Old standard “get-out-the-vote” phone call scripts made by volunteers simply asked people to participate in the election and reminded callers that voting was important. In this university podcast, Harvard professor Todd Rogers shares how political parties and other organizations are finding that subtle changes in language—even from a verb to a noun—can make a substantial difference in how many people cast ballots. He details approaches that work best, and significant results from recent elections. Rogers spoke at The Science of Getting People to Do Good, Prosocial Briefing held at Stanford.
Todd Rogers is an assistant professor of public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School. He is a behavioral scientist who tries to understand and influence socially consequential problems. His recent work develops and tests behavioral science informed interventions in classrooms. Prior to joining the faculty at Harvard, he was founding executive director of the Analyst Institute, LLC, which uses randomized field experiments and behavioral science insights to understand and improve voter communication programs. Rogers was named a Rising Star by Politics Magazine for his work in the 2008 election cycle, and a 40 under 40 award winner by New Leaders Council for leadership in politics. He received his Ph.D. jointly from Harvard's department of psychology and Harvard Business School. He received his B.A. from Williams College.
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This free podcast is from our Stanford Discussions series.
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Photo: Harvard Kennedy School