This is a conference presentation I did on behavioural change for the Massey University Sustainability Conference. Worked on the conference paper and presented with Joanne Tunna. Looks at how we drive positive behavioural change, including the common mistakes, cognitive dissonance etc.
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Editor's Notes
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J Large amount of passionate people working really hard to influence positive change but the uptake of sustainable behaviour is still relatively low Important for us to address the fundamental questions about what it is that all behavioural change campaigns in this area are looking to achieve No sense re-inventing the wheel so we looked to experts in PR and Marketing particularly to see what we could glean from how they operate We have looked at a couple of case studies and offer some suggestions about what could have been done differently Further research in that this is a highly under-researched area
M Not wanting to spend a lot of time here but it is important to acknowledge that the complexity of this field has repercussions on behavioral change campaigns. Worst case scenario is that the vague and contested nature of the term become a reason not to engage.
J Living with the our carrying Capacity means that the global population can support itself indefinitely by the quantity of renewable and non-renewable resources available within the Earth’s supporting ecosystems Our ability to operate to do this is dependant on resource availability, population size and growth and the rate of resource consumption per capita. At present our per capita consumption rate and our overall global population are continuing to rise. In 2005, the WW Institute indicated that we use 1.25 and have been living beyond the Earth’s means since 1987
J The 4 systems conditions outlined by the TNS Framework are really useful parameters for how we go about living within the Earth’s carrying capacity Can be shortened to TAKE MAKE BREAK CAKE TAKE – …extracting resources faster than can be replenished – e.g. oil coal metals MAKE - …compounds – faster than can be broken down e.g. CO2 or that can be broken down at all e.g. plastic, PVC BREAK – breaking nature/destroying natural systems e.g. water – can’t break it but can destroy it’s natural capital. Good e.g. of the interconnectedness of natural systems – up/down stream effects CAKE – about equity both present day within and between countries as well as intergenerational We can summarise what it is we’re hoping to achieve
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J The first golden rule is around market segmentation which is really just a reflection on our individuality and the fact that we’re not all into the same things and don’t all move in the same circl Society is made up of numerous different market segments Vital to determine who you want to talk to based on the desired outcomes What kind of market? You can break these up by age, socio-economics, culture etc. Sustainability – may be important to reach each and every group which is fine – the key point being that this can not be achieved with one message What works for one segment will not work for another is can even have negative effects.
J The first thing you do is segment the market and then within each segment there will be a range of levels of human engagement Similarly, we shouldn’t expect a blanket level of engagement from people. We’re all different and across any market segment there will be people who are engaged to varying degrees In light of this, it’s important to know who we want to talk to and where our energy is best spent
J Regular bell curve showing numbers of people AE are those active, highly motivated people. They tend to be leaders and are very vocal. Polar opposite but actually very similar are the ADE’s. They are also passionate about their views but they tend to be of the negative variety. FAULT vs SOLUTION. Both of these groups are the most difficult to sway due to the strength of their opinions. On either side of them are the E and D which are essentially watered down versions. They are able to be swayed in either direction. The neutral group are not only the most numerous, but also the easiest to sway so not surprisingly are where the most impact can be made and reducing the risk of upsetting large numbers of people. Starting to touch on human psychology. Another area which was relevant here is Cognitive Dissonance.
M e.g. hummer
M Explain that humans will generally do whatever requires the least effort (apart from those that are actively engaged, but as we’ve seen, they are few. In this case, it’s far easier to just change your mind on what you think, than to change your behaviour. It’s very easy to justify to ourselves. Obvious at this point that you need to be mindful about what you say, who you say it to and how you say it.
M e.g. Maori and Pacific Island women. But one very important thing to remember is the overall impact that the message will have.
J A lot of research has been done to suggest that … Both types of information – firstly, what is the issue and why is it important and secondly, practical information about how to take action. Identifying a compelling reason – links back to understanding your market segment and tailoring your message.
J These were chosen because they were easy to relate to for most New Zealanders, not because they are particularly bad. We’ll take a look at which elements are evident and which are missing from these two campaigns. EECA’s focus has been around energy efficiency at home, particularly with regards to home heating and insulation. The campaign is very informative, the website has a wide range of info on issues, reasons to engage and how to take action As we’ve discussed info/ed alone is not enough to mobilise people. Major downfall is that the messaging is generic, there is no segmentation and although there are reasons to engage, these are not tailored and therefore fail to create a compelling reason for people. Increase in insulation but largely attributed to the financial incentives On the whole though, energy demand per capita continues to increase which means that essentially the campaign is about one off behaviour, driven primarily by funding
M Lesson – pick your audience and market to them alone, not everyone at once What are the chances of a person having a positive response to both Rhys Darby, a comedian that I like, and Keisha Castle-Hughes – who I won’t comment on Also, need to be careful about using a celeb who is over-championed, like Lucy Lawless, who is currently the champion for just about every cause going – lessens the positive impact
J First, research how to segment the market Identify the market segment you want to engage with and identify who within your market you want to talk to Next consider how you want to talk to those people – what is your message and how do you say it in a way that appeals to them Bearing in mind that you could have a negative impact if you fail to nail down your target audience – both on the intended group and other groups which are exposed to the same message. Finally, making the most of the opportunity to engage by aiming for ongoing rather than one-off behavioural change. As we mentioned at the beginning, we identified several areas which are in need of further research…
M [probably want to change this] We’ve really just scratched the surface with this paper and had to work quite hard to keep our blinkers on and not attempt to cover all Enviroschools example – children as champions