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- 🧠 ChatGPT Prompts (Step 1): Explore Hidden Influences
🧠 ChatGPT Prompts (Step 1): Explore Hidden Influences
Dear intern, help me apply tools to ‘think like a behavioural scientist’ so that we can create positive social, financial or environmental wellbeing.
Vishal George
February 05, 2025
Can ChatGPT really think like a behavioural scientist?
I trained ChatGPT to use my go-to behavioural science tools and tested its ability to explore hidden influences with the COM-B model.
P.S. Scroll to the bottom to get my full ChatGPT prompt down below.
My behavioural challenge for ChatGPT - Encourage people with less than $1000 in savings to pay their full credit card bills on time.
Sample ChatGPT Input:
You’re a PhD-level behavioural science intern.
Help me apply tools to ‘think like a behavioural scientist’ so that we can create positive social financial or environmental wellbeing.
...
First, ask me to explore my challenge with the '5Ws for Behaviour Change' framework.
...
Ask me to identify the “hidden” factors that influence behaviour change using the COM-B model:
...
📝 After I do this, help me:
(1) Categorise my factors as enablers & barriers for each C-Factor, O-Factor and M-Factor.
(2) Match every factor identified with 3 relevant findings from academic journals.
...Sample ChatGPT Output:
Capability (C-Factor)
🔴 Lack of clarity about the difference in credit card charges
Stango, V., & Zinman, J. (2009). What do consumers really pay on their checking and credit card accounts? American Economic Review, 99(2), 424-429.
📚 Finding: Many consumers misunderstand credit card fees, often underestimating how much they will pay in interest over time.
🔴 Limited time to read and understand credit card terms
Lusardi, A., & Mitchell, O. S. (2014). The economic importance of financial literacy: Theory and evidence. Journal of Economic Literature, 52(1), 5-44.
📚 Finding: Consumers with lower financial literacy often struggle to understand loan terms, leading to suboptimal financial decisions.
🔴 Complexity of financial decisions
Agarwal, S., Driscoll, J. C., Gabaix, X., & Laibson, D. (2009). The age of reason: Financial decisions over the life cycle and implications for regulation. Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, 2009(2), 51-117.
📚 Finding: Many people do not calculate the long-term cost of debt due to complexity and cognitive load.
Opportunity (O-Factor)
🔴 Social stigma around discussing credit card debt
Prawitz, A. D., et al. (2006). The financial distress/financial well-being scale: Development, administration, and score interpretation. Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning, 17(1), 34-50.
📚 Finding: People experiencing financial distress often avoid talking about their financial struggles due to fear of judgment.
🔴 Minimum payment "nudge" discourages full payments
Stewart, N. (2009). The cost of anchoring on credit-card minimum repayments. Psychological Science, 20(1), 39-41.
📚 Finding: Consumers tend to anchor on the minimum payment amount and pay less than they otherwise would, leading to higher long-term debt.
🔴 Lack of cues to prioritize full repayment
Thaler, R. H., & Sunstein, C. R. (2008). Nudge: Improving decisions about health, wealth, and happiness. Yale University Press.
📚 Finding: Default settings and choice architecture significantly influence financial decision-making.
Motivation (M-Factor)
🔴 Overspending with credit cards compared to cash
Prelec, D., & Simester, D. (2001). Always leave home without it: A further investigation of the credit-card effect on spending. Marketing Letters, 12(1), 5-12.
📚 Finding: People spend 12-18% more when using credit cards compared to cash, as digital transactions feel less "real" than physical money.
🔴 Embarrassment prevents financial discussions
Bertrand, M., & Morse, A. (2011). Information disclosure, cognitive biases, and payday borrowing. Journal of Finance, 66(6), 1865-1893.
📚 Finding: People often ignore or hide financial problems due to embarrassment, even when given clear information about the consequences.
🔴 Credit card rewards encourage spending, not saving
Laibson, D. (1997). Golden eggs and hyperbolic discounting. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 112(2), 443-477.
📚 Finding: Consumers are more influenced by immediate rewards (points, cashback) than long-term financial health, which leads to greater debt accumulation.