Change: The Surprising Science of How New Ideas and Behaviors Take Off and Take Hold

For readers of Malcolm Gladwell, Richard Thaler, and Cass Sunstein, a bold and paradigm-busting new theory about the complex way ideas and behaviors spread, and how to efficiently effect the change you want to see in the world. Most of what we know about how ideas spread comes from bestselling authors who give us a compelling picture of a world, in which influencers are king, sticky ideas go viral, and good behavior is nudged forward. The only problem is that the world they describe is a world where information spreads, but beliefs and behaviors stay the same. It is a world of simple contagions, which spread quickly to everyone, but do not have any lasting impact on what we think or how we live. When it comes to transforming behaviors and beliefs, the dynamics of change are different: beliefs and behaviors are not transmitted from person to person in the simple way that a virus is. The real story of social change is more complex. When we are exposed to a new idea, our social networks guide our responses in striking and surprising ways. Drawing on deep-yet-accessible research and fascinating examples from the spread of coronavirus to the success of the Black Lives Matter movement, the failure of Google+, and the potential to reduce political polarization, Change presents a groundbreaking and paradigm-shifting new science for understanding what drives change, and how we can change the world around us.