User:MyEnvironmentalClock/Compliance gaining

Lead
Compliance gaining is a term used in the social sciences that encompasses the intentional act of altering another's behavior. Research in this area originated in the field of social psychology, but communication scholars have also provided ample research in compliance gaining. While persuasion focuses on attitudes and beliefs, compliance gaining focuses on behavior.

Application
Compliance gaining research has a fairly diverse background so much of the research uses alternate paradigms and perspectives. As mentioned above, the field of compliance gaining originated in social psychology, but was adopted by many communication scholars as well. Many fields from consumer psychology to primary education pedagogy have taken great interest in compliance gaining.

Public Administration and Public Policy Compliance
Public administration scholars study compliance to understand why public policy targets, such as citizens, act in a fashion that achieves preferred outcomes. For instance, they focus on a wide range of areas from stay-at-home orders during the COVID-19 pandemic and tax collection to reducing obesity through healthy eating and discouraging speeding on highways. Two dominant theories have been used to explain why people do or do not comply with policy prescriptions: the rational actor perspective of classical economics and behavioral economics. The rational actor perspective sees policy targets as reasonable, non-emotional individuals, often labeled as Econs or Homo Economicus, and it will utilize self-interest and incentives in shaping their decision making. For instance, a rational actor view of obesity explains compliance/non-compliance by people rationally responding to the higher prices of unhealthy food or choosing what’s best for them when nutritional facts are added to food labels. The behavioral economic lens sees policy targets as sometimes irrational actors whose choices are influenced by emotions and impulses, that is, as real humans, and will suggest compliance mechanisms, such as emphasizing social norms,  nudging people to make the right choice through choice architecture, or making the default option the desired outcome  and thus making compliance easy. Applying behavioral insights to obesity highlights how unhealthy eating habits like overeating are induced by cues in the environment, such as large portion sizes.