An experimental test of the effect of negative social norms on energy-efficient investments

Yeomans, Mike; Herberich, David

doi:10.1016/j.jebo.2014.09.010

Cited by 22 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…A negative result on was detected by Poortinga and Whitaker [104], who investigate students' attitudes to using reusable coffee cups and found that price discounts did not increase reusable cup use versus single-use cups. With respect to energy efficiency Yeomans and Herberich [143] find a small but statistically significant positive effect from the use of a monetary incentive.…”

Section: Incentivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The most basic EEA interventions, such as the provision of information only, have little impact [70,143]. For example, information posters on proper tyre inflation had no effect as a behaviour change intervention to improve transport fuel efficiency [143], while information leaflets had no impact on water conservation behaviours [70]. Telling people "what to do" is also ineffective, so top-down programmes are unlikely to be successful [62].…”

Section: Education and Awarenessmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While tailored feedback combined with public commitments to take specific environmental actions are the most effective EEA behaviour change interventions, there are several nuances in the research findings. While information is necessary but not sufficient [143], it is also important where and how the information is delivered. In the case of energy and water conservation Kurz et al [70] find that the point or location of information delivery has to be relevant to the interaction between people and their environmental behaviours and choices, i.e.…”

Section: Education and Awarenessmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Encouraging pro-environmental behaviours: A review of methods and approaches

Grilli

Curtis

2021

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

133

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Many urgent environmental problems can be mitigated with more sustainable use of resource. An acknowledgement of which is a growing interest among policy practitioners in encouraging pro-environmental behaviour change initiatives. The effect of anthropic pressure on the environment is long known and the first pro-environmental behaviour studies date back to the middle 1970s. Despite this, the scientific literature has not yet answered several questions: what are the most suitable ways to encourage behavioural changes? What are the barriers to project implementation? What are the long run effects of behavioural change projects? With this in mind, this contribution offers a review of the existing literature on behavioural change case studies and provides a categorisation of treatments and guidelines for successful project implementation. Five different approaches have been considered: education and awareness, social influence, relationship building, incentives and nudges, which have been used in experimental studies. On balance the case studies suggest that all approaches are suitable but their selection should be based on specific objectives and target population. Interestingly, the choice of the behaviour to change is rarely discussed before project implementation. This analysis also highlights that little is known on whether behaviour change projects achieve sustained pro-environmental behavioural change over time.

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Section: Incentivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Education and Awarenessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Education and Awarenessmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Encouraging pro-environmental behaviours: A review of methods and approaches

Grilli

Curtis

2021

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

133

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“…Field experiments have a valuable role in consumer research. They allow researchers to study consumers in their natural environment, such as gas stations, grocery stores, schools, and e‐commerce sites; and their findings can inform policy on consumer affairs (e.g., Fitzpatrick ; Moulton et al ; Yeomans and Herberich ). When performing field experiments, random assignment to treatment and control conditions is the preferred approach.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Selecting Field Experiment Locations with Archival Data

Leonhardt¹,

Trafimow²,

Niculescu³

2016

Journal of Consumer Affairs

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The selection of field experiment locations often requires that the control location be comparable to the treatment location. Recently, a method that employs the mathematics of potential performance theory was proposed for comparing field experiment locations by parsing random versus systematic effects. Here, we apply this method to archival data (i.e., household electricity consumption). In doing so, we are able to assess the effectiveness of this method at handling real‐world data, absent user‐defined variables. In addition, we provide consumer researchers with a step‐by‐step example on how to apply this method to the problem of selecting optimal treatment and control locations for field experiments. Finally, we consider how this method could apply to policy assessment more generally.

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“…To contribute to a public good is a special case of a “prosocial” social norm. Social norms have been shown to play a role for littering (Cialdini, Reno, & Kallgren, ; Torgler, Frey, & Wilson, ), energy consumption (Allcott, ), recycling (Hage, ; Viscusi, Huber, & Bell, ), smoking (Nyborg & Rege, ), fuel economy (Yeomans & Herberich, ), or tax evasion (Frey & Torgler, ; Luttmer & Singhal, ). Farrow, Grolleau, and Ibanez () provide an overview of the theoretical approaches and empirical evidence related to proenvironmental behaviors.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The importance of considering optimal government policy when social norms matter for the private provision of public goods

Meunier

Schumacher

2019

J Public Economic Theory

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We study optimal government policy in a reference model (Rege, 2004, Journal of Public Economic Theory, 6, 65-77) of public good provision and social approval in a dynamic setting. We show that even if complete adherence to the social norm maximizes social welfare it is by no means necessarily optimal to push society toward it. We stress the different roles of social externality and the public good problem. We discuss the problem with the standard crowding in and out argument and analyze the relationship with Pigouvian taxes. We discuss the role of the cost of public funds and show how it can create path dependency, the multiplicity of both optimal equilibria and optimal paths, and discuss the role of parameter instability.

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An experimental test of the effect of negative social norms on energy-efficient investments

Cited by 22 publications

References 32 publications

Encouraging pro-environmental behaviours: A review of methods and approaches

Encouraging pro-environmental behaviours: A review of methods and approaches

Selecting Field Experiment Locations with Archival Data

The importance of considering optimal government policy when social norms matter for the private provision of public goods

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