Identity-Based Cognition

Identity: What People Like You Do

Of course, it is important to recognize that people’s identity, or their self-understanding, can greatly matter. If people in one part of the world are told that people in another part of the world are recycling, becoming vegetarians, or wearing masks, they could think: “Oh, I should do that too!” But they might also react this way: “Well, thank goodness I’m not like those people!” For choice architects who want to use social influences, a challenge is to work with, rather than against, people’s sense of who they are. That sense might have to do with nationality, culture, region, ethnicity, religion, politics, or a favorite team. We might even give it a name: identity-based cognition.

Consider Texas’s now classic and stunningly successful effort to reduce littering on its highways. State officials were frustrated with the failure of their well-funded and highly publicized advertising campaigns, which attempted to convince people that it was their civic duty to stop littering. Many of the litterers were men between the ages of eighteen and twenty-four, who were not exactly impressed by the idea that a bureaucratic elite wanted them to change their behavior. Public officials decided that they needed “a tough-talking slogan that would also address the unique spirit of Texas pride.” Explicitly targeting the unresponsive audience, the state enlisted popular Dallas Cowboys football players to participate in television ads in which they collected litter, smashed beer cans in their bare hands, and growled, “Don’t mess with Texas!” Other spots included popular singers, such as Willie Nelson.

People can now get all kinds of “Don’t Mess with Texas” products, from decals to shirts to coffee mugs. One popular decal offers patriotic colors, reflecting both the U.S. flag and—perhaps more important—the Texas flag!

The overwhelming majority of Texans now know this slogan. At one point, “Don’t Mess with Texas” was voted America’s favorite slogan by a landslide and was honored with a parade down New York City’s Madison Avenue. (We are not making this up. Only in America, to be sure.) More to the point: Within the first year of the campaign, litter in the state had been reduced by a remarkable 29 percent. In its first six years, there was a 72 percent reduction in visible roadside litter.20 All this happened without the use of any mandates, threats, or coercion but rather via a creative nudge.

Figure 3.1. Don’t Mess with Texas logo (Used with permission of Don’t Mess with Texas, Texas Department of Transportation)

In one or another way, many governments have enlisted identity-based cognition and thus used a broadly similar approach. A public health initiative in India, designed to increase use of toilets, has emphasized Mahatma Gandhi’s commitment to cleanliness and so appealed directly to national pride. To encourage citizens of Montana to wear face masks, Governor Steve Bullock launched a campaign with pictures of Montanans fishing, skiing, and bowhunting, with the caption montanans wear face coverings all the time. We need evidence, of course, to know when and how well such appeals work. But if nudges use social influences and social norms, they are most likely to be promising if people are asked to learn from and act like people who are like them—and whom they trust.