Dynamic norms drive sustainable consumption: Norm-based nudging helps café customers to avoid disposable to-go-cups

Loschelder, David D.; Siepelmeyer, Henrik; Fischer, Daniel; Rubel, Julian

doi:10.1016/j.joep.2019.02.002

Cited by 102 publications

(84 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Further, in a field experiment, patrons waiting in line at a café who completed a survey containing information about a growing number of people who make an effort to eat less meat were twice as likely to order a vegetarian lunch compared to those who only learned about a static norm or a control group (34% as compared to 17% and 21%, respectively). Dynamic norms have also been shown to affect other sustainable behaviors, including reducing water use [9,11] and single-use products [12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Rather, it is important to benchmark the value of an intervention by the benefits it produces relative to the costs, as compared to other interventions for similar outcomes [15]. Certainty of effectiveness, potential population impact, feasibility, sustainability, effects on equity, potential side effects, and acceptability Sustainability 2020, 12,2453 3 of 38 have also been identified for judging the promise of a proposed intervention strategy [16]. One can imagine a variety of strategies to reduce meat consumption: infrastructural changes, large-scale educational campaigns, industry-level subsidies for vegetarian options, etc.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Developing a Scalable Dynamic Norm Menu-Based Intervention to Reduce Meat Consumption

et al. 2020

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How can we curb the current norm of unsustainable levels of meat consumption? Research on dynamic norms finds that learning that others are starting to eat less meat can inspire people to follow suit. Across four field experiments, we test efforts to scale dynamic-norm messages by incorporating them into restaurant and web-based menus. Studies 1–3 find increases in vegetarian orders when dynamic norms are included in menus (1–2.5 percentage points), although this effect does not always reach statistical significance and varies across populations and analytic models. In Study 4, dynamic norms significantly reduced vegetarian orders. These results raise two critical questions. First, where and with whom should a dynamic norm message reduce meat consumption? Our field data and past theory point to non-high socioeconomic contexts, and contexts where the reference group of people who have changed is meaningful to consumers. Second, how can the treatment be strengthened? Over five online experiments, we find that the visibility of the messages can be greatly improved, and more relatable norm referents can be selected. Although impacts on food orders appear modest, the minimal costs of scaling menu-based dynamic norm messages and the possibility of improving effect sizes make this a promising approach.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing a Scalable Dynamic Norm Menu-Based Intervention to Reduce Meat Consumption

et al. 2020

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“…The low prevalence of the studied behaviors does make them a particularly difficult target for this intervention strategy, as raising the saliency of how rarely these behaviors are practiced can lead to a boomerang effect, where people become less likely to practice them (Cialdini et al, 1991;Ayres et al, 2013). To combat this, a growing body of literature has found that focusing on the change over time of the prevalence of the behavior, rather than the prevalence itself, has been effective in low-prevalence contexts (Sparkman & Walton, 2017;Tankard & Paluck, 2017;Loschelder et al, 2019). Another strategy for promoting behaviors when the prevalence is low but the size of the population is large would be to describe the number of conformers rather than the prevalence rate (saying, for example, that over 200,000 EVs were registered in 2019, rather than 4% of 2019 registrations were EVs).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Helping the Climate Because Others Do: An Exploratory Analysis of the Psychological Predictors of Intention to Perform High Impact Pro-Environmental Behaviors

Thulin¹,

Rakhimov²

2019

Preprint

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Individual behaviors are major contributors to climate change, and changing those behaviors can have a major effect on the magnitude of the climate crisis. To best design interventions to change these behaviors, and target those most likely to change, we must understand the psychological motivations for engaging in them. Previous work has identified environmental beliefs, political orientation, and social expectations as having significant effects on performing pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs). However, this work has tended to focus on lower impact, commonly performed behaviors. In this exploratory study, we evaluate the relevance of these three constructs on predicting individuals’ intention to perform four behaviors previously identified as some of the highest impact individual actions to mitigate greenhouse gas production: driving an electric vehicle, purchasing carbon offsets, switching to a green energy provider, and installing solar panels. Of those three constructs, we find that only social expectations is a strong consistent predictor of intending to perform these high-impact PEBs. These findings suggest that highlighting others performing these behaviors, rather than framing actions in appeals to climate beliefs or targeting those on the political left, may be a particularly effective intervention strategy to drive individual action to mitigate climate change.

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“…The dynamic form articulates that others are “increasingly” adopting a target behavior. This form has been shown to be effective in promoting PEB such as reducing meat consumption and avoiding disposable to-go cups in cafes [ 37 ]. Subjective social norms (i.e., telling people what others expect them to do) have been effective in reducing waste [ 38 ] and residential water usage [ 39 ].…”

Section: Theoretical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For instance, individuals informed about aggregated energy consumption or their neighbor’s recycling behavior have at times adjusted their own behaviors [ 64 – 66 ]. Moreover, dynamic expressions about others’ use of non-disposable mugs have led to reduced use of to-go cups in cafes [ 37 ].…”

Section: Theoretical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Norm-focused nudges influence pro-environmental choices and moderate post-choice emotional responses

2021

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In this paper, we use choice architecture techniques to activate both social and personal norms, seeking to increase pro-environmental choices and to better understand the effect of such norm types on post-choice emotional responses. In four experiments, we make different social or personal norms salient by aligning choice environments with psychosocial mechanisms that activate different types of norms. We use different choice architecture techniques to change information, alter product sets, and generate the social consequences of choices. The target behavior, purchasing a recycled paper notebook, is captured through direct purchase behaviors or willingness to pay commitments. We find that choice architecture activates personal but not social norms, and that associated positive and negative emotions (guilt, shame, regret and pride) are elicited by choices but not by willingness to pay. Moreover, manipulating choice environment moderates the relationship between choice and norm-related emotions, such that positive emotional responses seem to be stronger than negative ones. The results suggest that choice architecture interventions can activate individual level beliefs about sustainability and help reduce the attitude-behavior gap.

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Dynamic norms drive sustainable consumption: Norm-based nudging helps café customers to avoid disposable to-go-cups

Cited by 102 publications

References 33 publications

Developing a Scalable Dynamic Norm Menu-Based Intervention to Reduce Meat Consumption

Developing a Scalable Dynamic Norm Menu-Based Intervention to Reduce Meat Consumption

Helping the Climate Because Others Do: An Exploratory Analysis of the Psychological Predictors of Intention to Perform High Impact Pro-Environmental Behaviors

Norm-focused nudges influence pro-environmental choices and moderate post-choice emotional responses

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