Change attitudes and behaviors
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The document discusses factors that influence environmental attitudes and behaviors. While attitudes and awareness do not always predict behaviors, behaviors are more likely to change when the targeted actions are simple like recycling or switching lights. Behavior is influenced by attitudes but also habits, social norms, and practical constraints. Changing behaviors requires appealing to self-interest, social responsibility, and making environmentally-friendly choices the easy default options. Effective campaigns should address multiple motivations and promote positive examples of others' pro-environmental behaviors.
Change attitudes and behaviors
- 1. Change attitudes and behaviors
- 2. Opening it up • Environmental attitudes = environmental concern • Majority support environmental policy – awareness • Behavior – No linear relation between awareness and behavior • When the behaviors are simple – recycling, switching of light the relation is clearer.
- 3. Attitude and behavior • Although attitudes and behvior are related • We see that Americans use more and more energy, consume more and more etc. • Why this disconnect? – Concistency is difficult for humans – Challenging to be pro-environmental in a world that favours consumerism and growth • Conclusion attitudes only moderate predictor for behavior
- 4. Who is the environmental consumer • Young, educated, leftish, female and urban. • Fairly week predictors • Events and personal experience are also important factors • Opinions of others • Messages • Value orientation (social-althruistic , biocentric, ecocentric, egositic value centred)
- 5. Types of pro-environmental behavior • Environmental activism • Nonactivist behavior in the public sphere (support in public) • Private sphere environmentalism • Actions within organizations (at work f.e)
- 6. Predicting behavior • Attitudinal factors (based on values that are more or less life long) • Personal factors (knowledge, skill, society, economic) • Contextual factors (availability of public service, technolgy, built environment etc.) • Habit and routine (we act as we are used to)
- 7. Aproaches to changing behaviors • Appeals – Educational – Moral – Worldsview – Material incentives – Community management • Address several of these • Important pro-environmental behavior of others – high impact
- 8. For example • Campaigns could cointain – Should move beyond telling people what to do – Could help ME understand the health effect of poor air quality (self-interest), how it affects the urban residents (althriust), my health benefits of walking (self interest) – ”people prefer making the environmentally responsible choice when they are not seriously disadvantaged by doing so”
- 9. Your task • To write a short text that changes people’s behaviour. • You will choose one product – Electric hybrid car (tyota prius) – Public transport monthly ticket (in Helsinki) – etc