Psychological Underpinnings of (Un)Sustainable Behaviors

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Psychological Underpinnings of(Un)Sustainable
Behaviors
Susan Ledlow Decision Center for a Desert
City School of Sustainability Arizona State
University
Advanced Water Education Workshop June 28-29,
2011
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Outcomes

• By the end of the session, I hope you can---
• Explain why a research perspective is important
  when creating behavioral change initiatives,
  campaigns, or strategies
• Discuss the importance of working with the
  groove of human psychology

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Which disciplines study behavioral change?

• Social Psychology
• The scientific study of how peoples thoughts,
  feelings, and behaviors are influenced by other
  people
• Environmental Psychology
• The scientific study of how people influence the
  environment and how the environment influences
  people
• Behavioral Economics
• the hybrid offspring of psychology and
  economics
• a branch of economics that studies how social,
  cognitive, and emotional factors influence
  economic decisions.

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A Psychological Perspective on Environmental
Decisions

• Understanding how people make decisions is
  critical to changing their behaviors
• Psychological literature on decision-making
• Psychological literature on fundamental motives
• Psychological literature on influence and
  persuasion

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Why an Experimental Approach?

• Experimental methods and tools help us test the
  effects of relevant variables on climate and
  water decisions.
• Intuitive interventions do not always work

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Team

• Susan Ledlow
• School of Sustainability, Arizona State
  University
• Edward Sadalla
• Department of Psychology, Arizona State
  University
• Students
• Rebecca Neel
• with Claire Yee, REU
• Anna Berlin
• Samantha Neufeld
• Yexin Jessica Li

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Overview of Our Study Areas

1. Priorities in residential water consumption
2. Landscape choice and perceived social identity
3. Fundamental motives and environmental
   decision-making
4. Social norms and environmental behaviors
5. Temporal discounting of negative environmental
   consequences

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Changing a Behavior

• Pick a behavior
• Using a refillable water bottle
• Idling while waiting to pick up your child at
  school
• Hanging laundry rather than using the dryer
• Using public transportation
• Meatless Mondays
• What are some ways you can get people to start
  adopting the new behavior?

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• Education
• Attitude Change
• Behavioral Change

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Assumptions About Behavioral Change
1Reinforcement

• Behaviors, emotions, and thoughts dont
  necessarily correspond.
• Educating people often does not change either
  their attitudes or behaviors.
• Even when attitudes change, behaviors dont
  necessarily follow.
• Delayed reinforcement!

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Climate Change

• Scary!!!!!!

• Because?????

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Think About the Behavior You Wanted to Change

• What are some ways you could provide immediate
  reinforcement to get people to start adopting the
  new behavior?
• Could be positive or negative reinforcement

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Assumptions About Behavioral Change 2Fundamental
Motives

• There is a human nature consisting of evolved
  abilities, behavioral tendencies, preferences,
  and fears.
• Opposite of The blank slate (cf. e.g. Pinker,
  2002).
• Fundamental motives. (c.f., Kenrick and
  Colleagues)
• Care for family
• Self-protection
• Seeking friends and allies
• Seeking status
• Seeking mates

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New DCDC ResearchLandscape Choice and Social
Identity

• Anthropological, sociological, and psychological
  studies indicate that in most cultures there is a
  relationship between consumption and status.

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But, research tells us that

• Higher status individuals consume more resources
  than lower status individuals
• For household energy
• Through consumption of goods produced with energy
  

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We want--

• More things, e.g.,
• New car every 3 years
• Bigger things, e.g.,
• Hummers, McMansions
• Average new house size has increased from 1600 to
  2400 square feet in the last 30 years

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• The social meaning or symbolic significance
  behaviors will determine their probability of
  occurrence, e.g.,
• If behaviors like desert landscaping, public
  transport, or recycling connote low status, they
  will be avoided.

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Past Research

• Individuals who display conservation behaviors
  are perceived as
• Lower in status
• Lower in sexual attractiveness
• Less competitive
• Generally unfavorable

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Research QuestionsSymbolism and Landscape Choice

• Studies 1 and 2
• How does landscape choice affect identity
  symbolism?
• Study 3
• Can we change the symbolic significance of
  landscape choice?

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Study 1 (Completed)

• A man, woman, or couple were described as
  choosing desert landscaping or mesic landscaping
  for their newly purchased home
• Participants were asked to rate the targets on a
  variety of dimensions

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Study 1

• A woman moved into a neighborhood in the greater
  Phoenix area. In this neighborhood, the houses
  were all quite similar, but differed in their
  front yard landscaping. Half of the homes had
  typical desert landscaping with cacti and other
  desert plants, and half had typical grass
  landscaping with trees and shrubs. After thinking
  over her options, she realized she had a strong
  preference for desert, grass landscaping, so
  she bought a house with desert, grass
  landscaping in front.

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Overall Result

• Landscape choice made a significant difference in
  how targets were rated
• Targets who chose desert landscaping were
  perceived far more negatively than those who
  chose mesic landscaping

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Results Ratings by landscape
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Positive/negative evaluation

• good-bad
• pleasant-unpleasant
• likeable not likeable
• good neighbors bad neighbors
• warm cold

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Status/achievement orientation

• wealthy - poor
• educated - not educated
• high status - low status
• intelligent unintelligent

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Family orientation

• have children dont have children
• likes children - doesnt like children
• family oriented not family oriented

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Creativity

• artistic - non artistic
• conventional unconventional
• creative uncreative
• adventurous not adventurous
• complex simple
• open to new experience closed
• prefers new things familiar things

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Prosocial/benevolence

• generous - stingy
• helpful - unhelpful
• kind - unkind
• volunteers - does not volunteer
• donates to charity does not donate

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Sexual attraction

• sexy not sexy
• romantic not romantic
• attractive not attractive

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Conservation behaviors

• tend to save water waste water
• environmentalist nonenvironmentalist
• tend to save energy waste energy
• recycles does not recycle

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The decision makers future

• How much will the value of their home increase
  over the next five years?
• House with lawn more likely to increase, plt.001
• How happy is this person/couple?
• Target with lawn higher, plt.001

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What image were Ps picturing?
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Study 2

• SES was specified A woman decided to purchase a
  home in an upscale neighborhood with large houses
  in the greater Phoenix area. In this
  neighborhood, the houses were all quite similar,
  but differed in their front yard landscaping.
  Half of the homes had typical desert landscaping
  with cacti and other desert plants, and half had
  typical grass landscaping with trees and shrubs.
  After thinking over her options, she realized she
  had a strong preference for desert landscaping,
  so she bought a house with desert landscaping in
  front.
• Results the same

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New DCDC ResearchFundamental Motives Study 1

• Preserve the planet for your childrens future
• Save money on cooling and heating
• Be a leader in your community
• Energy saving is the new aphrodisiac
• Find the home thats right for you (Control)

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Results

• Commit to Change
• Effectiveness of the message depended on the sex
  of the person presented in the ad
• Kin care message with female in ad was persuasive
• message with male in the ad was persuasive
• Spend More on Energy Efficiency
• Effectiveness of the message depended on the sex
  of the person presented in the ad
• But only for people high on family orientation
  scale

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New DCDC ResearchPriorities in Residential
Water Consumption

• Previous research on actual residential water
  use.
• Little known about residents priorities for
  water use

American Waterworks Research Association
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The Trade-off Experiments

• Subjects get a fixed budget (24 or 36) to buy
  differently kinds of water use, e.g.,
• Low flow vs. high flow showerheads
• Desert plants or grass lawns

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Questions Explored in This Research

• What are the perceived priorities associated with
  residential water usage?
• Are there sex differences?
• Does environmental orientation influence
  choices?
• Do long time residents prioritize water
  allocations differently than newcomers?

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Results

• High Priority
• Unlimited toilet flushing
• Long Showers
• High flow faucets and showerheads
• Low Priorities
• Baths
• Swimming pools
• Outdoor uses in general
• Protection of native plants and animals

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Proportions of Budget Spent
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Gender Differences

• Study 1
• Males allocated slightly more on outdoor water
  use than females
• Study 2
• Nada!

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Environmental Orientation

• Participants high on the NEP scale spent less on
  water overall
• They also allocated slightly more to native plant
  and animal protection
• But overall this was still a low priority

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Length of Residence Oasis mentality
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Think About the Behavior You Wanted to Change

• What are some ways you could use fundamental
  motives to get people to start adopting the new
  behavior?
• Specifically, how you you make the behavior
  associated with high status or family values?

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Assumptions About Behavioral Change 3Decision
Triggers

• Many behaviors that are predictable are not
  economically rational
• We often dont know why we do what we do
• We cant always tell when were being influenced
• Many things that influence us do so below the
  threshold of consciousness
• Cialdinis Influence Science and Practice
• Dan Ariellys Predictably Irrational
• http//www.predictablyirrational.com/?page_id178
• Thaler and Sunsteins Nudge
• The default strategy

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Decision Trigger

• An automatic response.
• A single, reliable piece of information that
  guides our behavioral decisions.
• Examples
• Heres your check.
• Cutting in line to make photocopies.
• Littering

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Social Norm ExamplePetrified Forest Experiment

• The old sign
• Many past visitors have removed petrified wood
  from the Park, changing the natural state of the
  Petrified Forest.
• pictures of three visitors taking wood.

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Social Norm ExamplePetrified Forest Experiment

• Some Visitors Saw the Old Sign
• Many past visitors have removed petrified wood
  from the Park, changing the natural state of the
  Petrified Forest.
• pictures of three visitors taking wood.
•  Other Visitors Saw the New Sign
• Please dont remove the petrified wood from the
  Park, in order to preserve the natural state of
  the Petrified Forest.
• picture of a lone visitor stealing a piece of
  wood, with a red circle-and-bar symbol
  superimposed over his hand.

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Results
Percentage of Marked Wood Stolen
8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
People Steal/Its Bad Most Dont Steal
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New DCDC Research

• How many people have to believe climate change is
  a serious problem before most people believe it?
• Study 1 (complete) Do you think you believe what
  most people believe?
• Yes you do, unless youre a political independent
• Study 2 (in design phase) Can we change your
  beliefs by changing what you think others think?

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Ethical implications of these strategies?

• Lets say that you know that if you place foods
  in a certain place in a high schools cafeteria
  line, students will be more likely to buy them.
• Is it ethical to rearrange the food in a
  cafeteria to encourage healthier choices?

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Ethical implications of these strategies?

• Lets say that you know that if you place foods
  in a certain place in a high schools cafeteria
  line, students will be more likely to buy them.
• Is it ethical to rearrange the food in a
  cafeteria to encourage healthier choices?
• Is it ethical to rearrange the food in a
  cafeteria to increase profits?

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Ethics

• Cialdini
• True/Honest
• Naturally occurring in the situation
• Win-Win
• Thaler and Sunsteins Libertarian Paternalism
• It is ethical to steer peoples behavior in order
  to make their lives longer, happier, and better.
• But, people should not be burdened if they want
  to make another choice

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Is this ethical?

• Making organ donation the default option on your
  drivers license (people have to opt out rather
  than opt in).
• Requiring freshmen to live on campus in a
  residential community.
• Charging people for green energy on their
  energy bill unless they opt out.
• Requiring car dealers to show gallons per 100
  miles rather than mgp.
• Requiring that all programmable thermostats be
  set to a default energy efficient option.
• Deducting a portion of employees paychecks to go
  to a pension program unless they opt out
• Deducting a portion of employees paychecks as a
  donation for the United Way unless they opt out.

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Think About the Behavior You Wanted to Change

• What are some ways you could use decision
  triggers to get people to start adopting the new
  behavior?
• Specifically, how you you make the behavior a
  social norm or a default?

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Community Based Social Marketing

• One of the most widely used approaches to
  changing sustainability related behaviors
• Original website, cases, listserv
• http//www.cbsm.com
• Online course
• http//www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/socialmarketing/tr
  aining/index.htm

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Final Thoughts

• Educating people often does not change their
  attitudes or behaviors.
• We might be more successful by just targeting the
  behavior without worrying about what people
  believe
• Harnessing the power of human nature is always a
  good bet

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Questions?