Before this class I thought behavior change was mainly about your discipline. However I did the work throughout the class and with these experiences I learned it goes well beyond just self-discipline. Instead context deeply influences one’s behavior.
One thing I really enjoyed about the class was the sketch notes, especially as I felt they were truly helpful. I am leaving the class with knowledge I genuinely think I will apply in the future. For example to this day I still remember that tech talk in which the lady said, “That people probably are more likely to fix the little gaps in their windows if you tell them that ‘oh you have a basketball-sized hole in your house’ if you add all the little holes together, rather than ‘oh you have just a bunch of holes all throughout the house’.” So really making it measured and seen in a way that can be really understood by the audience makes a huge impact another thing I really liked was learning about the ABC example on how by pairing what they needed TV watchers to do (meaning watch ABC’s episodes) with what they wanted to do (like drinking wine and making popcorn), ABC skyrocketed. That insight was really helpful to me because I think in the future when I’m creating solutions for various problems, I think that is one insight I will keep in mind and most likely apply.
So I think overall I was pleasantly surprised with the classes. I was not expecting to really learn so specific cases that were also so useful. So I really appreciate that.
Further I really enjoyed speaking about the ethics component. I think often in the computer science courses I’ve taken at Stanford ethics oftentimes is a little bit of an afterthought but in this class it really felt that the effort was very consistent all throughout. The discussions prompted me to consider one mechanisms for example my project uses to change behavior and one of such mechanisms is the instant reward I learned in class that instant rewards are very important to reinforce behavior so in our app every time the user eats consistently which is what we’re trying to get them to do we get we give them start, a small reward. I would say this is an acceptable nudge since we are trying to help them eat healthier and more consistently so overall take care of their health. However, there are some users for which the mechanisms might become a bit manipulative, which really are very vulnerable users. So for example, maybe if the app is too gamified and a child comes into contact with it, maybe they may create too much of the behavior that we’re trying to do. to create. In other words they may eat too consistently and perhaps gain an unhealthy amount of weight. This is of course a possibility.
Thanks to all the group meetings, ethical discussions, as well as readings, I definitely would say that my thinking has evolved. I now walk away with new insights into behavior change, such as the importance of quick rewards to reinforced behavior, making… habits tiny so we really reduce the friction to starting something. As well as thinking about behavior through a different model. Matter of fact, I now think about behavior in a way that we learned in class as a function of person and context. I think I used to overemphasize the person in part and under-emphasize the context part. However, with this class, especially the readings part, it really opened my eyes to new possibilities and new theories of behavior change, which I now feel very grateful and fortunate to walk away with this new knowledge, feeling empowered. and more well-educated in the field of behavior change as well as how it connects to the fields of technology. I think this is very important nowadays in light of the fast changes we have all experienced given the evolution of artificial intelligence. So I think this class has really served me as an opportunity to go beyond the technical which is often now is becoming more automated with agents and automatic coding tools that firms like Anthropic and OpenAI are releasing to really be more thoughtful about how might we use those tools in an ethical way or how might we use those tools in a way that really change behavior in a positive way and whose behavior are we trying to change and how and what are the implications of using these tools on certain populations. On a similar note this class has really made me more conscientious about what technology I use and what technology I want to use. I think before this class I just saw AI as a really cool tool but I didn’t really think about what went behind the curtains or how was this tool even made accessible and possible to use by me. I think reading the article “I love Gen AI but Hate the Companies that Built It” really opened my eyes to how might I help shape the future of AI in a more ethical, inclusive, and conscientious way. Do I as a consumer of AI have guilt or should I be held accountable for supporting even though unintentionally the suffering of many people? Since we saw that for example one company was running mental health distress farms just labeling concerning and distressing content.
So I think that next time when I face a situation about behavior change or ethics, I’ll take a step back, analyze the situation to first understand and then be understood. I think this class really opened my eyes to being more intentional with my work, considering the ramifications and consequences of what I do—especially when it comes to computer science. I’ll be a lot more thoughtful and intentional about what I want to do with all the richness and lessons my Stanford education is providing me and will leave me for my life to come
