Dynamics of Resistance to Change: A Sequential Analysis of Change Agents in Action

Understanding the Human Factor of the Energy Transition: Mechanisms Underlying Energy-Relevant Decisions and Behaviors

“…This language-based view takes into account that consumers usually express ambivalence rather than sole resistance toward change measures ("Yes, energy savings are important, but it impedes my work flow to shut down the computer during breaks"; Piderit, 2000;Arkowitz, 2002;Klonek et al, 2014). In this view, one part of the statement argues in favor of change, whereas the other part argues against change.…”

“…Confrontations are MI inconsistent "expert-like responses that have a particular negative-parent quality" (Miller et al, 2008, p. 11). They restrict the autonomy of the employee and can even arouse reactance (Klonek et al, 2014). By contrast, complex reflections are person-centered techniques that repeat or paraphrase statements of the employee, but can also add meaning to it.…”

“…Participants who are not motivated to take further actions will also express this verbally. In fact, verbal behavior ("I will not do this") is a powerful means to express resistance toward change measures (Klonek et al, 2014). More recent methodological work has proposed measuring participants' readiness or resistance 1 in interactions about behavior change in terms of change talk versus sustain talk (Moyers et al, 2007;Miller and Johnson, 2008;Gaume et al, 2010;Magill et al, 2010;Klonek et al, 2014;Lombardi et al, 2014;Paulsen et al, 2015).…”

“…In fact, verbal behavior ("I will not do this") is a powerful means to express resistance toward change measures (Klonek et al, 2014). More recent methodological work has proposed measuring participants' readiness or resistance 1 in interactions about behavior change in terms of change talk versus sustain talk (Moyers et al, 2007;Miller and Johnson, 2008;Gaume et al, 2010;Magill et al, 2010;Klonek et al, 2014;Lombardi et al, 2014;Paulsen et al, 2015). Change talk includes statements that express consumers' readiness to adopt energy-saving routines, such as reasons ("Energy waste is related to increased department costs"), desires ("We do not want to waste energy here"), or needs to change ("It is prohibited by security management to open the windows at night").…”

“…We kept the content of each conversation similar but varied the interactional dynamics in each conversation in order to illustrate how subtle micro-behaviors may influence the course of an interaction (i.e., the subsequent response of the conversational partner). The mechanisms of interpersonal dynamics were based on theoretical assumptions (i.e., technical hypotheses) and empirical support from MI research (Magill et al, 2014): The main assumption of the technical hypothesis is that MI inconsistent behaviors are positively associated with sustain talk (e.g., Apodaca and Longabaugh, 2009;Klonek et al, 2014) and negatively associated with change talk (e.g., Gaume et al, 2010), whereas MI consistent behaviors make change talk more likely and sustain talk less likely (e.g., Moyers et al, 2007). With respect to conversations about energy-reductions at work, the technical hypothesis implies that energy managers who are trained in MI verbal skills (Energy Manager B; Audio 2 and 4) will likely increase employees change talk.…”