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04/15/2008 09:17 AM
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How to Create Change Page 2 |
Then there's the power of keeping up with the Jones'. Besides giving people feedback on the amount of energy they use (and how much it costs them), why not double the impact by also informing them about how much energy their neighbors are using?
Our local utility includes a graph in its electric bills that compares the amount of electricity I used this year versus last year. How about including a graph that compares my use with my neighbors? When this tidbit of additional information was added to one California utility's bills, heavy energy users quickly used a lot less energy! How about offering an incentive to people that reduce their load below the average of the neighborhood?
Many hotels now have in-room cards asking people to reuse towels to save energy. They've found that cards that say something like, "most hotel visitors reuse towels, we'll assume you will too unless you indicate otherwise" and what works even better is a card that says, "most people who stay in this room reuse towels."
The morale: People will take action if they think others like them are doing it. The 'everybody's doing it' pitch could be the most effective tool we have. As more people drive hybrids, it will be harder and harder for people to feel comfortable driving SUVs. More people will put solar on their homes, when they see their neighbors doing it.
Car manufacturers know that people buy cars based on what they "like" - which is greatly influenced by how they think others will perceive them. So, we have to change what people like.
I drive a hybrid because I'm clear about the climate change crisis and my impact, but it sure helps to drive a car that says "hybrid" on the back. What's important to me is that others view me as an ethical, thoughtful person. That's why the Prius outsells the Honda Civic Hybrid. The Prius looks different from every other car and screams, "I care and am taking action." Honda overlooked this critical psychological point when it designed its hybrid version of the Civic and Accord to look the same as its conventional models - it hopes to make up for it when it comes out with its own unique looking hybrid car in 2009.
A new book, Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness, details how human psychology needs to be incorporated into public policy, showing how to design programs that give people choices but also subtly coax them away from bad ones.
Example: if you want people to choose healthy food options, put them first in the cafeteria line. People are hungry and will choose more of what comes first.
Example: to get more people to sign onto utility clean energy programs, check the box that enrolls them and ask them to uncheck the box if they don't want to enroll. Instead of asking people to "opt-in," ask them to opt-out. People tend to go with the default option, so make the default the option you want them to choose. Even just forcing people to make a decision one way or the other boosts enrollment.
Let's think psychologically!
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Rona Fried, Ph.D. is president of SustainableBusiness.com.
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