In his latest running-inspired blog, Richard Walker explores why observing behaviour isn’t enough, and why true understanding requires context, interpretation, and qualitative insight.
Luckily, I’ve never been “badly” bitten.
But when dogs inevitably try to “go after me” whilst I am out running, their owners often try their best to make light of things. I’ve heard quite a few of the “He doesn’t normally do that”-type excuses and, once, even the classic “He’s just smiling at you”.
We all interpret behaviour in different ways, which is why – as professional researchers – it’s important to always add context and understanding to behavioural data.
Blame AI, but hardly anyone seems to talk about “big data” anymore. Maybe we take it for granted. We all have SO MUCH data on what people do and when. But, here are your…
…Five things insight professionals should remember when researching behaviour
1. Don’t under-estimate the importance of interpreting data. One person’s “smiling dog” is another person’s potential ankle biter.
2. Don’t under-estimate the risk of familiarity bias and data blindness. “I’ve seen that smiling dog (or that data trend) before which must obviously mean….”
3. Don’t mistake observation for understanding. Seeing behaviour is easy. Understanding it takes work – or at least a combination of behavioural and attitudinal insight. (That dog had a bad attitude).
4. Don’t forget the power of qualitative research and deep-insight. There are dozens of ways we can deep dive to better understand emotions and intent. Although, that said, that dog’s intent was pretty clear to me… Choose methods and techniques to decode motivations and why people behave as they do.
5. Don’t neglect the context. Just asking people about behaviours has lots of red flags. The action – intention gap (also known as the ‘say do’ gap) can be huge. Observational research can be so valuable in understanding actual behaviours (and not just stated behaviours). Exploring the cues, the triggers and the environment can support our understanding of why a behaviour happens.
There are also dozens of frameworks that we can use to understand and, ultimately, try to change behaviour. If you would like a crash-course in social cognitive theory, self determination theory, nudge theory, COM-B… (and more besides) then get in touch. We can help guide you to the most appropriate framework to use based on what you’re trying to achieve.
So, in summary
Don’t get “bitten” by misunderstanding behaviour.
Behavioural cues are often rich with meaning, but can be easy to misread. Big data and AI is increasingly helpful in telling us what happened, but it takes specialist research and insight to tell us why – (and, crucially, what to do about it).