Many people find it tough to stick with personal improvement goals, but what if copying the proven habits of friends could make a real difference? A new study from the University of Chicago reveals that prompting individuals to identify and adopt their friends' exercise strategies significantly increases workout time compared to simply receiving generic advice.
In this research, psychologists Katie S. Mehr, Amanda E. Geiser, Katherine L. Milkman, and Angela L. Duckworth introduce the "copy-paste prompt"—a simple nudge designed to encourage people to seek out and emulate effective goal-achievement tactics from their social circles.
"Copy-paste prompts are easy to implement, virtually cost-free, and widely applicable, with potential to enhance outcomes from healthy eating to academic performance," the authors note.
These prompts outperform other goal-boosting methods for key reasons: observing behaviors is inherently engaging, boosts self-efficacy, and increases the chances of applying the learned strategies. Yet, people often overlook these social learning opportunities. Copy-paste prompts bridge that gap by leveraging relevant, peer-selected insights tailored to the individual.
In a rigorous field experiment with over 1,000 participants, researchers asked about recent exercise hours and randomly assigned them to one of three groups: copy-paste prompts, a quasi-smart control, or a basic control.
Those receiving copy-paste prompts logged more exercise time the following week than both control groups. The authors explain: "Benefits are driven by the adopted strategy's perceived usefulness, commitment to it, effort in sourcing it, and regular social contact with active peers."
Looking ahead, the team suggests: "Mastering copy-paste in one area, like fitness, could extend to others, such as retirement savings."
