Communicating behaviour change

If we are to achieve the significant reductions in carbon dioxide emissions, and profligate use of Earth's resources there will need to be significant behaviour change in parallel with technical and political solutions. How this is to be achieved has not been addressed as much as political and technological fixes, but at the bare minimum we all need to become more conserving and more politically responsible.

Some simple problems:

• People don't like to behave differently from their peers.
• They don't like to think they are losing money, or habitat.
• People often misreport their actions.

Some simple reminders to effect change:

• Personalise information so that individuals can relate to it.
• Play on how much money is lost by wasting gas and electricity
• Preface a desired action by the phrase " all responsible/trendy/environmentally aware people do...."

Further references

Which messages spur citizens to protect the environment? The secret impact of social norms. Transcript of an RSA lecture by Professor Robert Cialdini Professor Cialdini asks: How can cutting edge persuasion techniques be used to encourage environmental responsibility? A presentation on his recent research into the successful use of social norms to promote pro-environmental action.

Michelle Shipworth: Motivating Home Energy Use

New Rules; New game These short rules are communications techniques which pull together the most effective strategies for changing people’s behaviour. They are based on a huge body of international psychological, sociological and marketing studies, gathered and analysed by Futerra.

The Rules of the Game These principles were created as part of the UK Climate Change Communications Strategy, an evidence-based strategy aiming to change public attitudes towards climate change in the UK. This is a ‘short version’ of a far longer document of evidence that can be found at www.defra.gov.uk.