Expertise And Ignorance: We Are All Ignorant—Some of Us Know It and Some Of Us Don’t

A Potential Antidote for Ignorance

As we have done in previous essays, we offer one specific process that might be of value in helping us address the challenge of moving from ignorance to action. We describe a process called MINDSPACE This is an acronym for nine psychological (and largely unconscious) mechanisms or “nudges” that can influence our behavior. The nine are: Messenger, Incentives, Norms, Defaults, Salience, Priming, Affect, Commitment and Ego.

This framework is used primarily by governments in the crafting of public policy aimed at influencing the behavior of citizens – for example smoking cessation, healthcare adoption, exercising more, making more effective retirement decisions and so on. However, we think there is big opportunity for leaders to engage this process when making decisions and planning for implementation. Leadership coaches can also apply these techniques to help their clients become more effective in moving from ignorance to action.

Here is a summary of each of the nine elements:

Messenger (and the message)

When we are trying to influence employees’ behavior during a period of change and transition, the source of information – the messenger – is both critical and complex. This is probably the case more often than most change leaders realize. For example, studies conducted and described by the social psychologist Elliot Aronson show that – largely unconsciously – we tend to believe and trust information from people we like irrespective of their level expertise. Likeability (or lack thereof) is a big influencing lever. However, when the topic is complex—as in the case of healthcare choices, technical issues or retirement finances—people are influenced more by messages delivered by those considered experts.

Paradoxically, we are less likely to listen to or believe an expert if we don’t like them (again, most of us are not aware of this influence and do not admit to it). Apparently, fickleness extends even further: people are also more influenced by a message from an attractive person even when the message has nothing to do with being attractive. This is despite people saying that they would never be influenced by something as absurd as the extent to which a person is good-looking. Unfortunately, this is not the case. We are influenced by good looks.