Becoming FEW Conscious: A Conceptual Typology of Household Behavior Change Interventions Targeting the Food-Energy-Water (FEW) Nexus

Abstract

The food-energy-water (FEW) nexus presents an opportunity to rethink predominant approaches to household behavior change science. We linked emerging FEW nexus research with existing literature examining household consumption and pro-environmental behaviors. While a large body of work examines the environmental impacts of household life and explores pathways to behavior change for sustainability, the literature lacks studies that test interventions in multiple FEW resource categories, leaving researchers unable to identify tensions and tradeoffs in the household system. To guide this developing field and accumulate findings on household behavior across disciplines, we proposed a conceptual typology that synthesizes interdisciplinary analytic traditions to classify behavioral interventions targeting the household FEW nexus. The typology synthesizes behavioral interventions as active, passive, or structural, and household-specific or non-specific, illustrating six distinct categories: information, tailored information, action, gamification, policy/price change, and material/technology provision. A review of 40 studies that guided the typology identifies four significant lessons for future intervention research: household non-specific information and tailored information work better together, feedback is more effective when it is persistent, price-based interventions (information or incentives) are often ineffective, and material/technology provision is very effective but utilized in few household studies. To push forward household resource consumption science, we advocated for a holistic nexus focus that is rooted in interdisciplinarity, coalition building with stakeholders, and data reporting that facilitates knowledge accumulation.

Gamification of Sustainable Consumption: a systematic literature review

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Back Pain and Knowledge of Back Care Related to Physical Activity in 12 to 17 Year Old Adolescents from the Region of Murcia (Spain): ISQUIOS Programme

“…Consciousness has proven to be a good trade-off for behavioural change. In fact, non-specific information together with tailored information and persistent feedback can lead to a change in habits [27]. Education in physical activity for back care might provide students with the ability to manage their own physical activity in a healthier way, since it is a significant learning based on knowledge which adolescents can put to practical use [10,13].…”

Gamification to prevent climate change: a review of games and apps for sustainability

“…Gamification consists of applying game design principles to a non-gaming context such as changing energy consumption habits [1]. The principles of gamification include clear progression paths with achievable goals, levels and rewards, giving players agency over their actions, making use of strategy and novelty to engage players, providing feedback, making use of social comparison or competition, encouraging cooperation between players, or various combinations of these principles [2,3,4,5]. Gamification helps create an environment in which individuals are intrinsically motivated to engage with material related to the area where behavior changed is desirable [6].…”