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…

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…

Applying Social Psychology to Desegregation and Energy Conservation. Special Issue: Illustrating the Value of Basic Research

Articles
Aronson, E. (1990). Applying social psychology to desegregation and energy conservation. Special Issue: Illustrating the value of basic research. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 16, 1, 118-132.
Presents 2 examples of social psychology in action in dealing with an immediate crisis and a gradual problem. The immediate crisis occurred when a school system was desegregated, …

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…

Putting Text in Context: The Conflict Between Pro-Ecological Messages and Anti-Ecological Descriptive Norms

Articles
Oceja, L., & Berenguer, J. (2009). Putting text in context: The conflict between pro-ecological messages and anti-ecological descriptive norms. The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 12(2), 657-666.
In the present work we test whether the effectiveness of ecological messages may be canceled out when they conflict with the descriptive norm that is salient in the situation. In …

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 …

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