The Broken Window Effect - Why small things matter
The experiment
In 1969, a Stanford University psychologist named Philip Zimbardo conducted an interesting field study. He abandoned a car in a rundown town in New York City that was poor, dangerous, and had high crime rates. He also left a similar car in Palo Alto, California, an area considered well-off with less crime. The number plate was removed in both vehicles, and the hood was left open.
For the car in New York, it was not long after 10 mins that it was vandalised. Windows were broken, and parts were taken or damaged. The vehicle in Palo Alto, however, remained untouched for two weeks. Philip then smashed the car with a sleigh hammer. Not long after, passersby also started damaging and vandalising the vehicle.
Philip Zimbardo concluded that in high crime rate areas, where abandoned property is common, vandalism and theft occur more often as the community doesn't care much about it. But even in a nice neighbourhood, the same behaviour can occur once people also think other people don't care.
Broken window effect
Harvard political scientist James Wilson and criminologist George Kelling later popularised the theory in a 1982 article in The Atlantic newspaper, in what is now known as the "broken window effect".
In the article, they describe a building with a broken window. If the window is left broken, passersby will conclude that no one is in charge of it or cares about it. As a result, vandals tend to break a few more windows. Graffiti might then start to appear. Eventually, they might even break into the building.
James and George argued that a city with minor crime and antisocial behaviour like graffiti, panhandling and public disorder are the "broken windows". If the police don't address them, they can slowly turn a well-off neighbour into a rundown one and attract major crimes, such as murder, rape, and robbery. And the opposite can be said, that a city ridden with severe crimes can be made safer by focusing on the more minor offences.
New York City and crime of 1993
The most notable application of the broken window effect was in New York under policy commission Bill Bratton and mayor Rudy Juliani.
When Rudy Juliani became mayor of New York in 1993, he faced a city with decades of high crime rates that seemed like they would never go down. According to www.disastercenter.com, in 1993, there were 2,420 murders, 5,008 cases of rape, and 102,122 robberies. Police always had focused on large-scale or severe crimes, such as murder, rape and robbery. However, they were finding it wasn't effective.
In 1994, New York's police commissioner, Bill Bratton, adopted the "broken window" theory and channelled police resources to clean up low-level crime and antisocial behaviour to see if it would reduce violent crime.
They started with cleaning the subway by removing graffiti on trains and sending hundreds of police to crack down on fare beaters and vandals. The policy later extended to the rest of New York City, with police targeting unsolicited windscreen cleaning, prostitution, and drunk and disorderly behaviour.
What they found was the crime levels were dropping. In 1995, murder had dropped from 2,420 -> 1,550, rape 5,008 -> 4,290 and assault 102,122 -> 72,492.
And by 1999, there was a 40% drop in overall crime, and serious crimes like murder plummeted by over 50%. So the impact of the policy change appeared to be very dramatic and was hailed as a success.
Criticism
The 'Broken window effort' theory has been widely used but also widely criticised.
Observers point out that the policy heavily impacted under-privilege or minority ethnic groups, such as African Americans and Latin Americans. While poor African Americans might be jailed for jaywalking and drunkenness, a group of recently graduated white students drinking on the street weren't. It was up to the police's discretion to unjustly focus on racial and class bias.
People were spending time in jail for minor crimes and felt unjust.
Many scholars also critiqued that there is no clear link between the lack of order and crime. They explained that during the same time in the 90s, there was economic growth and reduced poverty in the country. As a result, there is less need to commit crimes. Therefore, it was coincidental that crime went down around the same time the broken window policy was introduced.
Broken windows in our own life
While the theory was used to explain decay in neighbourhoods, it can apply to anything where neglect can attract other damaging behaviour, which eventually deteriorates into something not easily repairable.
In our lives, we can have broken windows. It can be a repair needed in the house, a cluttered workspace, mistrust in relationships, or health-related issues. For each of these, if we continue to neglect, it can attract more neglect and have a snowball effect leading to something costly to fix or a relationship or health issue that's difficult to resolve.
Clutter in house
During the Covid lockdown, I made lots of purchases online. This included toilet paper, baby toys, gadgets and other things. I would open a few boxes and put the rest in the corner to sort later, or I would take out the main part but leave instruction booklets inside. I would walk past it daily and say I would clean it up tomorrow, but I never did. So that pile grew, and it's still there even after the Covid lockdown ended. And not only that, I now put other things there, making it even messier and would take a bit of time to clean up. It would have been easier if I had just opened each box and thrown it away when I got it.
Health issues
Health-related issues are another broken window in life. For me, it started with a few biscuits while working each day, which became a bad habit. Over a few months, I gained a couple kilos. I had to address this quickly. Otherwise, I know it will be harder to control later. And the weight gain wasn't the only issue. I just regularly felt more tired and stressed out easier. So now, instead of reaching out for a biscuit, I take a short walk to get a break. This refreshes my mind, and I avoid snacking, which helps me maintain weight.
Mental clutter
Too many apps on your phone, TV shows, and games to play. Or do you just have too many things? Having too many things to think about can create mental clutter and stop you from thinking straight, reducing productivity and stress.
I had too many apps on my phone. And they weren't just adding mental clutter but were addictive and stealing precious time and energy. So I ended up going cold turkey and uninstalling all social apps, video streaming apps, games and a few productivity apps that I didn't really need. The results? I still watch movies, but only on weekends. I use social media apps less, spend more time with my children, and have time to get back to creating digital art and blogging instead.
Feedback loop
The broken window effect is a type of negative feedback loop. As you neglect something, it can lead to more neglect. But it can also act as a positive feedback loop. For example, consider a neighbourhood nature strip that is well maintained. If one person does it, others might feel it's important to also keep their lawn clean. Which then further encourages others to also keep their property looking good.
Small things in life matter
Take a step back in your life and see if you have broken windows. Are there any small things you've neglected in your life, work or relationship that could become some big issue after? Addressing these early while they are still small can reduce future stress and cost and ultimately help lead to a more productive, easier and overall happier life.