Game theory can be an excellent tool for changing habits because it provides a framework for understanding strategic decision-making and interactions between individuals or different parts of ourselves (if we apply it to personal behavior). By analyzing habit formation through a game-theoretical lens, you can create strategies that maximize your chances of successfully changing habits.
Here’s how:1. Identifying Players (Self vs. Self)
Game theory models the interaction between two or more
players. Thus, in habit change, think of yourself as two players: your current
self and your future self. Both have competing interests: the
current self wants immediate gratification (e.g., staying in bed, eating
unhealthy food, not doing any physical exercises), while the future self is
focused on long-term benefits (e.g., waking up early, maintaining health,
training).
Game theory insight: This conflict is similar to the Prisoner's
Dilemma (post about it in the link),
where cooperation between your present and future self can lead to better
outcomes. The goal is to align the interests of both selves so that they
cooperate rather than defect.
Strategy: Identify actions that satisfy both selves,
like introducing small, immediate rewards for behaviors that benefit the future
self.
2. Incentive Structures
Change your environment to adjust the incentives that shape
your behavior. The decisions in your daily routine are influenced by both external
and internal rewards and punishments.
Game theory insight: Use a Tit-for-Tat
strategy, where you reward yourself for positive actions and “punish” yourself
(with something small) for negative actions. If you skip a workout, you might
add extra exercise the next day or remove a privilege like watching TV that
evening.
Example Application:
- Positive
Action: If you complete a daily goal (e.g., 30 minutes of exercise),
reward yourself with something like watching an extra episode of your
favorite show.
- Negative Action: If you skip the task, "punish" yourself by delaying something you enjoy (e.g., no dessert after dinner).
3. Commitment Devices
A key part of game theory involves committing to certain
strategies. In personal habit formation, this can mean using commitment devices
that "lock in" your future decisions, reducing the temptation to
deviate.
Game theory insight: Commitment devices like
financial penalties, public commitments, or setting up automatic behaviors
(like automated savings or fitness reminders) prevent your current self from
sabotaging future goals.
Strategy: Use a commitment device to bind your future
actions, like signing up for a marathon, automating savings, or using apps that
penalize you for failing to meet goals.
4. Nash Equilibrium (Balancing Strategies)
The concept of a Nash equilibrium refers to a
situation where no player has an incentive to change their strategy given what
the other player is doing. For habit change, your long-term success comes when
both your present and future self find a balance between immediate
gratification and long-term benefit.
Game theory insight: Establish routines or
environments where the cost of deviating from a habit is high, and the reward
for maintaining it is consistent. For instance, if you want to quit smoking,
surround yourself with non-smokers and avoid places where you used to smoke.
Strategy: Find a balance that allows both your
immediate and future needs to be met with minimal friction. This could mean
finding enjoyable ways to exercise or eat healthy, so that your immediate
desires don’t feel deprived.
5. Repeated Games and Reinforcement
Habit change isn’t a one-time event but rather a repeated
game played every day. Each decision builds upon the last, so the cumulative
effect of small choices can be powerful.
Game theory insight: In repeated games, cooperation
often emerges because players recognize that their actions today affect
tomorrow. Apply this to habits by acknowledging that one good choice today
makes it easier to make a good choice tomorrow.
Strategy: Focus on creating momentum. Start with
small wins and reinforce them, so that each day your brain receives positive
reinforcement for sticking to your new habit.
By using game theory principles, you can better strategize
and design environments that support lasting behavior change. Which of these
strategies resonates the most with the habits you're trying to change?
The pictures in this post were taken from Unsplash.
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