By not attending your appointment, you may:
compared with…
By attending your appointment, you may:
15 Tversky and Kahneman (1991). 16 Fryer, Levitt, List, and Sadoff (2012).
differed from one another in that one set of notices emphasized the benefits that participants would gain by attending a reengagement appointment, and the other set emphasized the losses they might incur by failing to do so. In this way, the notices changed the messaging about exist ing policies and did not alter actual policy. When compared with the control group outreach, the loss-framed notice increased positive engagement. In contrast, the notice that framed the message as a gain, when compared with the control group outreach, did not produce a statistically signifi cant impact. The findings support the idea that people respond more to the risk of losing benefits than the promise of receiving benefits.
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Ease
The field of psychology has demonstrated that people have a limited capacity to process, absorb, and recall information. Given this finding, a key mantra in behavioral science is to make things as easy as possible in order to increase the likelihood that people will act. One study found that incorpo- rating “Quick Enrollment” into a retirement savings plan, which simply highlighted a preselected contribution level and made it easy for employees to choose this option, increased enrollment significantly.17 People have a tendency to stick with the status quo, because it is effortless to do so. This is why in many cases behavioral scientists have paid attention to the available default options, knowing that people will probably continue with whatever that option entails.
The BIAS team completed a behavioral diagnosis in Vermont that demonstrates this principle, though a test was not conducted. When participants in Vermont’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program (called “Reach Up”) become employed, and exceed the program’s income eligibility rules, they qualify for up to a year of work support benefits through a supplementary pro- gram called “Reach Ahead.” This program provides an employment incentive and assists families in their transition from public assistance by helping them maintain employment. Even though the application for these transitional benefits is relatively straightforward, only about half of eligible families enrolled. In light of the BIAS team’s research, the state decided to simplify the process further by making the receipt of these transitional benefits the default for employed TANF families. Eligible families were given the opportunity to opt out of the program, as opposed to the previous approach in which they had to opt in, making the process easier for them. According to the state’s data, this change increased Reach Ahead participation by 20 percent in the first year.18
Keeping things easy also applies to crafting communications that are straightforward and clear. Com- municating effectively with clients is an important first step in encouraging them to complete an action. The BIAS team spent a substantial amount of time parsing through each of the sites’ materials in order to simplify the pertinent message and ensure that the main points were prominent to clients.
17 Choi, Laibson, and Madrian (2009).
The team learned that it can be remarkably challenging to develop succinct materials that commu- nicate the agency’s expectations of the client clearly. For example, in the BIAS studies that focused on child support, lengthy documents that covered many subjects were often needed in order to protect the agency and clients legally. However, the more complex a task, the less likely it is to be completed. Too much information can prevent people from completing an action, because they become paralyzed by processing what needs to be done and as a result fail to act — a situation known as cognitive overload. “Ease” can also mean providing participants with all the information they need and redesigning the task they are required to complete. In the BIAS study in Washington, for example, the child sup- port modification process was made easier for noncustodial parents by mailing them the materials they would need to apply for a modification, along with a tip sheet specifying which questions had to be answered, and then reminding them later about the opportunity to apply (as shown in Figure 4.6). This approach eliminated a step in that these parents no longer had to request a packet — it was just mailed to them automatically.19
The overarching purpose of “ease” is to ensure that the program designer is spending sufficient time thinking about the most effective way to design a process and communicate that process to the
FIGURE 4.6 Ease: Excerpt of Tips Sheet Used in Washington Site
All you have to do is fill out the forms and mail them back to DCS to have your case reviewed.
1. A signature every place that asks for it. 2. A date next to every signature.
3. It’s ok if you don’t know the answer to every question. For example,
you can write “I don’t know” for anything you don’t know the answer
to.
4. If you don’t know the answer, just tell us why. For example you can write “I am incarcerated.”