WAKE-UP CALL
Welcome to the May 2010 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 – Somebody Should Do Something
·
Upcoming Workshops – Cultivating Sustainability in
Australia and New Zealand
·
60 seconds with… Cathy from Ron D Swan
·
Interesting Article of the Month – I Didn’t Realise How Green I Am
·
Exercise of the Month – Think Global, Act Local
Feature
Article – Somebody
Should Do Something
In a well-documented case of “bystander
apathy”, a young woman called Kitty Genovese was beaten to death in New York in
1964 while 38 people looked from their windows. Nobody called the police during
the one and a half hour attack. The plethora of research conducted on this and
similar cases has revealed the power of “diffusion of responsibility”, which
occurs when people fail to act due to a lack of individual accountability which
occurs in certain circumstances. (“The Tipping Point”,
by Malcolm Gladwell, discusses this phenomenon in depth). When we feel that
responsibility is shared between a vast number of people, our own
responsibility is somehow diminished. Could this be the case in situations
where people fail to act on environmental issues?
Environmental problems certainly fit the
profile of the kind of shared responsibility in which a diffusion of
responsibility would take place. Research reveals that
several key factors contribute to such a diffusion.
Firstly, a larger group size reduces the
extent to which individuals feel a sense of responsibility. Several studies
have show that, for instance, when people observe an emergency in a large
group, they are less likely to intervene than when they are on their own, or in
a smaller group. When we consider the challenges of global warming, both the
cause and possible solutions involve an immense number of people. Therefore, it
is easy to see how people would see their own share of the responsibility as
pretty insignificant.
Closely linked to group size is the power
of anonymity. When people perceive that they will not be found out, they are
less likely to act in the public interest. Many studies have concluded that the
depersonalising effects of urbanisation have reduced peoples sense of community
accountability. As many environmentally significant behaviours are done in
private, such as spending time in the shower and using home energy, there is
very little social accountability. Indeed, research has found that curbside recycling
behaviour is very much linked to being seen to be doing the right
thing by the neighbours, perhaps explaining it’s relative popularity as a green
behaviour.
The distance in time and space of the
environmental issues confronting us are another perfect opportunity to diffuse
responsibility. Many people feel that the problems are so intangible due to the
apparent lack of immediacy, and the belief that they will take place primarily
in far-flung parts of the world, that their actions can’t possibly make a
significant difference. This leads to what is termed a lack of “efficacy” –
one’s ability to make a difference. Self-efficacy is well-established as a key
driver of green behaviours.
If we are to overcome the issue of
diffusion of responsibility as a barrier to sustainable behaviour, it makes
sense to address each of it’s parts individually.
Firstly, the issue of group size suggests
that people need to feel that they are part of a smaller group responsible for
addressing problems with personally relevant consequences. Hence the importance
of the “think global, act local” concept. While it is difficult to see how one
person can stop the Arctic ice shelf melting, it is likely to be a lot more
realistic to see how they can contribute to making the local beach cleaner.
Engaging people in such localised efforts is a key step to increasing
participation in green initiatives.
Anonymity may also be addressed by
community-scale efforts. Where people identify with a group, the peer pressure
and effect of social norms is a strong driver for behaviour which is consistent
with that group. This is where the importance of pledges and commitments is
underlined, as a way of creating group accountability.
Similar to group size, distance in time
and space needs to be overcome by focusing on more local, immediate effects.
Wherever local examples of environmental problems can be highlighted, the more
salient the message is likely to be. People respond more strongly to threats
which are immediate and close to home, making it more difficult to believe that
it is someone else’s problem.
In summary, engaging people in
sustainable behaviours starts with getting them to accept their responsibility
to take action. The several psychological factors which lead to a diffusion of
this responsibility are best addressed through a focus on building a sense of community,
and engaging people in local actions. When people can see for themselves the
problems, and their own crucial role in addressing them, they are more likely
to take action themselves, rather than waiting for someone else to do
something.
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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 and New Zealand
Dates for Australian workshops over the next few months are
as follows.
Denmark, WA, May
31
Perth, June 2 – Workshop Full
Sydney, June 29
Melbourne, July 6
Hobart, July 13
Brisbane, August
24
Dates for NZ
workshops are as follows
Christchurch,
August 2
Nelson,
August 3
Wellington,
August 5
Auckland,
August 11
Note: Some space has been left in the schedule for groups
requesting an in-house workshop, in or near any of the locations above,
which is a great option if you have over 10 people who would benefit from the
workshop. This can take the form of a full-day Cultivating Sustainability
workshop, or a workshop customised to meet the needs of your group.
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.
More information, including online registration details,
is available at www.awake.com.au/cultivating.html
About the Workshop
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.
Cost: For-profits $250pp
Not-for-profit/Government
$200pp
Individuals/Community
Groups $120pp
Feedback from attendees of the most recent
Cultivating Sustainability workshops included…
“Great framework for encouraging behavioural change within
organisations”
“Provided me with tools and insights to challenge me to review
how I am approaching my sustainability project”
”This workshop has given me good insight into the motivating
factors in people’s behaviour and ways to get lasting change”
“I found the workshop useful to help me learn practical and
positive/inspirational ways to change peoples attitudes and behaviours towards
sustainability”
For more
information about the Cultivating Sustainability workshop, see www.awake.com.au/cultivating.html
60 Seconds with….. Cathy from Ron D Swan
What first got
you focused on sustainability?
I’ve always had an interest in not wasting things, it’s something I’ve
been aware of all my life. Not sure
where it comes from.
What is the
sustainable choice you have recently made of which you are most proud?
I’m diligent about removing my kids bathwater with a bucket and putting
it on the plants.
What is a less
sustainable choice that you are not so proud of?
Taking too-long showers.
Interesting Article of the Month – I Didn’t Realise How Green I Am
Where?
Positive cueing: Promoting
sustainable consumer behavior by cueing common environmental behaviors as
environmental
By Gert
Cornelissen, Mario Pandelaere, Luk Warlop, Siegfried Dewitte
International
Journal of Research in Marketing
Volume 25, Issue 1,
March 2008, Pages 46-55
What is it about?
This article
looks at the effects of “positive cueing” on environmentally friendly
behaviour. The premise is that people often undertake common environmentally
positive behaviours, but do not necessarily see them as environmentally
positive (Riding a bike to work for example). The authors tested whether, by
pointing out to people that they were indeed undertaking environmentally
positive behaviours, it would result in more positive ecological attitudes and
behaviours.
What did they
find?
Several separate
studies are reported in this paper, which reveal that positive cueing did
indeed result in an increase in the extent to which people viewed common
behaviours as environmentally-motivated. Furthermore, doing so meant they were
more likely to view ecological attitudes and actions more favourably. Finally, in a simulation, the research
subjects were more likely to choose environmentally friendly products after
cueing.
What can we take
from this?
This research underlines
the importance of reinforcing the good things that people are already
doing. If people can see that they are
often doing the right thing by the environment, they are likely to start
forming attitudes that they are more environmentally motivated than perhaps
what they had previously given themselves credit for. Such a change in attitude
can lead to future behaviours with positive benefits for the environment. These
findings also reveal positive cueing to be a simple, cost-effective approach
which holds promise for including in programs designed to promote and influence
environmentally sustainable behaviours.
Exercise of the Month –
Think Global, Act Local
Following on from
the feature article above, this
months exercise looks at how we can address global issues by focusing on local
actions.
1. Write
down 3 global environmental concerns you have (e.g. global warming,
biodiversity loss)
2. For
each of the 3 concerns, try to identify how the effects of these might be evident
in your local community – either currently or in the future. (e.g. local
waterways drying up, threats to local species)
3. What
are the causes of these problems? In particular, what is happening locally that
is contributing the problems?
4. For
each of these, identify a way in which you can contribute to local efforts to
address the causes. (e.g. join a group lobbying for better cycling
infrastructure, or help to promote energy saving)
When we see the
link between global issues and more tangible local issues, it makes it more
real for us and helps us see a way in which we can make a meaningful
contribution.
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 2010