{"id":4850,"date":"2019-12-03T14:44:18","date_gmt":"2019-12-03T18:44:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=4850"},"modified":"2022-03-11T16:49:58","modified_gmt":"2022-03-11T20:49:58","slug":"environmental-context","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/environmental-context\/","title":{"rendered":"Environmental Context: Subtle Cues Change Your Behavior"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

How does our environmental context, the changes in our setting, affect our behavior? Can subtle changes in our environments determine whether or not an idea or product catches on?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We’ll cover the science behind how your environmental context affects your behavior and look at a surprising example of the ways subtle changes in our environmental context and affect you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The Power of Your Environmental Context<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Whereas the first two principles of epidemics address the people who help spread the message far and wide (The Law of the Few<\/a>) and how effectively an idea or message can take hold (The Stickiness Factor<\/a>), the third principle has to do with the conditions that lend themselves to an epidemic catching on. According to the Power of Environmental Context, people are so sensitive to conditions and changes in our environment that context can determine whether or not an epidemic tips.<\/strong> 
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In the case of Paul Revere<\/a>, the fact that he made his ride in the middle of the night was pivotal in helping the word-of-mouth epidemic catch on. First, it was easier to reach people knowing they were all at home in bed \u2014 rather than scattered around at work or running errands. Second, people understood that if Revere\u2019s message was urgent enough that he had to wake them in the middle of the night, it must be important. 
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Subtle, seemingly insignificant changes in our immediate environments can make us more likely to change our behavior<\/strong>; when done on a broad enough scale, this can ignite an epidemic. These changes may be in our physical environmental context. 
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Case Study: Environmental Context Reducing Crime in NYC<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Let’s see how much environmental context affects crime rates. During the 1980s, New York City had some of the highest crime rates in its history. Suddenly, in the 1990s, crime rates plummeted faster and more dramatically than any other city during that same period. 
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This drop appeared to be an anti-crime epidemic in how quickly and widely it took hold, but it didn\u2019t really follow the first two principles of epidemics \u2014 The Law of the Few and The Stickiness Factor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n