How to save a life
The human brain loves to take shortcuts.
On a given day, it is bombarded with so many options that it would be quickly overwhelmed if it tried to make sense of all the information.
Therefore, when presented with multiple options, it will often take the path of least resistance.
This has a direct impact on our decision-making.
It makes us more likely to follow a default option or a previously recommended option. This seems like a relatively insignificant fact until we realise that other people could be designing our behaviour without us realising it.
For example, see how a simple form default resulted in Austria having more organ donors than most countries in the world.
Often, the person designing the form determines how it is filled out, not the person filling it in.
Governments appreciate this and can use the knowledge of defaults to motivate citizens to save lives with just the tick of a box.
Countries with an ‘opt-in’ box for organ donation have far fewer donors than those with an ‘opt-out’ box.
Next time you complete a form, see if you can spot this in action.
P.S. Here’s the brilliant Dan Ariely explaining the mechanics of organ donation in more detail.
