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…

Dormitory Residents Reduce Electricity Consumption when Exposed to Real-Time Visual Feedback and Incentives

Articles
Petersen, J., Shunturov, V., Janda, K., Platt, G., & Weinberger, K. (2007). Dormitory Residents Reduce Electricity Consumption when Exposed to Real-Time Visual Feedback and Incentives. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 8(1), 16.
Purpose: In residential buildings, personal choices influence electricity and water consumption. Prior studies indicate that information feedback can stimulate resource conservati…

Using Cognitive Dissonance to Encourage Water Conservation

Articles
Dickerson CA, Thibodeau, R., Aronson, E., Miller, D. (1992). Using Cognitive Dissonance to Encourage Water Conservation. Journal of Applied Social Psychology 22 (11), 841854.
In a field experiment on water conservation, we aroused dissonance in patrons of the campus recreation facility by making them feel hypocritical about their showering habits. Usin…

Invoking Social Norms:A Social Psychology Perspective on Improving Hotels' Linen-Reuse Programs

Articles
Goldstein, N., Griskevicius, V., Cialdini, R. (2007). Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 48(2), 145-150.
Social psychology theory can be applied to such mundane purposes as encouraging guests to reuse their washroom towels. In contrast to the appeals now in use to persuade guests to …

Water Use as a Commons Dilemma: The Effects of Education that Focuses on Long-Term Consequences and Individual Action

Articles
Thompson, S. C., & Stoutemyer, K. Water use as a commons dilemma: The effects of education that focuses on long-term consequences and individual action. Vol. 23. 1991. 314-333.
Randomly assigned 171 households to 1 of 4 groups: commons education, economic interest education, participation control, and no contact control. Water use was recorded for the 2-…

Attempts to Promote Residential Water Conservation with Educational, Behavioral and Engineering Strategies

Articles
Geller, E. S., Erickson, J. B., & Buttram, B. A. Attempts to promote residential water conservation with educational, behavioral and engineering strategies. Vol. 6. 1983. 96-112.
The water meters of 129 residences in Blacksburg, Virginia were read for 70 consecutive days. After 5 wks of baseline, state-of-the-art education, feedback, and engineering interv…

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