Pledges
Pledges involve an individual making a promise to perform , or refrain from , a particular action . Pledges can be made to the self , to a loved-one , to a professional , a group of friends or strangers , or to society generally . There is evidence that some forms of pledge are more effective than others , and we cover a few different forms of the general idea here .
For our context , a pledge may be targeted at a specific action , such as texting while driving , or may be more generalised , such as mobile phone use more generally . It may be positive , where a behaviour will be performed - “ I pledge to always use a ‘ do not disturb ’ function when driving ”, or negative , where a behaviour will not be performed - “ I pledge to never use a hand held device while driving ”. The wording of the pledge may be scripted , or left to the individual to personalise . Pledges have a link to behaviour change theory literatures ¹ ( pages 22 ) in that they involve a form of ‘ behavioural contract ’ ( what will or won ’ t be done ) and ‘ commitment ’ (‘ I will / won ’ t ’) to behaviour change . As such , they are an opportunity to embed theory into practice .
It is important to remember that behaviour change techniques work best when techniques are combined . According to a taxonomy of 93 behavioural change techniques , these two techniques alone would not necessarily be enough to encourage behaviour change . Adding ‘ social support ’ ( by including the influence of peers and significant others ), or building in ‘ monitoring of the behaviour ’ ( where there is some form of a check on progress ) could increase the impact of a pledge .
Pledges form a part of several of our case studies , including Message Not Delivered ( p81 ) First Car ( p43 ) and My Red Thumb ( p107 ).
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¹ Fylan , F . ( 2017 ). Using Behaviour Change Techniques : Guidance for the road safety community . RAC Foundation . Available from : https :// www . racfoundation . org / wp-content / uploads / 2017 / 11 / Using _ behaviour _ change _ techniques _ Guidance _ for _ the _ road _ safety _ community . pdf