Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

Local, state, and federal governments are continuing to design and pass programs and policies to decrease demand for energy. These programs and policies provide social, economic, and environmental benefits. Social and behavioral scientists can inform policymaking and evaluation because of their expertise in behavioral change. Specifically, policies will be more effective if they include a behavioral level analysis to help select behaviors, design behavioral change strategies that target appropriate motives and abilities, and attend to social and environmental contexts. After describing these principles, the article illustrates how they can inform the evaluation of labeling programs designed to encourage energy-efficient behaviors among consumers, manufacturers, and building owners.

Keywords

demand reduction energy use carbon labels policies motivation ability social context environmental context climate change energy independence

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Abrahamse

Steg

(2013). Social influence approaches to encourage resource conservation: A meta-analysis. Global Environmental Change, 23, 1773-1785.

Abrahamse

Steg

Vlek

Rothengatter

(2007). The effect of tailored information, goal setting, and tailored feedback on household energy use, energy-related behaviors, and behavioral antecedents. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 27, 265-276.

Abrams

Wetherell

Cochrane

Hogg

M. A.

Turner

J. C.

(1990). Knowing what to think by knowing who you are: Self-categorization and the nature of norm formation, conformity and group polarization. British Journal of Social Psychology, 29, 97-119.

Attari

S. Z.

DeKay

M. L.

Davidson

C. I.

de Bruin

W. B.

(2010). Public perceptions of energy consumption and savings. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107, 16054-16059.

Banerjee

Solomon

(2003). Eco-labeling for energy efficiency and sustainability: A meta-evaluation of U.S. programs. Energy Policy, 32, 109-123.

Bator

R. J.

Tabanico

J. J.

Walton

M. L.

Schultz

P. W.

(2014). Promoting energy conservation with implied norms and explicit messages. Social Influence, 9, 69-82.

Blackmore

Underhill

McQuilkin

Leach

Holmes

(2013). Common cause for nature: A practical guide to values and frames in conservation. Public Research Interest Center. Retrieved from http://valuesandframes.org/initiative/nature/

Bloodhart

Swim

J. K.

Zawadzki

M. J.

(2013). Spreading the eco-message: Using proactive coping to aid eco-rep behavior change programming. Sustainability, 5, 1661-1679.

Bolderdijk

J. W.

Steg

Geller

E. S.

Lehman

P. K.

Postmes

(2012). Comparing the effectiveness of monetary versus moral motives in environmental campaigning. Nature Climate Change, 3, 413-416. doi:10.1038/NCLIMATE1767

10.

Bowles

(2008). Policies designed for self-interest citizens may undermine “the moral sentiments”: Evidence from economic experiments. Science, 320, 1605-1609. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/622061197?accountid=13158

11.

Brehm

J. W.

(1981). Psychological reactance: A theory of freedom and control. New York, NY: Academic Press.

12.

Carver

C. S.

Scheier

M. F.

(2002). Control processes and self-organization as complementary principles underlying behavior. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 6, 304-315.

13.

Clark

(2014). Berkeley considering climate change labels at gas pumps. Oakland Tribune. Retrieved from http://www.insidebayarea.com/news/ci_25996416/berkeley-considering-global-warming-labels-gas-pumps

14.

Cohen

M. A.

Vandenbergh

M. P.

(2012). The potential role of carbon labeling in a green economy. Energy Economics, 34, S53-S63.

15.

Costanzo

Archer

Aronson

Pettigrew

(1986). Energy conservation behavior: The difficult path from information to action. American Psychologist, 41, 521-528.

16.

Crane

Goldthau

Toman

Light

Johnson

S. E.

Nader

. . . Dogo

(2009). Does imported oil threaten U.S. national security? Retrieved from http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB9448.html

17.

Darley

J. M.

Beniger

J. R.

(1981). Diffusion of energy-conserving innovations. Journal of Social Issues, 37, 150-171.

18.

Deci

E. L.

Koestner

Ryan

R. M.

(1999). A meta-analytic review of experiments examining the effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 125, 627-668.

19.

De Groot

J. I. M.

Steg

(2009). Mean or green: Which values can promote stable pro-environmental behavior? Conservation Letters, 2, 61-66.

20.

Dietz

Gardner

G. T.

Gilligan

Stern

P. C.

Vandenbergh

M. P.

(2009). Household actions can provide a behavioral wedge to rapidly reduce U.S. carbon emissions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106, 18452-18456.

21.

Ecolabel Index. (2014). Retrieved from www.ecolabelindex.com

22.

Energy Star (2014). Energy star products: 20 years of helping America save energy. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.energystar.gov/ia/products/downloads/ES_Anniv_Book_030712_508compliant_v2.pdf

23.

Epstein

P. R.

Buonocore

J. J.

Eckerle

Hendryx

Stout

B. M.

III Heinberg

. . . Glustrom

(2011). Full cost accounting for the life cycle of coal. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1219, 73-98. doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.2010.05890.x

24.

Evans

Maio

G. R.

Corner

Hodgetts

C. J.

Ahmed

Hahn

(2013). Self-interest and pro-environmental behaviour. Nature Climate Change, 3, 122-125.

25.

Fogg

B. J.

(2009a). The behavior grid: 35 ways behavior can change. In S. Chatterjee & P. Dev, program chairs, Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Persuasive Technology (p. 42). Association for Computing Machinery. Retreived from http://www.bjfogg.com/fbg_files/page7_1.pdf.

26.

Fogg

B. J.

(2009b). A behavior model for persuasive design. In Chatterjee

Dev

, program chairs, Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Persuasive Technology (p. 40). Association for Computing Machninery. Retrieved from http://bjfogg.com/fbm_files/page4_1.pdf

27.

Fogg

B. J.

(2014). The behavioral grid. Available from http://www.behaviorgrid.org

28.

Guerin

D. A.

Yust

B. L.

Coopet

J. G.

(2009). Occupant predictors of household energy behavior and consumption change as found in energy studies since 1975. Family & Consumer Sciences Research Journal, 29, 48-80.

29.

Heiskanen

Johnson

Robinson

Vadovics

Saastamoinen

(2010). Low-carbon communities as a context for individual behavioural change. Energy Policy, 38, 7586-7595.

30.

Howland

Murrow

Petraglia

E. L.

Comings

(2009). Energy efficiency: Engine of economic growth. Rockport, ME: Environment Northeast.

31.

Kaiser

F. G.

Hartig

Brügger

Duvier

(2013). Environmental protection and nature as distinct attitudinal objects: An application of the Campbell paradigm. Environment & Behavior, 45, 369-398. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1346800650?accountid=13158

32.

Karlin

Zinger

J. F.

Ford

(2014). The effects of feedback on energy conservation: A preliminary theory and meta-analysis. Manuscript in preparation.

33.

Kaufman

Atta

C. D.

(2014). 7 tiny cultural differences that shape the world’s energy use. Retrived from http://blog.opower.com/2014/06/7-tiny-cultural-differences-that-shape-the-worlds-energy-use/

34.

Leiserowitz

Maibach

Roser-Renouf

Feinberg

Rosenthal

(2014). Americans’ actions to limit global warming, November 2013. Yale University and George Mason University. New Haven, CT: Yale Project on Climate Change Communication.

35.

Lucas

Brooks

Darnton

Jones

J. E.

(2008). Promoting pro-environmental behaviour: Existing evidence and policy implications. Environmental Science & Policy, 11, 456-466.

36.

Mankoff

Matthews

Fussell

S. R.

Johnson

(2007). Leveraging social networks to motivate individuals to reduce their ecological footprints. In Proceedings of HICSS, IEEE Computer Society, Washington, DC (p. 87). Retrieved from http://repository.cmu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1047&context=hcii.

37.

Markowtiz

E. M.

Shariff

A. F.

(2012). Climate change and moral judgment. Nature Climate Change, 2, 244-247.

38.

Masson

Fritsche

(2014). Adherence to climate change related ingroup norms: Do dimensions of group identification matter? European Journal of Social Psychology, 5, 455-465.

39.

Matthies

Klockner

C. A.

Preissner

C. L.

(2006). Applying a modified moral decision making model to change habitual car use: How can commitment be effective? Applied Psychology: An International Review, 55, 91-106.

40.

McCalley

L. T.

Midden

C. J.

(2002). Energy conservation through product-integrated feedback: The roles of goal-setting and social orientation. Journal of Economic Psychology, 23, 589-603.

41.

Musser

(2011). Social networking and energy conservation: What went wrong? Scientific American. Retrieved from http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/solar-at-home/2011/04/14/social-networking-and-energy-conservation-what-went-wrong/

42.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. (2014). CAFE - Fuel Economy. Retrieved from http://www.nhtsa.gov/fuel-economy

43.

National Research Council. (2013). A review of the draft 2013 national climate assessment. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

44.

Nolan

J. M.

Schultz

P. W.

Cialdini

R. B.

Goldstein

N. J.

Griskevicius

(2008). Normative social influence is underdetected. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34, 913-923.

45.

Nyilasy

Gangadharbatla

Paladino

(2013). Perceived greenwashing: The interactive effects of green advertising and corporate environmental performance on consumer reactions. Journal of Business Ethics. Advance online publication. doi:10.1007/s10551-013-1944-3

46.

Osbaldiston

Schott

J. P.

(2012). Environmental sustainability and behavioral science: Meta-analysis of pro-environmental behavior experiments. Environment & Behavior, 44, 257-299.

47.

Peffer

Pritoni

Meier

Aragon

Perry

(2011). How people actually use Thermostats: A review. Building and Environment, 46, 2529-2541.

48.

Pichert

Katsikopoulos

K. V.

(2008). Green defaults: Information presentation and pro-environmental behavior. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 28, 63-73.

49.

Programmable thermostats specification. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=archives.thermostats_spec

50.

Reynolds

T. W.

Bostrom

Read

Morgan

M. G.

(2010). Now what do people know about global climate change? Survey studies of educated laypeople. Risk Analysis, 30, 1520-1538.

51.

S.2074: Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act of 2014. Retrieved from https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/s2074

52.

Schmuck

Kasser

Ryan

R. M.

(2000). Intrinsic and extrinsic goals: Their structure and relationship to well-being in German and U.S. college students. Social Indicators Research, 50, 225-241.

53.

Schultz

P. W.

(2013). Strategies for promoting pro-environmental behavior: Lots of tools but few instructions. European Psychologist, 19, 107-117.

54.

Sirieix

Delanchy

Remaud

Zepeda

Gurviez

(2013). Consumers’ perceptions of individual and combined sustainable food labels: A U.K. pilot investigation. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 37, 143-151.

55.

Steg

Vleck

(2009). Encouraging pro-environmental behaviour: An integrative review and research agenda. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 29, 309-317.

56.

Swim

J. K.

Becker

J. C.

(2012). Country contexts and individuals’ climate change mitigating behaviors: A comparison of U.S. versus German individuals’ efforts to reduce energy use. Journal of Social Issues, 68, 571-591.

57.

Swim

J. K.

Johnson

S. L.

Cundiff

J. L.

Lord

(in press). Environmental identity and community support for the preservation of open space. Human Ecology Review.

58.

Thøgersen

Crompton

(2009). Simple and painless? The limitations of spillover in environmental campaigning. Journal of Consumer Policy, 32, 141-163.

59.

Thøgersen

Ölander

(2002). Human values and the emergence of a sustainable consumption patterns: A panel study. Journal of Economic Psychology, 23, 605-630.

60.

U.S. Energy Information Administration. (2014a). Use of energy in the United States explained. Retrieved from http://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/index.cfm?page=us_energy_use

61.

U.S. Energy Information Administration. (2014b). What are the major sources and users of energy in the United States? Retrieved from http://www.eia.gov/energy_in_brief/article/major_energy_sources_and_users.cfm.

62.

U.S. Energy Information Administration. (2014c). AEO2014 Early release overview. Retrieved from http://www.eia.gov/forecasts/aeo/er/early_consumption.cfm

63.

U.S. Energy Information Administration. (2014d). U.S. households increase use of consumer electrronics. Retrieved from http://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.cfm?id=1270

64.

Verplanken

Walker

Davis

Jurasek

(2008). Context change and travel mode choice: Combining the habit discontinuity and self-activation hypotheses. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 28, 121-127.

65.

Wejnert

(2002). Integrating models of diffusion of innovations: A conceptual framework. Annual Review of Sociology, 28, 297-326.

66.

Winkler

R. C.

Winett

R. A.

(1982). Behavioral interventions in resource conservation: A systems approach based on behavioral economics. American Psychologist, 37, 421-435.

Psychology and Energy-Use Reduction Policies

Abstract

Keywords

Get full access to this article

References