it be in a single scene or a recurring scene; if placing an action, would the behaviour be unusual for the character, and if so, how will you make it believable?; and, how can the behaviour be crafted to reach your target demographic?’
