Sustainable Behavior
and Behavior Change
Presentation at the Collegiate Sports Sustainability Summit
June, 24-26, 2015, Purdue University
Communication and Cognition Lab
Brian Lamb School of Communication
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Behavior and Behavior Change
Psychology aims to
understand how people
think, feel, and behave.
There is a long and rich
tradition in the
behavioral sciences of
theories on behavior and
behavior change.
What are characteristics
of sustainable behavior?
Communication and Cognition Lab
Brian Lamb School of Communication
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Sustainable Behavior
Sustainable behavior, pro-environmental
behavior, conservation behaviors,
environmentally friendly behaviors …
Typically, conflicts between short-term
self-interest and long-term collective
interest (climate change; over-fishing)
-Temporal Construal
Sustainable behavior is typically related to
choices with consequences that are delayed
in time and are often highly uncertain
-Common Good Dilemma
Individuals who do not engage in sustainable
behavior have an advantage
Climate change
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Brian Lamb School of Communication
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Sustainable Behavior
Sustainable behavior, pro-environmental
behavior, conservation behaviors,
environmentally friendly behaviors …
Typically, conflicts between short-term
self-interest and long-term collective
interest (climate change; over-fishing)
-Temporal Construal
Sustainable behavior is typically related to
choices with consequences that are delayed
in time and are often highly uncertain
-Common Good Dilemma
Individuals who do not engage in sustainable
behavior have an advantage
Over-fishing
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Brian Lamb School of Communication
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Behavior Change
Know your goals
Long-term change in attitudes:
Persuasion techniques
Challenges: small changes; correlation
with behavior;
Short-term change in behavior:
Compliance gaining techniques
Challenges: Behavior change may not
be sustainable;
Long-term change in behavior:
Influence routines and habits;
Challenges: Difficult to achieve;
Know your audience
What are the attitudes and habits of your
audience? What are specific barriers?
Consider tayloring your messages/strategy.
Differences in Social Identity
Communication and Cognition Lab
Brian Lamb School of Communication
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Behavior Change
Know your goals
Long-term change in attitudes:
Persuasion techniques
Challenges: small changes; correlation
with behavior;
Short-term change in behavior:
Compliance gaining techniques
Challenges: Behavior change may not
be sustainable;
Long-term change in behavior:
Influence routines and habits;
Challenges: Difficult to achieve;
Know your audience
What are the attitudes and habits of your
audience? What are specific barriers?
Consider tayloring your messages/strategy.
Differences in Attitudes
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Brian Lamb School of Communication
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BEHAVIOR CHANGE
WHAT WORKS?
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Brian Lamb School of Communication
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Meta-Analysis: What Works?
Osbaldiston and Schott (2011) aimed to
answer 3 questions:
1) What interventions/strategies/treatments have been used?
2) What is the relative average efficacy of each treatment?
3) Are certain strategies more effective for promoting certain types
of behaviors than others?
Communication and Cognition Lab
Brian Lamb School of Communication
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Meta-Analysis: What Works?
Osbaldiston and Schott (2011)
• Conducted a meta-analysis focusing on pro-environmental
behavior
• Meta-analysis entailed 87 reports including 253 experimental
treatments of observable behaviors
• Authors provide a list of behaviors and strategies that were used
to promote pro-environmental behavior
Communication and Cognition Lab
Brian Lamb School of Communication
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Behaviors Studied
Osbaldiston and Schott (2011)
Three general categories of sustainable behaviors:
• Recycling behaviors
(e.g. curbside, public, central location)
• Conservation behaviors
(e.g. energy, water, gasoline)
• Technology adoption behaviors
(e.g. energy-saving technology)
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Brian Lamb School of Communication
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Interventions/Strategies Studied
Osbaldiston and Schott (2011)
Convenience
Reminders
Justifications
Information
Rewards
Goal-setting
Cognitive dissonance
Social modeling
Commitment
Feedback
Communication and Cognition Lab
Brian Lamb School of Communication
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Strategies Studied
What behavior will be changed?
Classification of Strategies
How will people change the behavior?
Why will people change the behavior?
See: Cooley, A. (2013). Going Public. Resource Recycling. See
http://americarecyclesday.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/RRarticleNov2013.pdf
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Brian Lamb School of Communication
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Strategy Definitions and Examples
How Strategies
How strategies concern the initiation and enactment of the
desired behavioral change (and can increase people’s
perceived efficacy)
Convenience, Reminders, Information
Why Strategies
Why strategies concern the underlying motivation for individuals
to enact a behavioral change
Justification, Rewards, Cognitive dissonance, Social modeling
How / Why / What Strategies
Strategies which target both the motivation to enact a behavior
and the means by which it can be enacted
Feedback, Commitment, Goal setting
Communication and Cognition Lab
Brian Lamb School of Communication
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How Strategies
How-Strategies concern the initiation and enactment of the
desired behavioral change (and can increase people’s perceived
efficacy)
Convenience
Making behaviors easier to perform
Ex. Making recycling bins readily available
Reminders
Reminders that focus on when to perform a specific action
Ex. A sign that reads “turn off the lights when leaving the room”
Information
Includes educational materials and instructions
Ex. “Wrappers should go in the trash bin”
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Brian Lamb School of Communication
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Why Strategies
Why-Strategies concern the underlying motivation for individuals to
enact a behavioral change
Justification
Reasons for performing a specific behavior
Ex. Information about the amount of energy wasted during winter
months on heating
Rewards
Any kind of monetary gain for participating in a behavior
Ex. Money, rebates, gifts, prizes for engaging in a desired behavior
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Brian Lamb School of Communication
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Why Strategies
Cognitive Dissonance
Dissonance is an aversive state which emerges when an individual
holds two or more contradictory beliefs, ideas, or values at the same
time
Ex. Pointing out that a person does not behave according to their
values (also see Aitken, McMahon, Wearing & Finlayson, 1994)
Social Modeling
Telling people or demonstrating what others do
Ex. The absence of trash in a parking lot indicates the norm that
people do not typically litter (Cialdini, Reno, & Kallgren, 1990)
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Brian Lamb School of Communication
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How & Why Strategies
Strategies which target both the motivation to enact a behavior
and the means by which it can be enacted
Feedback
Provides information about the extent to which a behavior has been
performed by participants in an earlier time frame
Ex. Monthly electric or water billing
Commitment
Making a verbal or written commitment to engage in behavior
Ex. Signing a pledge card to refrain from littering
Goal setting
Aiming for a pre-determined goal
Ex. Establishing a goal to cut water consumption by 10%
Communication and Cognition Lab
Brian Lamb School of Communication
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Results of the Meta-Analysis
Osbaldiston and Schott (2011)
Overall effectiveness of strategies
Cognitive dissonance
Goal setting
Social modeling
Reminders
Convenience
Rewards
Justification
Commitment
Feedback
Information
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
*Overall weighted average effect size
Communication and Cognition Lab
Brian Lamb School of Communication
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Results of the Meta-Analysis
Recycling strategy effectiveness
Goal-setting
Commitment
Feedback
Cognitive Dissonance
Social Modeling
Central
Curbside
Rewards
Public
Education
Justifications
Prompts
Convenience
*Weighted average effect size
0
1
2
3
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Brian Lamb School of Communication
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Results of the Meta-Analysis
Conservation strategy effectiveness
Goal setting
Commitment
Feedback
Cognitive disonnance
Gasoline
Social Modeling
Home energy
Rewards
Water
Education
Public Energy
Jusficiation
Prompts
Convenience
0
1
2
3
4
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Brian Lamb School of Communication
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Results of the Meta-Analysis
Osbaldiston and Schott (2011)
Six combinations of strategies that worked
particularly well:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
Rewards and goals
Instructions and goals
Commitment and goals
Reminders and convenience
Reminders and justification
Dissonance and justification
Communication and Cognition Lab
Brian Lamb School of Communication
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Caveat: Unintended Effects and Boomerang
Know your goals,
strategies, and audience!
Strategies can have
unintended and
boomerang effects.
Purdue campaign may not
appeal to IU fans
Try to understand specific
barriers and hurdles
(knowledge, motivation,
convenience?)
Rewards can decrease intrinsic
motivation
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Brian Lamb School of Communication
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Project: Increase Recycling Compliance on Campus
funded by Keep America Beautiful
Dr. Torsten Reimer, Dr. Kip Williams,
Christopher Roland, Andrew Hales,
Michael Gulich
Studies aim to test a number of
strategies in field and lab experiments
(convenience, signage, norms)
-Lack of knowledge is one barrier
-Identify routines, habits, and
defaults
Let’s test the experts!
Communication and Cognition Lab
Brian Lamb School of Communication
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Where Would You Put It?
.
TRASH
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Where the Items Should Go
.
TRASH
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Brian Lamb School of Communication
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Need to Improve Communication
*Photo courtesy of Dr. Kip Williams
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Brian Lamb School of Communication
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The ABCs of Behavior Change
Know your goals!
Know your audience!
Know your strategies!
Talk to your local Behavioral Scientist!
Communication and Cognition Lab
Brian Lamb School of Communication
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References
Aitken, C. K., McMahon, T. A., Wearing, A. J., & Finlayson, B. L. (1994). Residential water
use: predicting and reducing consumption1. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 24(2),
136-158.
Burn, S. M. (1991). Social psychology and the stimulation of recycling behaviors: The block
leader approach. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 21, 611629.(MJ)
Cho, H., Reimer, T.O., & McComas, K.A. (Eds.). (2014).The SAGE handbook of risk
communication. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Cialdini, R. B., Reno, R. R., & Kallgren, C. A. (1990). A focus theory of normative conduct:
recycling the concept of norms to reduce littering in public places. Journal of Personality
and Social Psychology, 58(6), 1015-1026.
Cooley, A. (2013). Going Public. Resource Recycling. See http://americarecyclesday.org/wpcontent/uploads/2013/11/RRarticle- Nov2013.pdf
Osbaldiston, R., & Schott, J. P. (2011). Environmental sustainability and behavioral science:
Meta-analysis of proenvironmental behavior experiments. Environment and Behavior, 44,
257-299.
Schultz, P. W., & Oskamp, S., & Mainieri, T. (1995). Who recycles and when: A review of
personal and situational factors. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 15, 105-121.
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Brian Lamb School of Communication
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