Consumers' Attitudes toward Energy Conservation

Articles
Olsen, M. E. (1981). Consumers' attitudes toward energy conservation. Journal of Social Issues, 37, 2, 108-131.
Previous research indicates that about 50% of all Americans believe that the energy problem is real and serious, and less than 25% are completely unconvinced of the problem. Large…

The Remorseless Working of Things: A Common Tragedy in Environmental Resource Management

Articles
Harris, C. L. (1979). The remorseless working of things: A common tragedy in environmental resource management. EDRA: Environmental Design Research Association, 10, 431-435.
Tested the hypothesis that a territorialized resource pool avoids the social trap of wasting energy. A field investigation of apartment, townhouse, and single-family home dwellers…

Using Group Contingencies to Reduce Natural Gas Consumption in Master Metered Apartments

Articles
Slavin, R. E. & Wodarski, J. S. (1977). Center for Social Organization of Schools Report, Johns Hopkins U. Using group contingencies to reduce natural gas consumption in master metered apartments. (pp. 16).
Examined the effectiveness of large vs small group contingencies in reducing the natural gas consumption of apartment residents who did not pay for their utilities. Results show t…

Thermal Comfort and Strategies for Energy Conservation

Articles
Rohles, F. H. (1981). Thermal comfort and strategies for energy conservation. Journal of Social Issues, 37, 2, 132-149.
Posits that human response to the thermal environment depends on 7 variables: air temperature, relative humidity, mean radiant temperature, air velocity, clothing, physical activi…

An Experimental Analysis of Electricity Conservation Procedures

Articles
Palmer, M. H., Lloyd, M. E. & Lloyd, K. E. (1977). An experimental analysis of electricity conservation procedures. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 10, 4, 665-671.
Recorded the daily electricity consumption of 4 suburban families for 106 days. A reversal design, consisting of various experimental conditions interspersed between repeated base…

Voluntary Response to Energy Conservation Appeals

Articles
Walker, J. M. (1980). Voluntary response to energy conservation appeals. Journal of Consumer Research, 7, 1, 88-92.
Reviews studies that support the hypothesis that there would be a voluntary reduction in residential energy use following the Arab oil embargo. The extent to which this reduction …

"Consciousness" in Energy Conservation Behavior: An Exploratory Study

Articles
Heslop, L. A., Moran, L. & Cousineau, A. (1981). "Consciousness" in energy conservation behavior: An exploratory study. Journal of Consumer Research, 8, 3, 299-305.
An analysis of 6 yrs of electricity consumption in Canada, along with questionnaire data, highlights the importance of household characteristics and family size in predicting elec…

House Characteristics and the Effectiveness of Energy Conservation Measures

Articles
Clark, Kim E; Berry, David (1995). House characteristics and the effectiveness of energy conservation measures. Journal of the American Planning Association , 61, 386-395.
Many communities are engaged in residential energy conservation programs. However, there is little documentation on how the effectiveness of such conservation programs varies w…

Seeking Information: Power Meter Loans Through Libraries

Forums
Agnes Camacho Dec 9, 2008 6:25 am
Hi, I am looking for information from those who have established a program that entails a borrowing system for power meters through a library. The idea being; member…

Social Norms: An Underestimated and Underemployed Lever for Managing Climate Change

Articles
Griskevicius,V., Cialdini, R.B., and Goldstein, N.J. (2008). Social Norms: An Underestimated and Underemployed Lever for Managing Climate Change. International Journal for Sustainability Communication, 3, 5-13.
It is widely recognized that communications that make social norms salient can be effective in influencing behavior. What is surprising, given the strength of the evidence, is how…

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