WAKE-UP CALL
Welcome to
the January 2009 Wake-Up Call, Awake’s monthly newsletter for research and news
about behaviour change for sustainability.
To
view this newsletter as a webpage, click here
In this
edition of Wake-up Call…
·
Feature Article – The Importance of Being a Role
Model
·
Upcoming Workshops – Cultivating Sustainability in Australia,
March 2009
·
60 seconds with… Barnaby Smith from Environment
Waikato
·
Interesting Article of
the Month – When We Smell a Rat
·
Upcoming Presentation –
Awake at the Sustainable Living
Festival 2009
·
Exercise of the Month –
Being an Active Role Model
Feature Article – The Importance of Being a
Role Model
A friend
(we shall refer to her as “N”), who had previously been reluctant to consider cycling
the flat 4km to her workplace, astounded me by revealing that she had purchased
a scooter (the non-motorised kind) for the daily commute. What prompted this change of heart? “As I started my drive to work one day, I
noticed a neighbour setting off on her scooter.
Nearing my office after about 20min of sitting in peak hour traffic, my
neighbour zipped past me on her scooter.
I thought, ‘if she can do it, so can I”.
This story is a simple, yet powerful, illustration of the influence of
role models on our own behaviour.
Our
willingness to adopt a new way of doing things can be stimulated by a lot of
factors. One of them is through seeing
that our family, friends, colleagues and neighbours tried it and it worked for
them.
To what
extent are people influenced by others to perform environmentally friendly
behaviours? Some investigations have
been undertaken, although the research in this area is a bit limited.
A study
in 1998 compared the formative influences of a 9-nation sample of people
engaged in environmental action.
Although direct contact with nature throughout ones life was considered
the most important precursor to environmental commitment, the influence of
other people was 2nd highest, mentioned by 40% of those
interviewed. 22% of Australian
interviews cited the influence of “friends” as an important factor in shaping
their environmental views. In reviewing the literature in this field, the
authors comment that “as early as the 1940s and 1950s, researchers had
demonstrated that mass media directly influence a small part of their audience
at best, but that face-to-face contacts with other people influence most
people”.
In terms of
the direct influence of others on behaviour change, a notable study
was undertaken in the Netherlands, where researchers looked at the diffusion of
information about a community energy conservation program, and people’s willingness
to adopt the measures it recommended.
The study found that peoples awareness of the program was directly related
to the quantity of contacts they had within their community, while their
decision to adopt the measures was related to the strength of their ties
in the community. In other words, if
people interacted regularly with their neighbours, they were more likely to
hear about the program. Furthermore, if they felt that the people they
interacted with were trustworthy and had their interests at heart, they were
more likely to adopt the measures recommended in the program.
Finally, a
study of energy conservation measures by Darley
and Beniger presented a strong case that “information which determines
peoples perceptions of innovations is more likely to be transmitted via social
networks rather than mass media or other channels of communication”. The authors discuss the adoption of these
measures in terms of a theory of innovation, which proposes that we consider 5
key factors before adopting an innovation
a)
The relative advantage of the new
innovation over our current system
b)
The compatibility with our values
c)
The complexity of the innovation
d)
The trialability (can we try
before we buy?)
e)
The observability of the benefits
(can we see them?)
Effective
role modelling can be seen to perform a number of these functions. Let’s take the earlier anecdote, re my friend
with the scooter. The relative
advantage was evident, as “N” could see that her neighbour got to work at least
as fast, and probably with less cost and stress (this covers “observability” as
well). Value compatibility is less
obvious to the observer, but “N” seemed pretty happy with her decision. Riding a scooter does not seem too complex
(in fact, “N” commented that the neighbour did not look especially
athletic!). Trialability was not
required in this case, although could be handled by borrowing a scooter, or
test-driving one at the shop.
Therefore,
not only does role modelling give the impression of a social norm of environmental
responsibility, at a more specific level it can provide the conditions for
others to try a new behaviour that they have previously not considered, or
deemed too hard, expensive or ineffective.
If your aim
is to provide leadership in the area of environmental stewardship, then role
modelling is an effective, easy way to start.
You don’t need to lecture people, have difficult conversations, or tell
people they are wrong. There are,
however, a few ways you can help the process along, and make your own
behaviours more contagious
·
Make it visible
·
Tell people about it
·
Demonstrate it to them
·
Provide people with resources and
information for doing it
·
Help them, or join them, in
getting started
The great
thing is, role modelling is exponential.
If your acquaintances go on to become role models themselves, then we
stand a good chance of reaching the tipping point in sustainable behaviours
which our society and planet are in desperate need of.
WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE?
You can, as
long as you include this complete blurb with it:
Awake provides psychology-based services to support the development of
sustainable behaviour in individuals, groups and organisations. Visit www.awake.com.au
for more info
Upcoming Workshops – Cultivating Sustainability
in Australia, March 2009
Planning is
underway for Cultivating Sustainability workshops in the main centres of
Australia throughout March. Dates are
yet to be confirmed, but will be advised to all Wake-Up Call subscribers asap. Any requests for dates and locations are welcome
and greatly appreciated to assist in planning.
If you are
part of an organisation, green team, or community network that would benefit
from an in-house workshop, contact timc@awake.com.au
to discuss.
Cultivating Sustainability is a 1-day workshop which
provides sustainability advocates with insights, models and practical tools to
support their behaviour change efforts.
Anybody who has taken on the challenge of influencing others to live and
work more sustainably will find this workshop a valuable addition to their
skills.
For more information about the Cultivating Sustainability workshop, see www.awake.com.au/cultivating.html
If you would like to discuss running a workshop in your organisation or
community, email timc@awake.com.au or
phone +61 3 9387 1181
60 Seconds with… Barnaby
Smith from Environment Waikato
|
|
What first
got you focused on sustainability?
I first got interested in 'sustainability' as a concept when I was
working as an environmental
scientist in the contaminated sites industry. I saw that how things
were being done were far
from sustainable as the focus was on a 'dig and dump' style of site
remediation. Soils at
contaminated sites were (and are) being dug up and sent to landfill
rather than employing more
innovative techniques such as bio-remediation (using microbes, plants
and fungi) to restore soil and groundwater systems to a healthy state. This
system is in place so that corporate polluters can remove the main risks to
human health at sites they have contaminated and sell them quickly without
legal reprisal.
What is the
sustainable choice you have recently made of which you are most proud?
Purchasing all my food through a co-op which sells only organic and
fair trade produce. I also grow some of my own veggies.
What is a
less sustainable choice that you are not so proud of?
Commuting from Raglan to Hamilton (about 40kms each way) for my work.
Although I bus some days and sometimes work at home, I do the trip in my car at
least once a week.
Interesting Article of the Month – When We Smell a Rat
Where?
How
Organizational Motives and Communications Affect Public Trust in Organizations:
The Case of Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage (2008) By Bart Terwel, Fieke Harinck, Naomi Ellemers
& Dancker Daamen. Journal
of Environmental Psychology, Accepted Manuscript
What is it
about?
This study
examined the importance of the congruence between an organisations message with
regard to doing public good, and peoples perception of their motive - and the
extent to which this congruence affects trust in the organisation. In particular, the organisations studied were
involved in development Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology.
What did
they find?
When an
organisation that is perceived to be acting in self-interest tries to tell us
that they are involved in an environmental program for the public good, we are
less likely to trust them. The authors state
that “organisations involved in CCS that are believed to act upon organisation-serving
motives cannot build trust by simply communicating that their position is based
on more positively valued public-serving motives”. In fact, it is the level of congruency with
inferred organisational motives, rather than the specific content of
communications, that determines whether or not organisational communications
instigate public trust in organisations. Furthermore, the researchers found that trust
was preserved when the organisation admitted self-interest in combination with
public interest.
What can we
take from this?
With the
number of organisations clamouring to get on board the green bandwagon, and the
widely publicised phenomenon of “greenwash”, companies would do well to
carefully consider the impact of parading their green credentials, as this
research shows it can backfire if the public smells a rat. Like it or not, people expect that
organisations exist to make a profit, and any claims to the contrary are likely
to be treated with suspicion. As this
study suggests, there may be rewards for
companies who are straight with us and admit that, although a program may be in
the public interest, there is also something in it for them too.
Awake at the Sustainable
Living Festival, Melbourne, February 20-22, 2009
|
|
Don’t
forget to join us at the excellent Sustainable Living Festival in Melbourne.
All
the info is at http://www.slf.org.au/festival/
Tim
Cotter will be presenting on Saturday Feb 21 at 5pm, on the “The Psychological
Drivers of Sustainability”. We’ll have a look at some of the things which
engage people in sustainable behaviours, and invite participants to explore
their own values in relation to sustainability.
It
was great fun last year, and always an event to look forward to on the
Melbourne calendar. See you there!
Already
doing the right thing by the environment?
Here’s your opportunity to deliberately influence others through the
example you set, rather than just hoping it will rub off on them.
1.
Identify an environmentally
friendly behaviour that you currently undertake, one that you know is effective
and relatively simple. (eg. composting)
2.
Identify 3 people (friends,
colleagues, family members) who you think could easily join you in undertaking
this behaviour.
3.
Make a list of the following
a)
The benefits of this behaviour
b)
What resources people need
c)
How and where you get the
resources
d)
What other assistance people might
need in trying this behaviour
4.
Now create an opportunity to
influence those people on your list. Remember to show them the benefits (to you
and the planet), and consider demonstrating and/or assisting them to get
started.
Remember.
directly observing and feeling the benefits of a new behaviour is a much more
powerful trigger for change rather than merely reading about it or hearing
about it over dinner.
The
exercise of the month provides a tool to help you get engaged, inspired, aware
and in action around sustainability. Feel free to use it on your own,
with a friend, or in your work. If you do use it with others, please tell
them where you got it!
About Awake
Awake
provides psychology-based services to support the development of sustainable
behaviour in individuals, groups and organisations. Visit www.awake.com.au
for more info
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© Awake 2009