Gregg Sparkman's guest appearances

Gregg Sparkman

Plant Yourself - Embracing a Plant-based Lifestyle

How to Save the World

How to Save the World | The Psychology & Science of Environmental Behavior

Tom Campbell

Dorie Clark

Kim Williams

Joel Kahn

Chris Bailey

Perry Marshall

Judson Brewer

Chris Voss

David Katz

Charles Eisenstein

Neal Barnard

Valter Longo

Michael Greger

Lynn Marie Morski

Joseph Alexander

OwlTail

Are the words ‘vegan’ and ‘vegetarian’ helpful or harmful to the quest to reduce society's ravenous meat consumption? Gregg Sparkman is a Ph.D. student in social psychology at Stanford University who specializes in the study of how to get people to eat less meat. In this interview, he takes us through the many fascinating (and often counter-intuitive) dynamics of what it takes to get people to measurably reduce their meat intake - and it’s not what you think. We talk about social norms in messaging and in particular his specific field of ‘dynamic norms’ where he proved that simply changing a few words in a message has the proven capacity to double the number of vegan meal choices. This episode is a rare gem and an absolute must for anyone trying to influence ethical, plant-based, or sustainable eating habits. Gregg explains many crucial psychological concepts often left out of the vegan and vegetarian movement’s attempts to change the world.  Contact Gregg Sparkman Gregg Sparkman {at} gmail.com if you're interested in more behavioral science on getting people to eat less meat.   Sign up to join our live "Fitbit for the Planet" group calls at katiepatrick.com/fitbit. Follow Katie Patrick Get a copy of How to Save the World on Amazon katiepatrick.com Twitter @katiepatrick Instagram @katiepatrickhello LinkedIn Support the podcast Contribute a monthly donation at patreon.com/katiepatrick to help me continue to make these episodes possible. Book a 90-minute idea-storming call with Katie: https://buy.stripe.com/8wM8yS92c0mg1q07ss

Are the words ‘vegan’ and ‘vegetarian’ helpful or harmful to the quest to reduce society's ravenous meat consumption? Gregg Sparkman is a Ph.D. student in social psychology at Stanford University who specializes in the study of how to get people to eat less meat. In this interview, he takes us through the many fascinating (and often counter-intuitive) dynamics of what it takes to get people to measurably reduce their meat intake - and it’s not what you think. We talk about social norms in messaging and in particular his specific field of ‘dynamic norms’ where he proved that simply changing a few words in a message has the proven capacity to double the number of vegan meal choices. This episode is a rare gem and an absolute must for anyone trying to influence ethical, plant-based, or sustainable eating habits. Gregg explains many crucial psychological concepts often left out of the vegan and vegetarian movement’s attempts to change the world.  Contact Gregg Sparkman Gregg Sparkman {at} <a href="http://gmail.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">gmail.com</a> if you're interested in more behavioral science on getting people to eat less meat.   Sign up to join our live "Fitbit for the Planet" group calls at <a href="http://katiepatrick.com/fitbit" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">katiepatrick.com/fitbit</a>. Follow Katie Patrick <a href="https://amzn.to/2Z4jivL" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Get a copy of How to Save the World on Amazon</a> <a href="https://katiepatrick.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">katiepatrick.com</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/katiepatrick" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter @katiepatrick</a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/katiepatrickhello/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Instagram @katiepatrickhello</a> <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-patrick-4474499/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a> Support the podcast Contribute a monthly donation at <a href="https://patreon.com/katiepatrick" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">patreon.com/katiepatrick</a> to help me continue to make these episodes possible. Book a 90-minute idea-storming call with Katie: <a href="https://buy.stripe.com/8wM8yS92c0mg1q07ss" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://buy.stripe.com/8wM8yS92c0mg1q07ss</a>

Vegans, You’re Doing it Wrong: How to Get People to Eat Less Meat, Gregg Sparkman PhD Ep18

A thought experiment: you walk into a restaurant near the Stanford University campus, and you want to encourage the patrons waiting on line to order a meatless option for lunch? You can tell them one fact. What would it be, and how would you say it?Take your time; I'll wait.[Jeopardy theme plays]To save us some time, I'll give you two options. Which one will work better?Option A: "Some people limit how much meat they eat. This is true both nationally and here at Stanford. Specifically, recent research has shown that 30% of Americans make an effort to limit their meat consumption. That means that 3 in 10 people eat less meat than they otherwise would."Option B: "Some people limit how much meat they eat. This is true both nationally and here at Stanford. Specifically, recent research has shown that 30% of Americans have started to make an effort to limit their meat consumption. That means that 3 in 10 people have changed their behavior and have begun to eat less meat than they otherwise would."What do you think? Option A or Option B?If you're like me, and the dozen or so people I've informally asked, you chose Option B. It just seems much friendlier and, well, more convincing. But why?Meet Gregg SparkmanToday's guest, Gregg Sparkmann, PhD, ran this experiment to test the idea of dynamic norms. That is, the concept that what's considered normal and acceptable can change.Sparkmann and his mentor, Greg Walton (last week's podcast guest), hypothesized that because change is hard, the knowledge that people are changing might indicate to a person that there was a good reason for it.Also, they sensed that one of the things that stops people from changing and adopting new habits, behaviors, and ideas is defensiveness at being late to the party. That is, if I go plant-based and you don't, you can just dismiss me as a weirdo. But if I go plant-based first, and you follow, then my status has to go up relative to yours because I got there first. So you'd rather dig in your heels and convince yourself that going plant-based is just stupid.So when people are told that 30% of the population is already doing something virtuous or smart, they bristle. They resist. They shut down.By contrast, when people are told that 30% of the population is just starting to do something, they get intrigued. If it's just starting, then they can get in on the ground floor. They can be an early adopter, a maven (to borrow a Malcolm Gladwell term that he borrowed from my grandmother), a key influencer. Plus, the fact that people are changing suggests good reason to join them.In Sparkmann's restaurant study, 17% of the participants who were told Option A chose a meatless lunch. And of those who were given Option B, 34% went meatless. Basically, adding the phrase "have started to" doubled the effectiveness of the message in changing behavior.I'm delighted to share this conversation with Gregg Sparkman with you. In it, we covered:the power of norms to dictate behaviorthe meat-eating norm: a salient defaultdynamic vs static normswhy we resist going secondbandwagon effectsRobert Cialdini's hotel towel studies"change isn't easy, so there must be a reason"social proof that change must not be that hardovercoming cognitive biaseseroding strict identity categories"do-gooder" derogation and anger at vegetariansdynamic norms assure you that your current behavior isn't your fault"behaviors are a product of cultural momentum"positive and possible nefarious uses of dynamic normsTyson Foods' public acknowledgment of the meatless futureand much more...

A thought experiment: you walk into a restaurant near the Stanford University campus, and you want to encourage the patrons waiting on line to order a meatless option for lunch? You can tell them one fact. What would it be, and how would you say it? Take your time; I'll wait. [Jeopardy theme plays] To save us some time, I'll give you two options. Which one will work better? Option A: "Some people limit how much meat they eat. This is true both nationally and here at Stanford. Specifically, recent research has shown that 30% of Americans make an effort to limit their meat consumption. That means that 3 in 10 people eat less meat than they otherwise would." Option B: "Some people limit how much meat they eat. This is true both nationally and here at Stanford. Specifically, recent research has shown that 30% of Americans have started to make an effort to limit their meat consumption. That means that 3 in 10 people have changed their behavior and have begun to eat less meat than they otherwise would." What do you think? Option A or Option B? If you're like me, and the dozen or so people I've informally asked, you chose Option B. It just seems much friendlier and, well, more convincing. But why? Meet Gregg Sparkman Today's guest, Gregg Sparkmann, PhD, ran this experiment to test the idea of dynamic norms. That is, the concept that what's considered normal and acceptable can change. Sparkmann and his mentor, Greg Walton (last week's podcast guest), hypothesized that because change is hard, the knowledge that people are changing might indicate to a person that there was a good reason for it. Also, they sensed that one of the things that stops people from changing and adopting new habits, behaviors, and ideas is defensiveness at being late to the party. That is, if I go plant-based and you don't, you can just dismiss me as a weirdo. But if I go plant-based first, and you follow, then my status has to go up relative to yours because I got there first. So you'd rather dig in your heels and convince yourself that going plant-based is just stupid. So when people are told that 30% of the population is already doing something virtuous or smart, they bristle. They resist. They shut down. By contrast, when people are told that 30% of the population is just starting to do something, they get intrigued. If it's just starting, then they can get in on the ground floor. They can be an early adopter, a maven (to borrow a Malcolm Gladwell term that he borrowed from my grandmother), a key influencer. Plus, the fact that people are changing suggests good reason to join them. In Sparkmann's restaurant study, 17% of the participants who were told Option A chose a meatless lunch. And of those who were given Option B, 34% went meatless. Basically, adding the phrase "have started to" doubled the effectiveness of the message in changing behavior. I'm delighted to share this conversation with Gregg Sparkman with you. In it, we covered: <ul><li>the power of norms to dictate behavior</li><li>the meat-eating norm: a salient default</li><li>dynamic vs static norms</li><li>why we resist going second</li><li>bandwagon effects</li><li>Robert Cialdini's hotel towel studies</li><li>"change isn't easy, so there must be a reason"</li><li>social proof that change must not be that hard</li><li>overcoming cognitive biases</li><li>eroding strict identity categories</li><li>"do-gooder" derogation and anger at vegetarians</li><li>dynamic norms assure you that your current behavior isn't your fault</li><li>"behaviors are a product of cultural momentum"</li><li>positive and possible nefarious uses of dynamic norms</li><li>Tyson Foods' public acknowledgment of the meatless future</li><li>and much more...</li></ul>

Three Words That Can Double Your Influence with Gregg Sparkman: PYP 268