HOW DOES DECIDE CAMPAIGNS MODEL THE
DECISION-MAKING PROCESS?

Decide Campaigns uses three primary techniques to model decision making:

VALUES ALIGNMENT

Our core values rarely change. They are always there, under the surface of our consciousness, influencing every decision. If we can understand our audiences’ core values, we are able to target messaging that appeals to those values and impact decision making.

INFLUENCE OF PSYCHOLOGICAL BIAS

If you want to understand decision making you must understand bias.

Psychological biases impact how we understand information we are accessing.

For example, industry or causes often think simply presenting the facts will influence decisions. However, simple presentation of fact based communications often results in the backfire effect – a psychological bias where opposition facts will be used to strengthen an existing position.

In other words, if you present climate change facts, a climate change denier can become more hardened in their denial.

For more information on key biases and how Decide Campaigns tackles them, click here.

MAPPING SOCIAL NETWORK INFLUENCE

The third major influence on decisions is our relationships.

Who we know and the company we keep has an enormous impact on our decisions.

The idea of “keeping up with the Jones’s” is a great way to think about the impact of social networks. But it goes far deeper than just our purchasing decisions. If we belong to a group that tends towards conservatism, we are much more likely to vote conservative than if our social network tends towards liberalism.

But there are leaders in social networks. Influence the leaders and we influence the entire network.