BEHAVIOURAL MODIFICATION

USING A PRE AND POST

INTERVENTION TECHNIQUE
FOR ATM INVOICE SYSTEM

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 INDEX

1. Purpose of the project

2. Behaviour Modification and Learning Principles

3. Description of Behaviour to be changed

4. Description of Intervention used

5. Pre and Post Intervention Analysis

6. Recommendations

7. Bibliography

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1. PURPOSE OF THE PROJECT
The purpose of this project is to modify the behaviour of the people by motivating
them to not take print out of the receipt when they transact at ATMs in order to bring
down the wastage of paper.
The task was to modify the behaviour and hence create an everlasting impact
required a lot of sincere planning and research. The first objective was to confirm if
taking invoice receipts at the ATM was a serious problem at all or is it something
which had a very insignificant impact on the society and environment.
To confirm this our team did a lot of primary research in and around Vile Parle,
Mumbai and the research data led us to conclude the gravity of the problem.
Paper wastage is one of the most serious threat to the environment these days
because there is only one source of papers Trees. Cutting down of trees for the
purpose of paper production results in less number of trees which damage our
ecosystem and environment very seriously. Let us look at some of the facts which
ascertains this.
1. Paper production for commercial purpose accounts for the second most important
reason of cutting down the trees.
2. Loss of Trees accounts for six to twelve percent of annual global carbon dioxide
emissions.
3. Loss of trees leads to less emission of life supporting gas oxygen.
4. Loss of trees also leads to loss of several species.
This looked like a good opportunity for us to educate and make the people aware
about the ill effects of paper wastage on the environment.
After conducting the primary research and after being fully convinced that the issue
needs the immediate attention and intervention we decided to implement some of
the below mentioned behaviour modification theories in a hope to change at least
few people for the good.
1. Cognitive learning through persuasion.
2. Reinforcement Theory.
3. Banduras social learning theory.

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Each of these theories have different application techniques but their impact is the
same a change in the behaviour by pre and post intervention application of these
theories. During intervention we also made sure to give people an alternative to
paper receipts to make sure both our purpose and the users purpose are fully met.
This project is a small effort to bring about a big change in the behaviour, habits,
and the mindset of the people who are regular users of ATM services, which would
ultimately lead to a considerable reduction in the wastage of papers in ATMs and
thus help in creating a better environment for tomorrow.
Moreover, the paper-slip receipt rolled out by the automatic teller machine (ATM)
can be harmful for your health. It has been proved in a research conducted by the
Chemical department of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University located
in Aurangabad.
Dr. Praveen Vakte, Head of Chemical Department of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar
Marathwada University says, Paper coating used in thermal printer uses BPA which
can easily enter our body through skin pores, which can cause extensive harm to
users health.
Chemicals such as triarylmethane dye, BPA and Bisphenol B and stabilizers are used
in preparation of paper that is employed as the invoice.
If the paper remains in hand for more than five seconds, 1 microgram BPA remains
trapped in the skin of our fingers. If hands are already sweaty, the process increases
by 10 times. Keeping it in hands for more than 10 hours, 71 BPA enters the body.
Probable diseases: Breast cancer in females and testicle cancer in males, reduction
in sperm count, enlargement of reproductive glands, problems in brain functioning,
obesity, diabetes and weakness in immune system are the possible ailments that
could result from certain levels of this chemical in the body.
The paper is banned in New York, US. The offender is slapped with a fine of
$30,000. Places namely France, Denmark, Sweden, Mariland, Washington, New
York, Vemount, Canada, Minisota, and Maschettetus have also banned the paper.

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2. BEHAVIOURAL MODIFICATION AND LEARNING TECHNIQUES
Behaviour is the set of characteristics a person demonstrates under a set of
conditions. It is a function of continuous, multidimensional interaction between the
person and the situation. When the set of conditions are reinforced in a person, the
outcome achieved is a behavioral change.
Behavioral measures are the personality assessments that involve observing an
individuals behaviour in a controlled situation.

Reinforcement Theory
In theory: Reinforcement is the attempt to develop or strengthen desirable
behaviour by either bestowing positive consequences (Positive Reinforcement) or
withholding negative consequences (Negative Reinforcement).
In application: During the post intervention, we observed the behavior of people.
Some who read the posters and realized the importance of the cause did not take
printed receipt. We appreciated their behavior by thanking and appreciating them
and made them realize their contribution towards environment. They felt happy and
proud through this act. We hope that they would repeat this desirable behavior next
time also when they use ATM. This behaviour was expected in line with the positive
reinforcement wherein we reinforced the desirable behavior by appreciation
(bestowing positive consequence).
There are 6 different schedules of reinforcement that have different effects on
response:
1) Continuous
2) Intermittent
3) Fixed Ratio
4) Variable Ratio
5) Fixed Interval
6) Variable Interval
For our purpose we went ahead with the continuous schedule of reinforcement as
the process of change was newly emitted and unstable in response. Going forward

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we could look at changing schedules as per the nature of response extracted from the
users.

Banduras Social Learning Theory

Learning is a change in behaviour acquired through experience. Banduras social
learning theory is a notion of task specific self-efficacy where an individuals beliefs
and expectancies about his or her ability to perform specific task effectively.
There are four sources of task- efficacy: prior experience, behavioral model,
persuasion from other people and assessment of current physical and emotional
capabilities.
During our intervention process, we spread awareness through posters, carried out a
pledge campaign and went ahead with a social media intervention. This process of
intervention persuaded people and sensitized them towards the subject at hand which
inculcated in them a concern for the cause and environment in general.
Even during our pre-intervention process, we interviewed several people and made
them aware of the alternate means available to the purpose of invoice such as SMS
updates, net banking and re-checking the bank balance on the ATM. Moreover, we
asked people to spread the word amongst their family members and inculcate a
holistic effort towards a social learning paradigm.

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3. DESCRIPTION OF BEHAVIOUR TO BE CHANGED
Consider the 3 major banks of India: SBI, ICICI and HDFC.
According to the June 2017 statistics available at the RBI site,

SBI: 59,291
ICICI: 13,780
HDFC: 12,220
Total of 85,291 ATMs (onsite and offsite together) for these 3 major banks of India
while the gross total for ATMs in India stands at 2, 08, 477(According to RBI).
Assume that 2 people take the invoice per day and there is just 1 machine at each
ATM across the country. We produce about 1, 70, 582 paper invoice waste each day
and that amounts to 6, 22, 662, 430 of paper invoices wasted every year. Imagine
the gravity of situation if all banks are taken into account.
The behaviour of the people is the way in which they act or conduct themselves.
Here, we observed the behaviour of people using the service of ATMs and realized
that they were opting for receipts even when it was not required. Quoting some of
the customers we interacted with "I did just like that, " It's my habit to check the
balance left in the account so took the receipt, "Clicked Yes for a receipt without
thinking, "I did not read if option of NO receipt was available" etc. We wanted to
bring a change in this type of a behaviour which was leading to an undesirable result
and could have a huge impact on the future. People still were not aware about the e-
banking facilities and were still printing the receipt as it has become a psychological
habit. As per our research 9 out of 10 users opted for printing a receipt just to check
their balance or only because it was a free service.
Hence we decided to take up this project and contribute our bit to awareness of
people about this critical issue.

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4. DESCRIPTION OF THE INTERVENTION USED
Upon careful analysis of behaviour and trends in and around ATMs during our pre-
intervention process, we decided to take up intervention on multiple media and
through various channels. Specifically we employed 4 intervention techniques in our
process for behavioural change:
1) Interaction with people in queue
We interacted with people on certain set parameters discussing with them about how
often they use the services of an ATM, how often do they take an invoice and
whether they are aware of the alternatives they possess at their fingertips that could
mitigate usage of invoice receipts at the ATM. We further emphasized to them about
the latent effects that the paper wasted is having on the environment and advised
them to spread the knowledge further into the system by informing their family
members and doing their bit in sensitizing the community as a whole.

2) Posters
By means of posters illustrating effects that wastage of paper can have, we tried to
spread awareness amongst ATM users to avoid taking invoices unless very
important. We went to the popular ATMs where there is always a rush, took
permission from the security and put up the posters.
It was strategically put in such a position which is easily visible by the people
standing in the queue. We wanted to create an impact on the people standing outside,
so that when they go inside the ATMs, we can expect a change of attitude and in
turn behaviour.

3) Pledge Signing Campaign

We took an initiative to inform students from our college and Mithibai College as
well as people standing in front of ATMs that how small act of ignorance can lead
to wastage of huge amounts of paper. We were content to see people acknowledge
our campaign for change and they pledged that unless it is of utmost significance
they won't take invoice receipts from the ATMs. Not only ATMs, but also otherwise
they will attempt to contribute to the cause of not wasting paper. Our pledge signing
campaign was a huge success and we reached to a huge number of people through
our initiative.
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4) Social Media Intervention
To ensure maximum reach of our campaign, we shared our finding through
Facebook and Whatsapp and asked our friends to take up an initiative. People were
inquisitive and texted back to know further about our project.
We had noticed that Dena bank has an involuntary print of invoice receipt which
according to our interaction with the security guard accounts for a wastage of
approximately 800-1000 paper invoices daily.
We therefore informed Dena bank about this on their Social page and requested them
to take up an initiative to counteract on this pertinent issue.

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5. Pre and Post Intervention Analysis

5.1 Pre-Intervention
Random Finding
While using ATM, one of our team members saw the ATM kiosk cluttered with
transaction receipts. To find out more about this our team carried an investigation.
Visits at ATMs
We visited ATMs around our campus, our hostels and flats and noticed one thing in
common at all ATMS: Dustbins overflowing with transaction receipts.
Statistics of Wastage
During our investigation we found out the following statistical data:
There are 2, 08, 477 ATMs in India
On an average, 400 transactions per day happen in one ATM machine
Overall worth of transaction across the country is approximately 4 Crore Rupees
Over 5 crore invoice receipts are wasted per year which weigh around 50000 kg
paper
This implies approximately 75 trees per day or 2250 trees in a month are cut down
Interaction with the ATM's security guard to confirm our findings:
We went to heavily used ATMs and interacted with the guard. Main purpose of this
conversation was to know the number of customers visiting the ATM per day, the
number of times the dustbin was cleared and the amount of paper wastage at the
outlet.
Mr. Pyarelal - security guard of a bank had duty hours of 16 hours per day. He
reported that around 1000 people used the ATM service per day and out of them
90% opted for receipts. There is a huge amount of paper wastage daily.
The findings revealed that people were not aware of the paper wastage and how their
small efforts of opting for e-statements could help in sustainable development.

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5.2 Post-Intervention
Through our intervention campaigns, we were able to garner attention of a lot of
people and we could sense rise in awareness and sensitivity levels of people towards
the issue.
Our persuasion to their eyes (postures, pledge signing) and ears (interactions)
reached deeper points of attitudinal change and showed signs of promising future.
We had deepest contentment in seeing people sensitizing to the cause and giving
time to read our postures before entering ATMs.
Many people responding to the learning went ahead with their transactions
withholding from taking invoices and even those not using the ATMs seemed
passionate about the change we were seeking and acknowledged the ignorance on
the peoples part towards this unattended phenomenon.

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6. Recommendations
The awareness campaign should be continued with emphasis on spreading
awareness to people about the far reaching harmful effects of invoice receipts and
reach deeper into the society over a more considerable period of time.
The reinforcement theory can be continued to enable desirable behaviour with
varying schedules to achieve further progress towards the change of behaviour.
Some banks coming forward to present awareness as part of the interface at ATM
should be the standard other non-complying banks should look to match and
facilitate a wholesome awareness and behavioural change.

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7. Bibliography
[1] www.npci.org, Official website of National Payments Corporation of India
[2] ORGB; Nelson, Quick and Khandelwal, 2nd edition: A South-Asian Perspective
[3] The collaborative data sheet for ATMs and POS existing in India at on and offsite locations
http://rbidocs.rbi.org.in/rdocs/ATM/DOCs/ATMPOSC042015CBF2BCF194534C23835A58C43
D465ECF.XLS
[4] A Times of India article expressing the exponential growth of ATMs across India
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/ATMs-cross-1-lakh-mark-SBI-
controls-59/articleshow/17205587.cms
[5] http://www.simplypsychology.org/bandura.html
[6] http://psychology.about.com/od/operantconditioning/f/positive-reinforcement.htm
[7] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behavior_modification
[8] http://research.cs.queensu.ca/~skill/learning.html
[9] https://explorable.com/cognitive-learning-theory

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