How Your Situation Shapes You (with Angela Duckworth)

Psychologist Angela Duckworth joins EconTalk's Russ Roberts to discuss why changing your situation may be more effective than willpower or grit for breaking bad habits and building new ones. She explains why people are hard-wired to resist the idea that their surroundings shape their behavior, preferring to credit character and effort. The conversation introduces a three-box framework for understanding human behavior. Duckworth argues that deliberately creating friction to avoid temptation is itself an act of agency. They also explore how choosing the cultures and places around us shapes who we become.