IF YOU made a New Year鈥檚 resolution and are already having trouble sticking to it, don鈥檛 be too hard on yourself. It is not just a question of self will. Recent research shows that our behaviours and habits are more strongly influenced by friends and relatives than we might imagine. Furthermore, it seems that behaviours, ill-health and even moods pass through friendship networks across several degrees of separation, and we are almost bound to 鈥渃atch鈥� them (see 鈥淭hree degrees of contagion鈥�).
These findings have two important implications. The first is for public health. Governments tend to tackle issues such as smoking, alcoholism and unhealthy eating by focusing on individual behaviour (see 鈥淭ime to use science, not political knee jerks, to deal with cannabis鈥�). Health campaigns could be a lot more effective if they accounted for the fact that society is not atomised. Our behaviours are determined to a great extent by what others are doing. One idea is to 鈥渟eed鈥� health messages in small groups of peers, in expectation that the information will then cascade through the network. What is also clear is that many medical treatments look a lot more cost-effective when you consider that a person鈥檚 illness 鈥� and likewise their wellness 鈥� has a knock-on effect on the health of those around them.
The second implication is for our view of human nature and autonomy. We like to think we are solely responsible for our actions and that we are in control of our lives. This is largely an illusion. We are innately social animals, so it is hard to resist being influenced by others. But by understanding our limitations and the social dimension to human behaviour we can turn this to our advantage. Why not team up with your friends and make a resolution together? You may find you are more successful.
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