A brief overview of behavioural change and product adoption models
A privacy update from WhatsApp has seen users flock to rival messaging apps like Signal. The Signal application (https://signal.org) is an encrypted messaging application, available for mobile (iOS/Android), Windows, OSX and Linux.
This article isn’t intended to discuss the pros and cons of using various messaging services. Rather, as I saw the names of family and friends pop up on my device to embrace Signal recently, it made me think about change management and cyber security.
While I have been a Signal user for a long time, I now see many friends and family members jumping on board. Why? What are the triggers that make people change their behaviour?
Fogg Behaviour model
If you are interested in learning more about behavioural change, the Fogg Behaviour model explains that three elements must converge at the same moment for a behavior to occur: Motivation, Ability, and a Prompt. When a behavior does not occur, at least one of those three elements are missing.
It’s often said that awareness alone doesn’t change behaviour but the need to understand the change presented, experience the change, feel comfort in the ‘new way’ and possess the ability to sustain the change. It is likely that Signal was able to generate this level of comfort in people wanting to make the switch to a new messaging app, especially around the ‘Ability’ aspect. It is easy to use, and it has a desktop version too. Users can voice and video chat on Signal, and calls are all end-to-end encrypted. Group calls are limited to five.
We likely saw many of our contacts choose to use alternative messaging apps in the last few weeks because the alternatives offered met all or most of the criteria to make the move to using something new.
What about product adoption theories?
From a product adoption perspective, Everett M Rogers, in his book, ‘Diffusion of Innovations’ (1962), describes 5 types of adopter for products. The communication scholar and sociologist presented a social system for adopters of innovation which varies through the product lifecycle. These cycles are:
? Innovators
? Early Adopters
? Early Majority
? Late Majority
? Laggards
Where did you fit on the product adoption curve? An early adopter or part of the late majority? Was the fear of missing out part of the trend towards changing messaging apps?
Final thoughts
Changing behaviour isn’t easy. It takes time and requires sustained efforts. As a cyber security culture advocate, I’m taking the time to refresh on these models in 2021 and hopefully inspire more champions for my client’s cyber security culture transformation.
#humanfactor #cyberculture #changechampions