Energy and Human Behavior: Searching for Links

Energy and Human Behavior: Searching for LinksSusan Mazur-Stommen, Ph.D.Principal and FounderINDICIA Consulting LLCMaking Changes: Learning from Social Science Research to Drive Behavior ChangeAAAS, Washington, D.C. Summer 2015

About meI am a cultural anthropologist My work takes me interesting placesHanging out in a metal fabrication shop in Chicago listening for air pump leaksEating goat burgers on a farm in rural Alabama.Eating slug burgers in a small town in MississippiTaking pictures of peoples underwear drawers and asking about laundry pain points in suburban Southern California.Interviewing truckers at a convention in Dallas, Texas

INDICIA ConsultingIndicia Consulting is a mission-driven social enterprise:#1 -- increase sustainability via engaging behavior through proven social science insights and methods.All human behavior and its environmental impact -- energy, water, food, transportation, and pollution control.#2 increase understanding and value of qualitative theory and methods, particularly from anthropologyOur focus is on qualitative research, primarily using ethnographic methods and theories.

Why focus on behavior?Everything comes back to human behavior, even installed technologyIf people do not choose to purchase, use, or abide by it, then it will not do the jobWe are all convinced that, with the right medium and data visualization and presentation, people will just get it

We need to make energy issues concrete and visible to people in real-time, rather than abstract and after the fact.

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MYTH People dont care about conserving energy

False: People believe in saving energy, think they already DO save energy, and also believe not doing so is simply irresponsible.

People feel good about saving energy, and are excited to share what they have done in their own homes

People are curious about new ways to save energy they just dont want to be lied, tricked, scared, or forced into it!

We need to stop relying on an outmoded model foisting education upon people in hopes they become better consumers, and instead look to ways that we can foster better outcomes through changes to peoples social, natural, and built environments.

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What does not workScare tactics do not work, Unless carefully used in a message that contains constructive advice and a personal and direct link with the individual, fear is likely to trigger barriers to engagement, such as denial

Consumers/water-users/energy-users do not need to have their cognitive load increased. Being educated, made aware, or taught to think about resource use isnt sufficient to affect change. People dont use resources, they use products and services

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Get people to care about energyYou can achieve greater impact and deeper savings by incorporating insights from social and behavioral sciences.

Those of us who are advocates for behavior programs are at a point where the specific regulatory environment demands a relatively strict definition of behavior programs. Some of these are incredibly new, a few years old, helped along by new mobile technologies and the increasing familiarity consumers have with those technologies. Behavior programs need a chance to prove themselves before more established programs start using the term because it is trendy, and thus risk re-muddying the waters. 10

Drivers that motivate

This is critical in the definition of a 11

Get people to change their behaviorChanging attitudes does not mean that behavior change automatically follows!How many times have YOU tried to change a behavior you dont like?Creating new habits requires new tools.

What does not workSimply telling people what to do, commonly called education, or raising awareness, does nothing. Offering rebates do not motivate behavior changeThough people who change their behavior can take advantage of themCash incentives can backfire, removing pre-existing motivationsCorrect pricing can move markets on the macro-scalebut does nothing on the ground to change peoples everyday, observable behaviors.

Tools that workCommitment: Spoken, written, and public statements reinforce self-imageSocial Norming:No one wants to be weird!Prompts:Prompts are VISIBLE calls to a specific actionConvenience:Many barriers to behavior change are rooted in inconvenience that limits ability or incentive to take action

Tool: CommitmentOne utility found that people who made a pledge goal achieved 3X savings as the average (Schick and Goodwin 2011). We want to bring our behavior into alignment with public statementsGrant McCracken, an anthropologist from MIT, calls these unities in his theory Diderots Bathrobe.

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Tool: Social NormingOffer demonstration of the normMake behavior impacts visible and comparableWith norms NUMBERS MATTER. Show people that other people are doing it too.When to use it: If there is a lack of motivation due to uncertainty about social acceptance (Compost toilets, anyone?)

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Save the CrabsRun-off was impacting the water quality in the Chesapeake BayHomeowners were asked to COMMIT to one specific action: to fertilize in the fall instead of the spring to reduce runoff into the bay. The campaign was framed around the blue crab, a seafood with local cultural resonance The slogan Save the crabsthen eat them later representing the request to save fertilizing till the fall was promoted by local chefs and local newspapersThe program was promoted in restaurants and by homeowners who displayed signs reading, No appetizers were harmed in the making of this lawn.The campaign also used a print and TV media campaign. Post-campaign survey results showed that those who were exposed to the campaign were significantly more likely not to fertilize their lawn in the spring (Landers et al. 2006).

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Tool: PromptsPrompts are VISIBLE calls to a specific actionPrompts are NOT slogansPrompts can be delivered through signage, feedback devices, or reminders (like a door hanger) Prompts need to be placed in physical proximity to the targeted actionPrompts need to be deployed as close to the timing of the action as possiblePrompts also require placement within a natural sequence of actions:When to use it: If a major barrier to completing an action is forgetfulness or a lack of instant cues, providing a prompt can be an effective intervention.

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Tool: ConvenienceBarriers can be found in the built environment:Example, you may want to encourage taking the stairs, but the stairs are located at the opposite end of the buildingBarriers can also appear in the processes we encounter as we navigate our day:Example, you want employees to bike to work more often, but have an 8:00AM all-hands staff meeting every morning. There are barriers to be found in our shared infrastructure:People cannot walk to lunch due to pedestrian unfriendly roadway design When to use it: If there is a structural or procedural barrier that causes significant inconvenience to completing an action, a convenience-altering intervention should be implemented.

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Scoop the PoopAustin, Texas has a reputation for being quite a dog-friendly townDownside: Austin has to deal with over 60,000 pounds of dog waste every day This impacts the local waterways, leading to bacterial contamination, algal blooms, and fish kills. As a deterrent, the city of Austin implemented a $500 fine for dog owners who do not clean up after their dogs.No officer, no citation, no compliance. Surveys and interviews identified several barriers to cleaning up dog poop. These barriers included:No convenient access to plastic baggiesTrash cans not close byThe task is messy and dirtyOne little pile is not a problemThe belief that it is natural fertilizer!!!

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Scoop the PoopMutt Mitt stations were installed in city parks.In 2000, 25 stations were installed, by 2010 over 150 stations were available in 90 parks. The stations are stocked with plastic bags that protect the hand like a glove. The stations are accompanied by with a phone number for people to call to report violations or empty dispensersProblems with water quality remained, so in 2009 messaging was added to the Scoop the Poop program in Austin:In 2001, 75,000 Mutt Mitts were distributed to dispose of about 37,500 pounds of dog waste. By 2009, about 2.4 million Mitts were distributed to dispose of 1.2 million pounds of dog waste. Bacteria levels in local streams near off-leash dog parks have improved.

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Behavior change campaignsMust become multi-modal, multi-channel, multi-message, multi-messenger. Must meet people on their own ground, using language they understand, and peer-champions they relate to. Must use methods that are appropriate for different learning styles, not just the visual-verbal.

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One theme to bind themThere is no universal solution or quick fix. Any program or policy must:Keep it local and respect the cultureUse emerging technologies to reinforce good habitsParse your data to understand behaviorFocus on outcomes

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What can you do?Remember that small changes can have large impacts.Seek to piggyback culture change onto technological innovations.Empower local and indigenous solutions.

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