Environmental attitudes and behaviour change

Just came across this interesting article which looks at the link between environmental beliefs and behaviour. I take part in a lot of discussions around how to get people at work be more green, discussions in which there is usually an expectation that the way to do this to change their beliefs and attitudes. The theory goes that if we change attitudes towards environmental issues like energy use and recycling we will then get the behaviour change we want.

What this article reveals is that believing that the way to change behaviour is by trying to change attitudes is at best misplaced, and more likely completely unfounded. Put simply, it does not work because the causal link is the other way around. Attitudes don’t change behaviour – behaviour changes attitudes.

Do stuff which targets directly the change you want. Make the behaviour you want easier to do, the behaviour you don’t harder and you will get results. Attitude change will then follow the behaviour change, creating a positive feedback loop further reinforcing the change. Remember when we all had to start wearing seat belts? Once we started using them we then came to think that they were a good idea. The positive attitude followed the behaviour change.

The key for business therefore is to identify the things that directly influence the behaviour, and change them so that the behaviour you want becomes as easy to do as possible. Are the recycling bins inconveniently located? Are the light switches not in an obvious place? Does your company policy permit internal flights when you really want them to take the train or use videoconferencing? The easier you make for employees to do the things you want them to, the harder it becomes to do the things you would prefer they didn’t, the more behaviour changes. Like the seat belts, the more they do it, the more they will approve of it. Create the climate for change, and change will happen. Attitude change will follow behaviour change.

Psychologists know this as ‘cognitive dissonance’ of which my psychology dictionary says:

“Cognitive dissonance: An emotional state set up when there is a conflict between belief and behaviour. The resolution of the conflict is assumed to serve as a basis for attitude change, in that belief patterns are generally modified to be consistent with the behaviour.”

I’m not saying it’s easy, but I am saying that it can be done. If you need help please don’t hesitate to get in touch!

The iPad, behaviour change and reducing energy use

There are plenty of cases when shiny technology can help achieve behaviour change. I’ve just seen this interesting article on Mashable about using the iPad to help businesses become more green. One application uses the iPad to provide real-time monitoring of energy consumption.

There’s now tons of evidence that providing feedback on energy use is a great way to facilitate behaviour changes leading to reduced consumption. For example, this recent article estimates that feedback can reduce consumption in half. Meanwhile psychological research (mostly in the domestic sector) has repeatedly found reductions of around 10-20%.

Home energy meters are now available for around £30 to £40, which can easily be recovered within a year, often less. If the iPad can help achieve similar savings in business the ROI could be almost overnight!

Thinking behaviour change

Last Wednesday I ran a workshop at the British Psychological Society’s annual Postgraduate Occupational Psychology conference. Liking modest objectives, I titled it “Creating a Climate for Change: How Occupational Psychology Can Save The Planet”. My principle aim was to highlight the huge, and presently undelivered, potential that psychology has to help organisations to reduce their energy bills, waste costs and so on, through the way that staff behave. My secondary aim was that it would be fun!

Around seventy people came to the workshop, many current Masters students on Occupational Psychology programmes. After a quick show-and-tell to set the scene, I challenged them to come up with as many ideas as possible for ways in which people could change their behaviour at work to be more green at work. Working in groups of 6-8, I asked them to come up with:

• As many ideas as possible
• Ideas that were as crazy as possible

Two things struck me.

Firstly, collectively the workshop came up with a lot of ideas for ways to be more green at work. Around 300 unique ideas. In around twenty minutes. That’s a lot. Imagine how many ideas people at your organisation could come up with?

Secondly, although I stressed the need for ideas which focussed on behaviour change, many were ideas for changes to the building (think: waterwheels on the outside of the building driven by rainfall, creating electricity). I’ve seen this before in my own research. However hard you try to emphasise you’re focussing on behaviour change, around 50% of the ideas people have are for the infrastructure. Clearly behaviour change isn’t just hard to achieve, it’s hard to think about. I wonder why?