How Behavioral Science Can Drive Environmental Change

Source: Wrap

Have you seen this ad? It's like many others trying to get people to change their habits for the environment. The goal is to surprise people with the huge amount of food waste happening. It's really eye-opening - half of all food is being wasted. That's not good.

But if you're anything like me, you might be thinking, "I definitely don't waste half of my food. So, I must be doing well."

You might think, "If everyone else is wasting, what difference can I make on my own?" This mindset could lead to no change in your behavior. Research shows that these types of ads can actually make bad behaviors worse by bringing attention to them.

The Impact of Negative Social Proof

The concept of negative social proof is illustrated in a famous study conducted by Robert Cialdini, a psychologist at Arizona State University and the author of Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion.

In 2003, a study was conducted in Arizona's Petrified Forest National Park. Petrified wood is a stunning natural artifact formed when minerals invade tree trunks and create a stone-like fossil. Unfortunately, at that time, people were stealing over a tonne of petrified wood from the park every month.

For the experiment, pieces of petrified wood were placed at three different spots near footpaths in the park. CCTV cameras were set up to monitor people passing by. Two of the locations had signs warning against stealing, while the third spot had no sign as a control. Surprisingly, without any warning sign, only 2.9% of the marked pieces of wood were taken.

One sign in the Park emphasized the harm of stealing petrified wood: “Please leave the petrified wood in the Park to protect the natural state of the Petrified Forest.” This led to a decrease in theft, with only 1.7% reported.

On the other hand, a different message highlighted the negative behavior of past visitors: “Many people have taken petrified wood from the Park, disrupting the natural state of the Petrified Forest.” Surprisingly, this approach resulted in an increase in theft, jumping to 7.9%.

As Cialdini suspected, mentioning that theft was commonplace had reduced the perceived transgression of the crime, thus making it more popular.

Therefore, by telling us that half of UK food is wasted, it only portrays wastage as the norm and may inadvertently encourage it.

It’s not just sustainability messaging that gets it wrong. There are examples of the misuse of social proof in every walk of life.

The online cosmetics and skincare retailer, Face the Future, misapplies social proof by highlighting that the mistake of using sunscreen in only sunny weather is the norm.

What else can you do?

The lemon ad, and others similar to it, might actually have a negative impact. However, this doesn't mean that there aren't ways to encourage sustainable actions.

It's evident that people tend to follow what others are doing - social proof is a powerful influencer of behavior. So, the solution seems simple: show that the behavior you want, like reducing food waste, is common. But what if it's not?

Thankfully, social proof goes beyond just making absolute claims like "most popular." Recent research shows that highlighting a behavior that is becoming more common can also be a form of social proof, even if the behavior is still not very common.

A study conducted in 2017 by psychologists from Stanford University, Gregg Sparkman and Gregory Walton, looked into the effectiveness of what they referred to as dynamic norms, in addition to static norms, in influencing people to consume less meat.

In a café that served a variety of dishes, including vegetarian options, an experiment was conducted. The café was requested to display one of two messages:

Message 1: “Recent research indicates that 30% of Americans are trying to reduce their meat intake. This means that three out of 10 people are choosing to eat less meat than before.”

Recent research indicates that in the past five years, 30% of Americans have begun to reduce their meat intake. This means that three out of every 10 people have made a conscious effort to eat less meat.

After observing customer meal selections, researchers discovered that individuals who were exposed to the dynamic statement were more inclined to choose a meatless meal (34%) compared to those who were shown the static norm statement (17%).

A Gentle Approach

Using social proof can be a powerful tool in influencing people's motivation. However, changing someone's motivation can be a challenging task. Is there a more effective way to inspire actions?

According to Nobel Laureate Daniel Kahneman, the key learning from his studies is that the best way to change behavior is to make it easier. He found that even small barriers can have a big impact on behavior.

So, make your desired behaviour really, really easy.

We don’t have to take Kahneman’s word for it. There’s a growing body of evidence to support the impact of ease on our actions.

In 2011, Paul Rozin and his team from the University of Pennsylvania conducted a study to investigate how ease influences eating habits.

The researchers conducted their experiment in a university cafeteria, where they manipulated two factors for different healthy food options.

They looked at the ease of access by changing the placement of the foods to make them either easier or harder to reach. Additionally, they studied the ease of serving by providing either spoons or tongs to make it easier or harder to put the food on the plate.

The researchers observed how much healthy food people ate before and after the changes. They found that when healthy foods were made less accessible, consumption decreased by 8-16%.

Results from Rozin’s (2011) study on proximity show that dark bars represent consumption from accessible locations, while lighter bars represent consumption from inaccessible locations.

If you were to ask the diners if they believed that small differences like reaching a bit further would affect their choices, they would likely say no. However, the findings of the study reveal that even minor adjustments can indeed influence decisions.

When you want to encourage sustainable behavior, it's important to consider any small obstacles that may be in the way. Remove any barriers, no matter how small they may seem. In addition, use social proof effectively to help support the desired behavior - this will help you avoid looking foolish.

Richard Shotton, the founder of Astroten and author of The Illusion of Choice, has written a book about applying behavioral science to marketing.

Editor's P/S:

The article discusses the concept of negative social proof and its impact on behavior change. It highlights that when people are confronted with information that a certain behavior is widespread, it can lead to them normalizing the behavior and even engaging in it more frequently. This can be particularly detrimental when trying to promote positive changes, such as reducing food waste or adopting more sustainable practices.

To effectively encourage sustainable actions, it is important to use social proof wisely. Instead of emphasizing the prevalence of negative behaviors, focus on highlighting the increasing popularity of positive behaviors. Additionally, make it easy for people to adopt these desired behaviors by removing any obstacles or barriers that may hinder them. By combining these approaches, we can create a social environment that supports and reinforces sustainable choices, ultimately leading to a more positive impact on the environment.