The “copycat nudge” is a type of behavioral hack where a person is more motivated to make a change if they learn a strategy or tip from someone they know.
Nudges are small ways of changing how a choice is presented with the goal of changing human behavior.
They’ve become a popular tool in psychology to help shape people’s choices on both an individual and group level, including being applied by businesses, governments, and non-profit organizations.
The big idea behind “nudges” is that you aren’t forcing people to change their behavior, but by changing how you present the choice you can influence human behavior in a significant and predictable way.
Nudges can also be looked at from a self-improvement perspective. I’ve written before about the power of nudges to change our habits. That article is a comprehensive overview of all the most popular nudges and how you can apply them to your daily routine (I also dedicated a whole chapter to nudges in my book Small Habits, Big Changes).
Nudges are a great framework for looking at human behavior, because often there are multiple factors that can influence any one decision. But by seeing all the various factors as “nudges” you can amplify the likelihood that you will follow through on a new behavior or new habit.
Let me teach you about a newly discovered nudge that I’m calling the “copycat nudge.”
The Copypcat Nudge: Doing What Others Do
New nudges are still being discovered, researched, and developed every day. One new nudge is the “copycat nudge” (or what researchers are calling the “copy-paste nudge,” but I think that name is more confusing).
In the study published in the Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, researchers found over 1,000 individuals who wanted to exercise more and separated them into 2 different groups.
The “copycat nudge” group was asked to learn an effective hack for exercising more from someone they know who already exercises. The exact instructions for the copycat nudge were…
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“In this study, we want to help you learn about an effective hack or strategy that someone you know uses as motivation to exercise. Over the next 2 days, we’d like you to pay attention to how people you know get themselves to work out. If you want, you can ask them directly for their motivational tips and strategies.”
The control group was also asked to learn an “effective hack or strategy” to help them exercise more, but they were NOT instructed to pay attention to people they knew and learn from them.
Results showed that those who applied the “copycat nudge” spent more time exercising the following week than participants assigned to the control conditions.
This study highlights the importance of actively finding goal-related strategies among your peers. But why is the “copycat nudge” so effective?
Why the “copycat nudge” is effective
Here are a few key reasons why the “copycat nudge” tends to lead to more success and motivation.
- We often learn best through example. People are better learners when they observe others doing something. You can read about something in a book, but seeing a friend do it right in front of you makes it way more real and motivating.
- Observing others helps us believe “I can do that too.” When we see a family member or close friend do something, especially someone we can relate to, it makes that goal seem much more achievable and realistic. We begin to believe “If they can do it, then I can do it too!”
- It’s a way to connect with someone. People want to “fit in” and share common interests with others. When you both share the same diet or exercise plan, that also gives you something to talk about and bond over.
In truth, a lot of our daily habits are influenced by this type of “social pressure.” We often just do things because we see others doing them. It usually takes extra effort to go against the crowd or start your own thing.
We can take this natural tendency to “copy others” and use it to our advantage by actively seeking out tips and advice from people in our personal lives who have already accomplished the goals that we want to pursue.
We often think of “peer pressure” as wrong, but there is such a thing as “positive peer pressure,” and the copycat nudge may be driven by that.
In general role models are one of the most important tools you have to spark self-growth and self-change. When you see others do something, and use them as an example to learn from, you have direct evidence that the strategy can work and be effective.
Of course, you can’t completely “copy” your way to happiness or success. But when first trying to change an aspect of yourself, the “copycat nudge” can be a great starting point.
What’s something in your life you want to change? Who is someone you know who is already successful in that area of life? What are some good questions to ask them and learn from?
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