<p>In a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/01/business/why-trying-new-things-is-so-hard.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">New York Times op-ed</a>, Sendhil Mullainathan (professor of economics at Harvard) laments that it is difficult to get people to try new things or experiment. He gives himself as an example, saying that it is difficult for him to try generic soda, even though the cost to him is low, and he drinks 2 liters of Diet Coke daily. However, his article has a relative lack of references to literature on past efforts to get people to try new things.</p>

<p>What methods have been studied to get people to try new things/experiment (without forcing them)? What has worked, and what has been less successful?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-12-03T19:33:33.453Z
Advertising. Show videos/ads of people already doing the thing, convince them they want to also. "Have a Coke and a Smile"
CrossRoads
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-12-04T07:56:20.050Z
From [How to Get Someone to Try New Things - Kletische](https://kletische.com/get-someone-try-new-things/): Your ability to get people to discover new things depends on your words and actions being organized in perfect combination with the hope of opening the locks to doors they’ve long had closed.
Ooker
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-12-04T15:21:39.903Z
@Ooker - please use comments to place comments, and the answer pane to answer. Don't put answers-in-disguise in the comments, as it repels other users from providing a real answer.
AliceD
<experimental-psychology>
How to encourage people to experiment/try new things?
wwl
# How to encourage people to experiment/try new things?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-12-03)

In a [New York Times op-ed](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/01/business/why-trying-new-things-is-so-hard.html), Sendhil Mullainathan (professor of economics at Harvard) laments that it is difficult to get people to try new things or experiment. He gives himself as an example, saying that it is difficult for him to try generic soda, even though the cost to him is low, and he drinks 2 liters of Diet Coke daily. However, his article has a relative lack of references to literature on past efforts to get people to try new things.

What methods have been studied to get people to try new things/experiment (without forcing them)? What has worked, and what has been less successful?

**Tags:** experimental-psychology

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Advertising. Show videos/ads of people already doing the thing, convince them they want to also. "Have a Coke and a Smile"  
> **username_2**: From [How to Get Someone to Try New Things - Kletische](https://kletische.com/get-someone-try-new-things/): Your ability to get people to discover new things depends on your words and actions being organized in perfect combination with the hope of opening the locks to doors they’ve long had closed.  
> **username_3**: @username_2 - please use comments to place comments, and the answer pane to answer. Don't put answers-in-disguise in the comments, as it repels other users from providing a real answer.  

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## 0 answers

