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…

Using Normative Social Influence to Promote Conservation Among Hotel Guests

Articles
Schultz, P. W., Khazian, A., Zaleski, A. (2008). Using normative social influence to promote conservation among hotel guests. Social Influence, 3(1), 4-23.
Three field experiments are reported on the ability of printed normative messages to influence conservation behavior among hotel guests. While prior research has shown that social…

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…

Media Attention and the Market for 'Green' Consumer Products.

Articles
Thogersen, J. (2006). Media Attention and the Market for 'Green' Consumer Products. Business Strategy and the Environment, 15(3), 145-156.
There are signs that a general 'counter-attack' is now being orchestrated against the 'greens'. This paper surveys the evidence regarding an 'issue-attention' cycle in environment…

A Behavioral Analysis of Peaking in Residential Electrical-Energy Consumers

Articles
Kohlenberg, R., Phillips, T., & Proctor, W. (1976). A behavioral analysis of peaking in residential electrical-energy consumers. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 9(1), 13-18.
Investigated the peaking phenomenon, the tendency for electrical energy users to consume at high rates for brief periods during the day, by analyzing the electrical energy consumi…

Choosing to Encourage or Discourage: Perceived Effectiveness of Prescriptive versus Proscriptive Messages

Articles
Winter, P.L., Sagarin, B.J., Rhoads, K., Barrett, D.W., Cialdini, R.B. (2000). Choosing to encourage or discourage: Perceived effectiveness of prescriptive and proscriptive messages. Environmental Management, 2(6): 588-594.
The estimated cost of repairing damage caused to recreational sites annually is in the hundreds of millions of dollars. These depreciative activities also reduce the quality of vi…

Successfully Changing Individual Travel Behavior: Applying Community-Based Social Marketing to Travel Choice

Articles
Cooper, C. (2007). Successfully changing individual travel behavior: Applying community-based social marketing to travel choice. Transportation Research Record, (2021), pp. 88-99.
This paper demonstrates that community-based social marketing techniques can be successfully used to affect people's transportation awareness and behavior, as deployed in Washingt…

Smart Parking Linked to Transit: Lessons Learned from Field Test in San Francisco Bay area of California

Articles
Shaheen, S.A., Kemmerer, C. (2008). Smart parking linked to transit: Lessons learned from field test in San Francisco Bay area of California. Transportation Research Record, (2063), pp. 73-80.
Rising demand for parking at suburban transit stations, such as the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) District in San Francisco, California, necessitates strategies to manage traveler…

Signs that Encourage Internalized Recycling: Clinical Validation, Weak Messages and 'Creative Elaboration'

Articles
Werner, C., White, P., Byerly, S., & Stoll, R. (2009). Signs that encourage internalized recycling: Clinical validation, weak messages and 'creative elaboration.'. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 29(2), 193-202.
Two experiments examined clinical validation’s ability to increase examination of a persuasive message and increase long-term recycling. In Experiment 1, validating (acknowledging…

The Role of Interpersonal Communication Networks in the Diffusion of Energy Conserving Practices and Technologies

Articles
Leonard-Barton, D. (1980). The role of interpersonal communication networks in the diffusion of energy conserving practices and technologies. Banff, Alberta, Canada: Consumer Behavior and Energy Use.

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