Sparkman & Walton, 2017 Experiment 5: Learning that people are incresaingly using full loads when doing laundry reduced water usage among Stanford students over three weeks
Reference:
Sparkman, G., & Walton, G. M. (2017). Dynamic norms promote sustainable behavior, even if it is counternormative. Psychological science, 28(11), 1663-1674.
Download PDFSummary:
Laundry machines in a room labeled with a dynamic norm about water conservation (“Stanford residents are changing: Now most use full loads. Help Stanford conserve water!”) showed a 28.5% reduction in usage over 3 weeks, as compared to the prior 3 weeks. By contrast, machines in a room labeled with a static norm (“Most Stanford residents use full loads. Help Stanford conserve water!”) showed a reduction of just 9.73% and those in a no-treatment control room showed a reduction of 2.5%.
Psychological Process:
Need
Need to BelongWhat Desired Meaning is At Stake?
What is the Person Trying to Understand?
To Feel Connected, Included, Respected, and Valued by OthersApproach to Desired Meaning
What about it?
Link Belonging to a Behavior or Attitude to Motivate Positive ChangeHow?
Psychological Question Addressed
Is what is typical or valued changing?Is what is typical or valued changing?Changing beliefs about social norms to motivate positive behaviorsPsychological Question Addressed
Is what is typical or valued changing?Psychological Process 2:
Psychological Process 3:
Social Area:
Sustainability
Intervention Technique:
Direct labeling, of social norms