How Change Happens cover art

How Change Happens

Preview

Try Premium Plus free
1 credit a month to buy any audiobook in our entire collection.
Access to thousands of additional audiobooks and Originals from the Plus Catalogue.
Member-only deals & discounts.
Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

How Change Happens

By: Cass R. Sunstein
Narrated by: Peter Marinker
Try Premium Plus free

$16.45 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $25.99

Buy Now for $25.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using voucher balance (if applicable) then card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions Of Use and Privacy Notice and authorise Audible to charge your designated credit card or another available credit card on file.
Cancel

About this listen

The different ways that social change happens, from unleashing to nudging to social cascades.

How does social change happen? When do social movements take off? Sexual harassment was once something that women had to endure; now a movement has risen up against it. White nationalist sentiments, on the other hand, were largely kept out of mainstream discourse; now there is no shortage of media outlets for them. In this book, with the help of behavioral economics, psychology and other fields, Cass Sunstein casts a bright new light on how change happens.

Sunstein focuses on the crucial role of social norms - and on their frequent collapse. When norms lead people to silence themselves, even an unpopular status quo can persist. Then one day, someone challenges the norm - a child who exclaims that the emperor has no clothes; a woman who says 'me too'. Sometimes suppressed outrage is unleashed, and longstanding practices fall. Sometimes change is more gradual, as 'nudges' help produce new and different decisions - apps that count calories; texted reminders of deadlines; automatic enrolment in green energy or pension plans. Sunstein explores what kinds of nudges are effective and shows why nudges sometimes give way to bans and mandates. Finally, he considers social divisions, social cascades and 'partyism', when identification with a political party creates a strong bias against all members of an opposing party - which can both fuel and block social change.

©2019 Cass R. Sunstein (P)2019 W. F. Howes Ltd
Decision-Making & Problem Solving Politics & Government Social Policy Social Psychology & Interactions Social Sciences Sociology Career

Critic Reviews

"Sunstein's book is illuminating because it puts norms at the center of how we think about change." (David Brooks, New York Times)

What listeners say about How Change Happens

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.