Uploaded September 2019 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Why do people sometimes refrain from doing something they want to? Or something you ask them to and you know they don’t mind doing? The answer very often is that they need a ‘narrative’ – a way of rationalising what they are doing which shows them in a positive light. ‘I am not doing that because the boss / the teacher asks me but because I am a helpful person / I am responsible / I am a team player…’ etc. It is the same when offering people choices: you can sway people towards choosing B over A by providing them with a better ‘narrative’ – a better post-hoc way of rationalising the choice you have actually made for them. Another brilliant insight by the great Rory Sutherland.
Why do people sometimes refrain from doing something they want to? Or something you ask them to and you know they don’t mind doing? The answer very often is that they need a ‘narrative’ – a way of rationalising what they are doing which shows them in a positive light. ‘I am not doing that because the boss / the teacher asks me but because I am a helpful person / I am responsible / I am a team player…’ etc. It is the same when offering people choices: you can sway people towards choosing B over A by providing them with a better ‘narrative’ – a better post-hoc way of rationalising the choice you have actually made for them. Another brilliant insight by the great Rory Sutherland.
