About this episode
<p>Behavioral scientists have been exploring whether a psychological reset can lead to lasting change. In this update of a 2021 episode, we survey evidence from the London Underground, Major League Baseball, and New Year’s resolutions to look at accidental fresh starts, forced fresh starts, fresh starts that backfire — and the ones that succeed. </p><p> </p><ul><li><strong>SOURCES:</strong><ul><li><a href="https://oid.wharton.upenn.edu/profile/kmilkman/">Katy Milkman</a>, professor at the Wharton School.</li><li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Byford">Andy Byford</a>, former commissioner of Transport for London.</li><li><a href="https://frauch.weebly.com/">Ferdinand Rauch</a>, economist at the University of St. Gallen.</li><li><a href="https://www.anderson.ucla.edu/faculty-and-research/management-and-organizations/faculty/dai">Hengchen Dai</a>, professor at U.C.L.A.’s Anderson School of Management.</li><li><a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/t/tewksbo01.shtml">Bob Tewksbury</a>, former big-league pitcher.</li></ul></li></ul><p> </p><ul><li><strong>RESOURCES:</strong><ul><li>“<a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0234097">A Large-Scale Experiment on New Year’s Resolutions: Approach-Oriented Goals are More Successful than Avoidance-Oriented Goals</a>,” by Martin Oscarsson, Per Carlbring, Gerhard Andersson, and Alexander Rozental (<i>PLOS ONE</i>, 2020).</li><li>“<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0749597816308056?casa_token=1Nhts7evx0sAAAAA:2iVzAW7Sf-CW03qBYZXINmoMVxhTfKOINrH7khlNrpieqvRMyogPgmX5NWkwOpyX5QY-PiQ">A Double-Edged Sword: How and Why Resetting Performance Metrics Affects Motivation and Performance</a>,” by Hengchen Dai (<i>Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes</i>, 2018).</li><li>“<a href="http://users.ox.ac.uk/~econ0360/FerdinandRauch/Tube.pdf">The Benefits of Forced Experimentation: Striking Evidence from the London Underground Network</a>,” by Shaun Larcom, Ferdinand Rauch, and Tim Willems (2017).</li><li>“<a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5353b838e4b0e68461b517cf/t/583ca5acd2b8571174b28e40/1480369581625/48-Beshears_et_al_2016.pdf">Framing the Future: The Risks of Pre-Commitment Nudges and Potential of Fresh Start Messaging</a>,” by John Beshears, Hengchen Dai, Katherine L. Milkman, and Shlomo Benartzi (<i>NBER</i>, 2016).</li><li>“<a href="https://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/abs/10.1287/mnsc.2014.1901">The Fresh Start Effect: Temporal Landmarks Motivate Aspirational Behavior</a>,” by Hengchen Dai, Katherine L. Milkman, and Jason Riis (<i>Management Science, </i>2014).</li><li>“<a href="https://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/abs/10.1287/mnsc.2013.1784">Holding the Hunger Games Hostage at the Gym: An Evaluation of Temptation Bundlin</a>g,” by Katherine L. Milkman, Julia A. Minson, and Kevin G. M. Volpp (<i>Management Science, </i>2013).</li><li>“<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0899328988800166">The Resolution Solution: Longitudinal Examination of New Year’s Change Attempts</a>,” by John C. Norcross and Dominic J.Vangarelli (<i>Journal of Substance Abuse, </i>1989).</li></ul></li></ul><p> </p><ul><li><strong>EXTRAS:</strong><ul><li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/059308375X/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=freakonomic08-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=059308375X&linkId=f77de3b29d901c96a08c8404d1edc635"><i>How to Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be</i></a><i>, </i>by Katy Milkman (2021).</li></ul></li></ul><br/> <p>Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.</p>