The Context Architects of India
How many applied behavioural scientists back up plan, when things don't quite go to plan in their experiments, use the the phrase
"Well I guess in this instance, Context Really Matters" ?
But what are they doing about it?
Understanding the personal, social, micro and macro environmental and critically, cultural context is being redefined in the behavioural science field by the team at 1001 Stories in India, led by Reshma Tonse.
Context Architecture TM is a new framework for behavioural science that is borne out of deep ethnographic understanding of how people go about their daily business and how the role of symbolism, artefacts and rituals interact with the mobile phones, whatsapp and the rhythm of life in India 1, 2 and 3.
This new framework is different. It's borne of out India. It has a feel to it that lacks the sterile and somewhat western nature of thinking of one having being created in the laboratory. Instead, it feels far more connected to the real world and designed for use in applied behavioural science settings.
The co-creator, Reshma Tonse of 1001 Stories is following in the footsteps of behavioural science greats, Biju Dominic and Dilip Soman, who have all spent time unearthing and understanding customer insights in advertising at earlier points in their careers.
And one of the conundrums the team is starting to grapple with is the continuum of contradiction within daily life and behaviours across India.
Most behavioural insights within India can be contradictory.
What is exhibited in one domain often does not translate to another.
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In India, this is lovingly referred to as
" This and That ".
A huge catch all to say that India is full of contradictions but somehow manages to resolve them.
There's no doubt India is at a Tipping Point in its behavioural science adoption.
It could be the number one market for our field.
And with the number one population, it could be the biggest experimental playground to really get to grips with context.
I for one know one thing.
If you're serious about context and serious about behavioural science you will need to follow these developments.
I'm excited about the prospect of what 'This and That' means for behavioural science worldwide and I'm certainly going to take a serious look at what is going on in Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai for my future context.
Behavioural Science & Context Architecture ? | Co-Founder @ 1001 Stories | President @ Diversifi Global
1 年It is fascinating to imagine how psychology would look like if it had emerged out of Japan, China, India or the larger African Continent or Latin America. What would be the pillars and how would we decide which lines of thought were worth pursuing? In that sense, it is a great time for folks from these regions to get into Behavioural Science, to explore the field, tinker and then push it to its boundaries. For we all need to figure out how to solve problems for our local contexts using the science which sometimes seem universal and then stumps us with contextual realities and replication challenges. Call us Global South, non-WEIRD, Rest of The World etc - the label doesn't matter beyond a point. What matters is the possibilities of a newer approach coming out of these places. We already have some fantastic minds who put context first, folks like ?? Pedro Del Carpio Carre?o, Emiliano Díaz del Valle, Flávia ávila, Pat Govender, Sebastian G. Fonzo, MSc, MBA., Ricardo Maldonado, Wiam Hasanain Fatima Koaik, Pavan Mamidi, Pooja Haldea, Raheel Waqar and many others.. Here's to a fantastic world with exciting learnings, failures and then successes : -)
CEEW | Behavioural Science | Communications | MAPP
1 年Absolutely bang on! Diverse, here in India, context, culture and practices hugely vary with every step one takes. From my observations, a mix of cultural norms thrive within the boundaries of a small gated community, making social norm oriented interventions super exciting to look at! Look forward to reading more insights from your visit Jez!