Why do we stick to one iconic Iphone ringtone , when we have 28 options! : A Behavioural Insight.
Mridul Mehndiratta, Ph.D.
Helping Researchers craft and navigate PhD journeys | Freelance Educator
Recall this relatable scenario : you are sitting with 5 of your friends happily chatting away , when you are interrupted by a ringing Iphone. Now 3 of you have an Iphone of various versions and all 3 of you grab your device to check if its your phone!
Why all three of you have to do it? Because all the three phones have one thing in common: the ringtone..that default ringtone that our ears are used to ever since we held this incredibly beautifully precious device.
Occasionally, One of the proud iphone owners in the group might chip in the suggestion : 'Guess, I will change my Iphone ringtone, this same ringtone causes so much confusion that whose phone is ringing anyway’. PERIOD. And the group is back to earlier conversation.
Déjà vu? Most of us can swear to have experienced this situation! Yet, the default ringtone continues to ring ‘happily and unchallenged’ into our ears!
Why so? Deriving some insight from behavioural sciences , most of ‘ We the homos (or humans)’ suffer from ‘status quo’ bias: tendency to stick default options.
We are most likely to stick to default options that are in the device rather than making the effort that is 'as effortless as it can be’ to change the ringtone! We are somehow driven by the belief that ‘default option is the best, most effortless and convenient option or course of action’.
‘When as a consumer we love and demand choices, we still stick to a singular default option’ ; notice the irony?
While sticking to ‘default option’ in your phone might not have any monetary costs, but in some scenarios, this default option might prove slightly (and unwillingly heavier) on your pocket. Think of it : When booking any travel ticket, the ‘ Yes, I want travel insurance’ box may be automatically checked (which is the case in most scenarios) and you will end up paying for it (even If you don’t want to ) unless you un-check it (and hence change the default option).
How about consciously acknowledging and thinking of default options presented to us in our day to day lives and explore alternatives? In the next minute as you browse your phone settings , try exploring the non-default options? Let yourself be surprised by devices and life in general by alternatives by attempting to shed your ‘status quo’!
Thoughts?
Senior Designer @ Frog | MSc-HCI @ University of York | Research | AI | Product Design
4 年I appreciate you picking a good example of the status quo to relate to the audience even though we have organ donations, 401k case studies regarding this bias.
22x Salesforce Certified Application & System Architect | Senior Technical Architect @ Salesforce Inc. (Advisory Services)
4 年I just hate the travel insurance thing. I guess its not there as a default option but more as a minor detail. Folks rely on oversight in that case. Its a con for sure. Good example of default option may be where they ask you to donate X Rs. for the charity like when you order food. Whenever I order food , I do that as an indulgence, so I must admit that at times I have succumbed to pressure and felt guilty about it. Without knowing the cause or the organization details I have donated .... great move by online portals for sure.