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Yibo Wang
Virginia Wyeth
AP English Literature
2 April 2015
No Motivation Needed: The Psychology of Behavior Change:
Pretend theres a person named Joe Smoe. This year, Joe proudly declares his New Years
Resolutions: Do P90x every single day to lose weight and eat healthier. Yet a month later at
11pm, he sits on the couch laughing at jokes from The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. He
concludes that he needs to go on a diet instead. Yet when another three months go by, he still
binges on Flaming Hot Cheetos. Eventually Joe and concludes that he lacks motivation, is lazy,
and would rather not flaunt his body like a Calvin Klein model. However, he didnt fail because
he was lazy. Like many ambitious people who fail their New Years Resolutions each year, Joe
never understood the psychology of his own behavior change. Trying harder doesnt work
because behavior change isnt as easy as it is explained in an inspirational movie, such as Rocky.
Any health advocate will cite the statistic that 2/3 of Americans are obese. High school
health classes teach students the many benefits of exercise, such as reducing heart disease or
improving memory. However, research from the Grist Climate Organization states that
information, or educating people, isnt enough to change behavior. Instead getting people to say
they believe in climate change should be second priority (Roberts). Having people take action
is what causes them to change their beliefs. Grist writer David Roberts criticizes Al Gores movie
An Inconvenient Truth because it only focuses on awareness instead of proposing solutions. The
problem is that most people dont know themselves. Political polls indicate that many people
believe global warming is a problem. However, few people recycle or do anything different to

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help preserve the environment. Roberts states that that if these same people instead installed
solar panels on their roofs and rode a bike on the weekend, their belief about the importance of
climate change would follow. Behavior change must occur in small, incremental, but additive
ways (Roberts).
But what exactly does work to get Joe off the couch and exercising on the streets? Enter
BJ Fogg. As a Stanford Psychology Professor, he doesnt just talk the talk. He walks the walk.
Unlike self-help motivational speakers, Fogg doesnt ramble about being positive and never
giving up. Instead, BJ Fogg proposes the tiny habit - a simple, fun, and scientifically proven
method to actually change behavior.
Previous psychology studies done by Florida State University Psychology professor Roy
Baumeister shows that if a person does a hard task, the ability for the person to do the next
difficult task will be more difficult since that persons willpower depletes - a process known as
ego-depletion (Markman). This means that it takes an incredible amount of willpower for Joe to
come home from a long day at work/school and then exercise for an hour. Fogg knows that
people are fundamentally lazy and lack willpower. He proposes that its better to increase a
persons ability to do a task by making it easier (such as Amazons 1-click shopping) and reduce
the amount of motivation required (reading one page compared to reading an entire novel).
A tiny habit is made of three things: an easy habit that can be done in 30 seconds, a
trigger and a positive affirmation (McQuaid). In order for a tiny habit to occur, Fogg suggest that
the tiny habit be paired to a routine that one already does, such as eating lunch. For example, if
an AP English Literature student wants to read Heart of Darkness, he can choose to read one
word of the novel, when he sits down to eat dinner. Emotions are what create habits. In order for

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the tiny habit to stick, Fogg suggests that the student must celebrate after reading one word of the
novel by saying a positive affirmation such as: Awesome! or Bingo! In fact, Fogg states that
this step is the most important. Psychology shows that humans are fundamentally wired to seek
pleasure and avoid pain (Fogg). In order for the English student to take action, the pleasure he
derives from reading a page of Heart of Darkness must be greater than the pain. When the
English student rewards himself by saying Awesome! he must focus on immersing himself on
the pleasure of his small success. This is known as positive feedback. If the students brain does
not feel pleasure from reading that single page of Heart of Darkness, the student will not take
action. This is why it is important that the English student enjoy doing the tiny habit of reading
one page of the Heart of Darkness for him to cultivate a reading habit into his daily life.
Next, NYU professor Gabrielle Oettingen attacks the idea that positive thinking, or just
visualizing goals coming true, is the key to achieving goals. In fact, being positive makes it
less likely that a person will take action to achieve his goals (Dahl). When a person visualizes a
goal, such as having a leaner stomach, the brain reacts as if it were real (Oettingen). No work is
needed and he instantly feels happy. But the person hasnt taken any action to exercise, so its
self-delusion. Kids in middle school are often taught Reach for the moon, even if you miss you
will be among the stars. Advertisers, politicians, and self-help books all emphasize the idea to
rid ourselves of harmful negative self-talk(Oettingen). Instead, like Grist writer David Roberts,
Oettingen argues that taking action instead of changing beliefs is needed. In Oettingens study,
she had one group of obese women visualize themselves as already completing a weight loss
program while another group of women visualize ways that they would be tempted to violate
their diet. The women who looked at themselves negatively ended up losing twenty-four pounds
more than those who looked at themselves already achieving the program. Oettingen proposes

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that behavior change can occur through a visualization technique known as Mental Contrasting
with Implementation Intentions - also known as WOOP (Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, and Plan).
First, a person wishes for a goal, then he visualizes the outcome of achieving this goal, next he
thinks of an obstacle that prevents him from achieving this goal (this is the most important step),
and finally he creates a plan to combat the obstacle (Oettingen).
Going to the example of the English literature student, first he will chose the goal/wish to
finish reading Heart of Darkness. Second, he will focus on the final outcome, which is feeling
great as he finishes reading the novel. Third, he will think of an obstacle that prevents him from
reading the novel, such as surfing Youtube and Facebook when he gets home. Finally, this
English student creates a plan that accounts for this obstacle. He will place Heart of Darkness
next to his laptop, which make it much easier to read the novel and reduces the motivation
needed to get up and get the book from his backpack. When he gets home from school and has
the urge to use his laptop to check Youtube or Facebook, he will read one word from Heart of
Darkness instead.
Many obstacles in the WOOP process are hard to identify. New York Times bestselling
author and Stanford psychology graduate Ramit Sethi explains that people arent rational and
that many passive barriers hold people back from taking action. For example, Sethi says that
many people in their forties talk about how financial stability is important. Yet according to a
study done by the National Bureau of Economic Research organization, when companies offered
employees free personal finance seminars, only 17% of the workers attended because they were
afraid to see their neighbor there and look stupid among their peers or didnt want to waste
time (Sethi). Ramit Sethi then discusses his own passive barrier, which is that he prefers to eat
crackers instead of healthy home-cooked meals. These meals were wrapped in plastic, enclosed

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in Tupperware, and needed to be microwaved. Sethi then gives a practical exercise to identify
passive barriers. Sethi asks his readers to choose one of their personal goals and ask Why? to
figure out what about his environment has caused him to not do it.
Going back to the beginning, after Joe understands the psychology of behavior change,
he decides to implement a tiny habit, create a positive feedback loop, and identify passive
barriers holding him back from exercising. He notices that he doesnt enjoy the exhausting P90X
90 minute workouts but enjoys a leisure jog in his neighborhood. So he creates a tiny habit of
just putting on his tennis shoes after dinner each day with the intention of going outside for a jog.
Next, he identifies passive barriers that may prevent him from not going outside, which are rain
and forgetfulness. If it rains, John decides to do one jumping jack in the house. To remind
himself to jog every day, John puts his gym clothes on the bed and places his tennis shoes next to
the dinner table. When it comes to dieting, John realizes that he hates starving himself everyday
by eating salad. This only creates negative instead of positive feedback. So John instead decides
to buy other healthy alternatives, such as veggie burger, eggs, or tuna. He commits to the tiny
habit of eating one bite of the veggie burger whenever he feels the urge to watch The Tonight
Show with Jimmy Fallon. Finally, he identifies passive barriers in his environment that cause him
to binge on junk food. Due to his limited willpower, he will no longer buy any more Flaming
Cheetos because he does not trust himself to resist the temptation to eat them after coming home
from a long day at work and seeing them on the dinner table. Overall, John realizes how much
easier changing his behavior is when he implements the right method instead of trying harder,
never giving up, and getting motivated.

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Works Cited
Dahl, Melisa. "Positive Thinking Doesn't Work; Here's What Does." Science of Us. New York
Magazine, 09 Dec. 2014. Web. 05 Mar. 2015.
Fogg, BJ. A Behavior Model for Persuasive Design. Thesis. Stanford University, n.d.
Stanford, CA: Persuasive Technology Lab, n.d. Print.
Markman, Art. "It Matters Whether You Believe in Willpower." Psychology Today. N.p., Dec.
2010. Web. 05 Mar. 2015.
McQuaid, Michelle. "Can a Tiny Habit Shape Your Success?" The Huffington Post.
TheHuffingtonPost.com, 10 Oct. 2014. Web. 08 Mar. 2015.
Oettingen, Gabriele. "Your Positive Thinking Could Be Holding You Back." Science of Us. N.p.,
27 Oct. 2014. Web. 08 Mar. 2015.
Roberts, David. "Behavior Change Causes Changes in Beliefs, Not Vice Versa." Grist. N.p., 23
Nov. 2010. Web. 05 Mar. 2015.
Sethi, Ramit. "The Psychology of Passive Barriers: Why Your Friends Dont Save Money, Eat
Healthier, or Clean Their Garages." Get Rich Slowly. 9 Oct. 2009. Web. 09 Mar. 2015.