APPLYING BEHAVIORAL INSIGHTS
TO THE DESIGN OF PUBLIC
POLICY
LECTURE 18:
PRIZE-LINKED SAVINGS
November 7, 2016
Announcements
2
Announcements
3
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Course assignments:
¤  Over
the course of the semester
n  10
assignments
n  Drop 2 lowest scores
n  Graded ✔, ✔+, ✔- (modal grade is a check)
n  Schedule on p. 5 of syllabus
¤  Today
n  Assignments
1-6 graded, available on Canvas
n  Assignment 7 due today
n  Concept Note being graded
n  Assignment 8 distributed today, due Wednesday 11/16
Exam Monday, November 14
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Review sessions
¤  Wednesday
11/9
n  7:30-9:00PM
n  L-382
¤  Friday
11/11
n  2:30-4:00PM
n  L-382
Practice exam on-line
¨  Answers will be posted
this week
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Brigitte already in good shape, needs four targeted
interventions to reach optimal level: Group F
Α
Current status
quo
Β
Barriers to
behavioral
change
C
Proposed
interventions
Move a bit more
Exercise
•  Exercises three times
per week
Diet
•  Relatively balanced
diet with a few extra
deserts
•  Half meals are not
home-made
Sleeping pattern
•  6-7 hour sleep per
night
Feels stressed
Imposed Schedule
Time limitations
•  Add an additional gym
session
Professional Lunches
and
Dinners
•  Add an additional training
intensity by 10%-20%
Strong routine
•  Use bicycle instead of
public transportation
Eat a bit less
•  Substitute deserts with
chocolate protein bars
•  Choose healthy options at
business lunches
Sleep a bit more: Improve
sleeping pattern to 7-8 hours
per day
Mediation during the
weekends to reduce stress
levels
Professor Madrian’s Diet Plan: Group L
LIFESTYLE PLAN
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Restart using MyFitnessPal – for food and exercise – and be consistent.
Connect with students in the class via FitBit and MyFitnessPal and compete with us both in maintaining this plan and in the final results.
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Report on your fitness and weight loss progress in every class period.
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Incorporate your family into your diet plan and encourage them to hold you accountable.
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Put family in charge of rationing “unhealthy” snacks like chocolate and ice cream
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Post printed copies of this plan on the kitchen and basement fridge doors
Track your emotional wellbeing and be aware of fluctuations in stress that impact your eating habits. Seek alternative mechanisms (e.g., a walk
with the dogs, breathing exercises, etc.)
At professional functions, move carb-heavy and calorically dense foods away from you; if you can’t resist trying them, leave half on the plate.
If walking, biking, or taking the T to work is an option, do that whenever possible.
Think moderate, not deny. Sustainability is important.
FOOD PLAN
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Overall: Five small meals (average of 350 calories each) focused on lean protein (e.g., egg whites; fish; chicken breast) and distributed across
the day. At least plan and, whenever possible, prep your meals the day before.
Eat protein first, then veggies, and save carbs for last when you’re already more full.
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Sample Meals:
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Breakfast: 2 Eggs and a Banana
Snack 1: Carrot Sticks and a Handful of Almonds
Lunch: Salad with Grilled Chicken and Vinaigrette
Snack 2: Cantaloupe and Cottage Cheese
Dinner: Grilled Tilapia and Asparagus
Dessert: EITHER one Ghiradelli square OR ½ cup of an ice cream of your choice.
EXERCISE PLAN
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Maintain ½ hour training / ½ hour cardio sessions three times per week.
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Maintain daily walks with dogs.
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Add a one-hour active outing with family and/or friends each week (e.g., bike ride; hike with your dogs; long brisk walk)
Weight Loss Plan for Professor Madrian: Group K
The Challenge
-Lose 10 pounds over 6 weeks (approx 1.5 pounds/week)
-Current total calories consumed/week: 14,000
-Current total calories burned/week: 14,000
-Must introduce 3000 calorie “delta” between burned/consumed
Defaults
-Increase your dog walking time by 25-30%
Forced Choice
-Weigh-ins in class Monday morning (or in more private setting, i.e.
by Nicole at gym); if not meeting target weight, must put $20 in jar
which will be donated to least favorite organization
-Add one more high-intensity workout per week (convenient
weekday)--class will join you during this workout for accountability
(plan-making)
Reminders
-Get family involved! Make sure family is aware of specific, daily
goals (gym schedule, food portions)
-MyFitnessPal--set up a reminder on your phone 3x day to remind
you to log food
-Tape piece of paper on freezer; sign your name each time you
open the door for ice cream. Have your husband/family E-mail a
picture of this each Monday morning to the class for accountability.
-Setup countdown on phone to BYU homecoming
Plan-making
-Do Fitness Challenge (with FitBit) with Behavioral Econ class
-Plan meals for week on Sunday nights
API304 Professor Madrian Weight-Loss Challenge: Group H
•  “Losing 10 pounds in six weeks” is too abstract and lacks focus. Therefore, we
recommend rephrasing the goal as follows: Do not eat carbs, or nearly do not
any carbs – and eat enough animal fat to maintain overall energy and well-being
– for six weeks – this provides a specific, single goal (based on the Banting diet)
http://m.food24.com/food24/News-and-Guides/Food-in-Focus/Top-10-low-carb-highfat-recipes-for-banting-diet-20140217 •  We know you are data and evidence-driven person. Therefore, we recommend
you review the evidence that this approach is highly likely to succeed.
•  Also look for evidence about how a change in your diet relates to your other life
goals e.g. intellectual performance.
•  We recommend you inform your family and friends about your goal – this will
provide social support (and shaming!)
•  For the same reason, we ask that you report to the class each week on how
you are tracking. We will keep a scale in the classroom to take a reading each
week!
•  Have on hand a set of simple recipes that are tasty and easy to make e.g. see
http://realmealrevolution.com/recipes#cat_16,p1
•  Ask your kids to make you carb-free snacks and have these when you have
cravings; this will give you an emotional commitment to your healthy snacks.
•  Share your goal with your gym instructor and ask her to send you encouraging
messages between gym sessions.
•  Incorporate stress relief / mindfulness into your gym routine to increase selfmotivation.
Interventions to the 6-week Weight Loss Plan. Group D
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Change the default
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Have healthy snacks in your office closet
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Bring your own food for set lunches / event lunches
Address inattention
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Write down life-style goal and put the note on the mirror with 3 main goals
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Sign up for an additional goal (i.e. marathon but without running, maybe dancing/ swimming team)
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Note on the freezer w ice-cream “Are you sure you want to eat that ice-cream?”
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Buy a smaller dress now and hang it on the wall
Use planning aids
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Have a big calendar with goals and big red letters how many weeks are left at home
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Have a shopping list before you go to store
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Set up a meal plan with a dietitian
Decrease a hassle habit and a present bias by increasing availability of healthy food
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Meal subscription plan
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Preparing healthy foods upfront
Leverage/ create a social norm
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Have a family meeting and engage them
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Sign up for a group sports activity
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Sign up for weight-watchers or a similar group with a buddy system
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Sign up for a personal trainer in a gym
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Ask your class to ask you your weight every Wednesday J
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Mention your goals to your lunch-dates
Leverage the fear of loss aversion
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Pay penalty for every week she doesn’t loose certain weight (Pay money, take money from your retirement, some
other foods/ snacks etc.). Sign up for
Suggestions for lowering Dr. Madrian’s weight in the next 6 weeks. Group E
Motivation
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Put a side by side picture of now and your ideal self on her bathroom mirror, down-stairs freezer.
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Put a log on refrigerator of what you ate every day for all the family to see after you get them on board.
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Check and log your weight once a week. If successful then treat yourself to something small you crave.
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Every week set a pound goal and if you don’t meet it then donate $50 to Trumps campaign.
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Put away loose clothing and put on your tight fitting clothes that remind you of your goal. Buy expensive tight
clothes size 4/5 to start wearing as you make progress.
Education
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Read book “Always Hungry” by Dr. Ludwig (Harvard) for long term success but do the Nutrisystem Turbo 10
to lose 10 lbs. in one month. Avoid processed foods and read the science of skinny. Dee Mc Caffrey
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Visit a nutritionist and get 6 weeks of balanced meals that can be achieved eating in restaurants.
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Join the app headspace and meditate every day to stay focused and relax
Pre-commitments
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Get rid of all the junk food at home, car, office and purse but allow yourself a treat that you buy twice a
week. Such as a trip to Ben and Jerry’s.
Mindfulness of adding stairs and steps to your day by parking further away from doors and taking the long
route, never use an elevator if you can.
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Keep the exercise classes and share the goal with trainer and friends
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Add walking the dogs in the morning, put your stuff out to be ready, reduce the effort of heading out.
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Add more rest to your week by sleeping in Saturday and Sunday.
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Up your step challenge in your fit-bit and DO NOT go to bed until you reach your goal. Do more long
duration low intensity exercise that burns more calories.
Tally of Suggestions
Sugges)on
count Somespecificideas
Change/increaseExerciseHabits
22
Aerobicworkouts,moredogwalks,wearweights,walkingmee<ngs,exercisegoal,parkfaraway,takestairs,upintensity,
ridebike,weighttraining
Support(familyandfriends)
21
Ac<veget-togethers,gyminstructorsendmessages,involveothers,trackprogressonsharedchart
Accountability
15
Tofamily,nutri<onist,class,trainer.Starteachclasswithaslideofweight,postlogofwhateatonfridgedaily,postdaily
photoofeverythingyouateonFB
Postremindersandmo<va<onalitems
12
Photosofselfwhenslimmer,slogansofthegoal,postreminders--fridge,officedesk,screensaver
Planahead
12
Meal-planning,bringlunchandhealthysnacks,shoppinglist
ChangeEa<ngHabits
RecordKeeping
Buy(small)clothesforeventnow
Rewardselfformee<nggoals
Fitbitchallenge
Foodsubs<tu<ons
Joinagroup
Setweeklyweight-lossgoal
Checkweightregularly
Lockuporremovetemp<ngfoods
Hiretrainer
Financialpenaltyfornotmee<nggoals
Meditate/mindfulness
Hirenutri<onist
Readinforma<ononlosingweight
Getmorerest
Partakeinmore"in<mate"ac<vi<es
Visitphysician:biologicalinterven<on?
11
9
6
6
5
5
4
4
4
4
3
3
3
2
2
2
1
1
Lessicecream;morefruit/veg;3meals+3snacksdaily,steelcutoats,morefat,lesscarbs
Fitnessjournal,foodlog,weightlog
Sorbetforicecream,choc.proteinbarsinsteadofdessert,mealsubscrip<onplan
Exercisegroup,WeightWatchers
Labelhighcaloriefoods,givefamilykeytofreezer/cupboard
AlwaysHungry,DeeMccaffrey,Ban<ngdiet
Prize-Linked Savings
The Demand for Gaming
We buy more lottery tickets...
…than milk or beer
The Demand for Gaming
Average Lottery
Return
$0.52
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Why do people
gamble?
The Prize Pyramid
Prize Pyramids
Source: Prize Linked Savings and Financially Vulnerable Americans: Insights from a Five State Study. D2D Fund, 2011.
Should Prize-Linked Savings be
Regulated? If so, How?
Class on Wednesday, November 9
If election called
BEFORE
Midnight
Class at 9 AM
If election
NOT CALLED
by Midnight
No Class
Message on Canvas