How Change Happens by Cass R Sunstein

How Change Happens by Cass R Sunstein

The different ways that social change happens, from unleashing to nudging to social cascades.

Sunstein's book is illuminating because it puts norms at the center of how we think about change.--David Brooks, The New York Times

How does social change happen? When do social movements take off? Sexual harassment was once something that women had to endure; now a movement has risen up against it. White nationalist sentiments, on the other hand, were largely kept out of mainstream discourse; now there is no shortage of media outlets for them. In this book, with the help of behavioral economics, psychology, and other fields, Cass Sunstein casts a bright new light on how change happens.

Sunstein focuses on the crucial role of social norms--and on their frequent collapse. When norms lead people to silence themselves, even an unpopular status quo can persist. Then one day, someone challenges the norm--a child who exclaims that the emperor has no clothes; a woman who says me too. Sometimes suppressed outrage is unleashed, and long-standing practices fall.

Sometimes change is more gradual, as nudges help produce new and different decisions--apps that count calories; texted reminders of deadlines; automatic enrollment in green energy or pension plans. Sunstein explores what kinds of nudges are effective and shows why nudges sometimes give way to bans and mandates. Finally, he considers social divisions, social cascades, and partyism, when identification with a political party creates a strong bias against all members of an opposing party--which can both fuel and block social change.

Sunstein, Cass R.: - Cass R. Sunstein, Robert Walmsley University Professor at Harvard Law School, was Administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the Obama administration. He was the recipient of the 2018 Holberg Prize, one of the largest annual international research prizes awarded to scholars who have made outstanding contributions to research in the arts and humanities, social science, law, or theology. He is the author of The Cost-Benefit Revolution, How Change Happens (both published by the MIT Press), Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness (with Richard H. Thaler), and other books.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780262039574
ISBN 10	0262039575
Title	How Change Happens
Author	Cass R Sunstein
Series	The Mit Press
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	MIT Press Ltd
Year published	2019-04-09
Number of pages	344
Prizes	Winner of Finalist in the Next Big Ideas Club for Spring 2019 2019
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.