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The Truth About Behavioral Change
Article

The Truth About Behavioral Change


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áudio gerado automaticamente

Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Analytical
  • Eye Opening
  • Concrete Examples

Recommendation

Knowing about a new service or technology won’t make people adopt it. Would you bother creating a Facebook account or learning the ins and outs of a new software tool if nobody else within your close circle was using the social platform or computer program? In an excerpt from his book, How Behavior Spreads: The Science of Complex Contagions, social scientist Damon Centola convincingly demonstrates that people’s networks of acquaintances – rather than close friends – matter most in spreading ideas or technology. Centola’s highly informative article is a must-read for anyone interested in the diffusion of innovation.

Take-Aways

  • Rather than spreading across the world like an infectious disease, Twitter grew incrementally, from one social circle to the next, following a pattern known as “complex contagion.” 
  • Before embracing something new, people look for “social confirmation” – which happens if they come across the new behavior or technology multiple times and through several people.
  • Twitter’s growth pattern can teach organizations how to get employees to embrace new behaviors or customers to adopt a new technology. 

About the Author

Damon Centola is an associate professor at the Annenberg School for Communication and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania.


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