Energy Conservation Behavior: The Difficult Path from Information to Action

Articles
Costanzo, M., Archer, D., Aronson, E., & Pettigrew, T. (1986). Energy conservation behavior: The difficult path from information to action. American Psychologist, 41, 5, 521-528.
Presents a social-psychological model of energy-use behavior that draws on behavioral and social research to explain influence processes and behavioral change related to energy co…

Assessing Communication Effects on Energy Conservation

Articles
Craig, C. S. & McCann, J. M. (1978). Assessing communication effects on energy conservation. Journal of Consumer Research, 5, 82-88.
This article presents the results of a field experiment on alternative ways of prompting energy conservation behavior. The source of the communication was found to influence the …

How Influential is the Auditor? Determinants of Sales Effectiveness in Energy Conservation Programs

Articles
Brown, M. A., Berry, L. G., White, D. L. & Trumble, D. (1988). How influential is the auditor? Determinants of sales effectiveness in energy conservation programs. Energy Systems and Policy, 12, 135-149.
This paper examines the determinants of auditor effectiveness in selling energy conservation to homeowners and reports the results of an analysis of the effectiveness of the energ…

The Short List: The Most Effective Actions U.S. Households Can Take to Curb Climate Change

Articles
Gardner, G.T. & Stern, P.C. (2008, September/October). The Short List: The Most Effective Actions U.S. Households Can Take to Curb Climate Change
Individual and household actions now directly cause approximately 38% of total national carbon dioxide emissions, and that percentage has increased in recent years.  These emissio…

Using Social Norms to Reduce Household Energy Consumption

Cases
Schultz P. W., Nolan J. M., Cialdini R. B., Goldstein N. J., Griskevicius Vladas (2007). The Constructive, Destructive, and Reconstructive Power of Social Norms. Psychological Science, 18(5), 429-434.
Background  In the two projects described below, information was delivered to households in order to foster norms that support reduced electricity consumption.  These projects ma…

The Effect of Tailored Information, Goal Setting, and Tailored Feedback on Household Energy Use, Energy-Related Behaviors, and Behavioral Antecedents

Articles
Abrahamse, W., Steg, L., Vlek, C., & Rothengatter, T. (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(4), 265-276.
In this multidisciplinary study, an Internet-based tool was used to encourage households (N = 189) to reduce their direct (gas, electricity and fuel) and indirect energy use (embe…

The Constructive, Destructive, and Reconstructive Power of Social Norms

Articles
Schultz P. W., Nolan J. M., Cialdini R. B., Goldstein N. J., Griskevicius Vladas (2007). The Constructive, Destructive, and Reconstructive Power of Social Norms. Psychological Science, 18(5), 429-434.
Despite a long tradition of effectiveness in laboratory tests, normative messages have had mixed success in changing behavior in field contexts, with some studies showing boomeran…

Normative Social Influence is Underdetected

Articles
Nolan, J. M., Schultz, P. W., Cialdini, R. B., Goldstein, N. J., Griskevicius V. (2008). Normative Social Influence is Underdetected. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34 (7), 913-923.
The present research investigated the persuasive impact and detectability of normative social influence. The first study surveyed 810 Californians about energy conservation and fo…

A Review of Intervention Studies Aimed at Household Energy Conservation

Articles
Abrahamse, W., Steg, L., Vlek, C., & Rothengatter, T. (2005). A review of intervention studies aimed at household energy conservation. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 25(3), 273-291.
This article reviews and evaluates the effectiveness of interventions aiming to encourage households to reduce energy consumption. Thirty-eight studies performed within the field …

Utilizing a Social-Ecological Framework to Promote Water and Energy Conservation: A Field Experiment

Articles
Kurz, T., Donaghue, N., & Walker, I. (2005). Utilizing a social-ecological framework to promote water and energy conservation: A field experiment. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 35(6), 1281-1300.
The present study utilized a social-ecological framework to design an intervention to reduce residential water and energy use in a local community. An experimental design was used…

Virtual Oceania

Introductory Workshop

May 29th - 31st, 2024

Learn More

Virtual North America

Introductory Workshop

Jun 3rd - 5th, 2024

Learn More
Site Courtesy of
McKenzie-Mohr & Associates

Expertise in Community-Based Social Marketing