"The Power of a Public Commitment Device:" Steve Martin on Five Years of GAABS

The former Board Chair and Influence at Work founder reflects on the origins of the world’s leading association for applied behavioural scientists — and where the field is heading next.

Steve Martin needs little introduction to anyone working in the behavioural sciences. Co-author of the global bestseller Yes! and a behavioural science professional trained by Robert Cialdini, he has spent more than two decades applying the principles of social influence to some of the world’s most intractable people problems.

But his role in founding GAABS — the Global Association of Applied Behavioural Scientists — is perhaps less well known. We sat down with him to hear the story of how the organisation came to be, what its early years were really like, and why he believes the field of behavioural science is on the cusp of a significant second wind.