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Reminders through association

Reminders-though-association is an approach that uses memory cues to help individuals follow through on their intentions. Research in psychology has shown that using reminders-through-association can improve a person’s ability to complete actions that they have committed to doing.

The reminders-through-association approach involves cognitively linking a visual cue to a desired action. An effective cue will lead the individual to recall the necessary memory at the moment they encounter the cue. To maximize follow-through on intentions, the cue should be delivered at a moment when action is possible. Effective cues should also be visually distinctive.

Research
Todd Rogers and Katherine L. Milkman (2016) showed that reminders-through-association can reduce follow-through failures (the failure to follow through on one’s intentions). By associating intentions (such as mailing a letter on your desk) with a distinctive cue (Valentine’s Day flowers on your desk), individuals can improve their ability to follow through on their intended actions.

Rogers and Milkman found that distinctive visual cues are more effective reminders-through-association. Specifically, a randomized online study associated a distinctive elephant image with a request to donate. When the elephant image was shown after a series of non-elephant images, participants were 21 percentage points more likely to donate than when the elephant image was shown after a series of other similar elephant images.

Rogers and Milkman tested the effectiveness of a reminders-through-association approach in a real-world setting. In one study, 500 customers at a cafe were given $1 coupons for a follow-up visit. Flyers affixed to the coupons prompted them to follow through on their intention for a return visit. For half of the customers, the reminders-through-association flyer also included a picture of a stuffed alien figure with an additional reminder that they would see this stuffed alien on the cash register at the time of their future purchase. The authors found that the reminders-through-associated flyer increased coupon use by 36%. 24% of customers who received this flyer followed through on the intended day, as compared to only 17% of customers who received a flyer without the figure.

The authors found that reminders-through-association can be more effective than written messages when many other written signs are present, and that people can undervalue and under-use reminders-through-association as a strategy.

Practical Significance
Policymakers can utilize a reminders-through-association strategy to improve people’s abilities to take socially desirable actions. For example, an airport can use reminders-through-association to encourage people to pay for parking before returning to their cars. People could be shown a distinctive cue upon first receiving their parking cards and told that they will encounter this same cue at the parking machines when they return to the garage to remind them to pay.

Reminders-through-association can also complement other approaches designed to encourage follow-through. For example, research shows that people who make implementation plans are more likely to act on their intentions.