Change is hard.

When you want to make a change in your life, whether it's eating healthier food,

starting an exercise program or saving more money,

there are many human foibles that can stand in your way.

Impulsivity, laziness, procrastination, or just plain forgetfulness are among them.

Libraries are full of books offering multi-step plans and other tactics to inspire a new you.

Often though, these plans fall flat.

Our best intentions aren't enough to overcome the roadblocks of human nature that stand in our way.

But in recent years, psychologists have begun to look at behavior change from a different angle.

Instead of fighting human nature, this research suggests that

we should analyze it and then leverage it to work for us rather than against us. What does

that mean? What can we learn from the science of behavior change that can help us make the

alterations we want to see in our lives? And how can organizations, companies, and governments

use these insights to nudge whole populations

into making better choices?

Welcome to Speaking of Psychology, the flagship podcast of the American Psychological Association

that examines the links between psychological science and everyday life.

I'm Kim Mills.

Our guest today is Dr. Katie Milkman, a professor at the Wharton School of the University

of Pennsylvania and author of the book How to Change, The Science of Getting from

Where You Are to Where You Want to Be.

Her research explores how insights from psychology and economics can be harnessed to change

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