When Do Persons Change Their Behaviors?

Conditions Facilitating Change

1. Persons tend to change when they have participated in the decision to change.

2. Persons tend to support change they help design; they tend to resist change they do not help design.

3. Persons tend to change when they are convinced that rewards for change exceed the pain of change.

4. Persons tend to change when they see others changing, particularly when the change direction is supported by valued persons.

5. Persons tend to change more readily in an environment free from threat and judgment.

6. Persons tend to change more readily when they have the competencies, knowledge, or skills required by the change.

7. Persons tend to change to the degree they trust the motives of the person or persons attempting to induce change.

8. Persons tend to change more readily if they are able to influence reciprocally the person or persons who are attempting to influence them.

9. Persons tend to change to the degree that they see the change has been successful, especially if they are able to gather data for themselves.

10. Persons tend to change in a series of small steps rather than a total change in their way of life.

11. Persons tend to maintain change to the degree that the change is supported by the environment.

12. Persons tend to maintain change if there is a public commitment to the change.

13. Persons tend to resist change to the degree that they feel it is imposed on them.

14. It is tempting, and fun (and so easy) to suggest changes for others; it is difficult to be willing to change oneself.

Joseph C. Bentley