Tweak the Environment

Tweak the Environment changes behaviour by redesigning the situation in which it occurs. A cue, default, tool, layout or process step can make the desired action easier and the unwanted action less convenient, reducing dependence on memory and willpower.

When to use it

• Investigate a repeated behaviour problem before describing it as an attitude problem.
• Remove small practical barriers that create disproportionate non-compliance.
• Make a desired action easier to start or complete.
• Create defaults and cues that support a change consistently.

Origins

The method is the “shape the Path” element of Chip and Dan Heath’s Switch approach. It translates a broad finding from behavioural and social psychology into change practice: behaviour is strongly influenced by the immediate situation. Altering friction, defaults, visibility and cues can change action even when motivation and knowledge remain constant.

What it is

An environmental tweak modifies the context around a target behaviour. It might relocate a tool to the point of use, shorten a form, pre-fill known information, remove a queue, change a room arrangement, add a visible prompt or block an easy route to the old behaviour.

The intervention is often small, but it should be causally specific. The question is not how to make the environment generally more attractive; it is which feature currently prompts, obstructs or rewards the behaviour in question.