Change Wired Why you know what to do and still don't do it — with UCLA Nudge Unit Co-Director Hengchen Dai.
What does it truly take to change what we do — for yourself and at scale, sustainably in the real world?
In this episode, Angela sits down with Hengchen Dai, Associate Professor at UCLA Anderson and co-director of the UCLA Nudge Unit, to explore the science behind why people do what they do, and what it takes to shift it.
Hengchen brings rigorous academic research published in Nature and other notable publications, and field experiments run inside hospitals, university health systems, and national pharmacy chains with millions of participants. What emerges is a practical toolkit for anyone trying to create lasting change — whether you're a leader, a clinician, a policymaker, or just someone trying to get better at your own habits.
Key Takeaways
- Behaviour change is not one-size-fits-all — someone who skipped their flu shot this year (but got it last year) has a completely different barrier (forgetting, procrastination) than someone who has never been vaccinated (belief, scepticism). Targeting interventions based on past behaviour dramatically improves results.
🗓 The Fresh Start Effect — people are more motivated at temporal landmarks: New Year, birthdays, work anniversaries, the start of a new quarter. Framing a retirement savings sign-up as "after your birthday" vs "in five months" increased sign-up rates — same date, different psychology. Time your change to ride this wave and boost motivation.
⛰️ Friction kills adoption — a 2-click detour in a patient portal was enough to reduce cancer screening rates. If your process, tool, or habit requires even slightly more steps than what people already do, most people won't follow through.
⏱ Timing beats content — a voter registration pop-up immediately after a charitable donation had near-perfect engagement. A text sent two minutes later, after people left the platform, had virtually zero. Meet people where their attention already is.
🎉 Find the short-term fun — long-term benefits rarely motivate day-to-day action. Help people identify immediate enjoyment in the behaviour (learning a new skill, the satisfaction of progress) and sustain engagement far better than selling abstract future outcomes.
👥 Social accountability works — people were more likely to go to the gym when the incentive required bringing a friend, even though that made it harder to earn. Build buddy systems into any change you start.
📢 Close the communication gap — managers assume employees notice what's changed. They don't. When UCLA Health explicitly told physicians "we changed X because you said Y in the 2024 survey," attitudes and participation improved significantly. Don't assume people will notice. Tell them.
... and so much more!
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Links 🌐
Hengchen's website: www.hengchendai.com
BIO
About Hengchen Dai
Hengchen Dai is an Associate Professor of Organizational Behaviour and Behavioural Decision Making at UCLA Anderson School of Management and co-director of the UCLA Nudge Unit. Her research on motivation and behaviour change has appeared in Nature, PNAS, and Management Science, and been featured by the NYT, WSJ, Harvard Business Review, and Freakonomics. She received the 2026 Early Career Impact Award from the Federation of Associations in Behavioral & Brain Sciences and has been named one of the World's 40 Best
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Brought to you by Angela Shurina
Behavior-First, Executive, Leadership and Optimal Performance Coach 360, Change Leadership & Culture Transformation Consultant