Dr. Weston Baxter: The power of ritual to transform habits

You lead the Interaction Foundry, an interdisciplinary research group focused on innovation at Imperial College London. Can you tell us about yourself and your role at the Interaction Foundry?

I am an associate professor of Design Engineering at Imperial College London where I direct a research group called the Interaction Foundry. The Foundry is a collective of people with backgrounds in design, business, engineering, behavioral science and other disciplines. Our academic work focuses on the development and application of design tools and methods that support behavioral design. Our collaborative partnerships with a range of organizations enable us to remain relevant and have real impact through the application of our research in the field.

Today, behavioral sciences are heavily employed in the field of innovation to change the living habits of individuals and communities, considering their impact on themselves, their societies and our planet. Changing individual behavior regarding issues like the efficient use and conservation of resources, which is increasingly important due to the climate crisis , or hygiene habits , highlighted by the pandemic, is a priority for both institutions and governments. How do we use behavioral science to transform the lifestyle habits of individuals, organizations and societies?

We advocate for process-driven approaches which normally include deep qualitative research at the beginning of a project framed around relevant behavioral theory. This provides insights to guide the design process through to the creation of an intervention. We constantly strive to make rich theory from behavioral science accessible and practical for designers. In this way, each theory acts as a lens to view a design challenge.

You said, "Rituals are everyday behaviors that add meaning to our lives." What is a ritual, how does it differentiate from routine?

We’re all familiar with rituals that come infrequently and with a lot of ceremony such as a graduation or a wedding. I try to emphasize that rituals also happen often and even daily. A defining characteristic of ritual is its non-instrumental purpose. That is, it is unclear to an outside observer what cause the behavior has. For example, when people kneel and stand when praying, the intention is not to exercise. You can often recognize a ritual as a moment where there is particular intention or attention given to what you are doing. Ritual also can signal a deliberate transition to a mood or mindset. When you make your morning coffee or tea it goes beyond hydrating yourself. It may signal a start to your day. Rituals can be common parts of our day and they provide deeper meaning than what we ordinarily may experience. Rituals punctuate moments in our lives. They can help change how we think, feel and act as well as reinforce our values and beliefs. 

At Interaction Foundry, we created a guide called "The Ritual Design Toolkit," which explains how to embed rituals into everyday life.

Are new rituals necessary in the new world? If so, what should they be? In this context, how do you interpret the opportunities and challenges facing today's corporate structures?

There are so many opportunities for rituals within the workplace. With the events of the past two years disrupting the way many people work and blurring the boundaries between work and home, opportunities to leverage the power of rituals have never been greater. Three obvious opportunity areas I see relate to “transitioning” and to “onboarding” and “reinforcing values.” Transitioning refers to moments when people move from office- to home-based work environments and seek to remain productive. Rituals can help to “kick off” the work day in a meaningful way, regardless of the setting. Regarding onboarding, there is a difference between joining a team and being onboarded into a team. Once onboarded, consistent rituals can help to reinforce the values of the team and form a strong working culture. This is true for group cohesion but also for related topics like aligning around a new direction as a company.  

How can we contribute to social change for the future of humanity and our planet? How can we build innovative and creative environments to achieve this?

An important starting point is to be bold enough to think you can make change in the world. At the Imteraction Foundry, we also strive to seek discomfort in how we think. If we don’t feel challenged and haven’t questioned ourselves recently, that is often a sign that we haven’t been putting ourselves in sufficiently challenging positions. And finally, at the heart of innovation, collaboration, creativity and change are strong and diverse connections. This means making a conscious and deliberate effort to look outwards rather than just inwards. It means joining forces in new and creative ways, to connect the unconnected dots and to find the things you didn’t even know you were looking for.

You are collaborating with the VitrA Innovation Center. If we go back to the beginning of the process, what were your first impressions of this collaboration?

What is most exciting about the work with VitrA is the appetite for new ways of thinking and doing I have found with all I have spoken to. My experience across sectors has been that many of the most innovative firms recognize a need to synthesize thinking across behavioral and technical domains and that is something VitrA has been discussing in a really interesting way.

Are there any resources you can recommend for Eczacıbaşı Life readers who want to learn more about ritual-oriented design?

Ritual design is a growing area related to behavioral design more broadly. We have a Ritual Design Toolkit you can find on our website (www.InteractionFoundry.com/rdt) and other ritual design tools coming out in the coming months we are excited about. Another good source of inspiration is a set of books written by Kürşat Özenç with examples of workplace rituals.