The document discusses 5 rules for sustainable influence in communications: 1) keep messages simple, clear, and concrete; 2) follow social norms; 3) increase mental availability; 4) make messages personal; and 5) leverage pattern recognition. It provides examples of how to apply each rule, such as structuring choices to emphasize plant-based options, highlighting dynamic social norms, reducing psychological distance, and using visual implicit messages on food packaging. The overall message is that communications should reduce physical and psychological distance to choices and behaviors to most effectively encourage sustainable decisions.

1. Behavioural
Science and
Sustainability in
Communications

2. 5 RULES for sustainable influence
1.Keep it SIMPLE
2.Follow social NORMS
3.Mental AVAILABILITY
4.Make it PERSONAL
5.PATTERN recognition

4. Keep messaging simple, clear & concrete
VAGUE & CONCEPTUAL CONCRETE & ACTIONABLE
See also: Packard, G. & Berger, J. (2020) How Concrete Language Shapes Customer Satisfaction. Journal of Consumer Research, 47(1), DOI: 10.1093/jcr/ucaa038

5. See also: Packard, G. & Berger, J. (2020) How Concrete Language Shapes Customer Satisfaction. Journal of Consumer Research, 47(1), DOI: 10.1093/jcr/ucaa038

6. Flipping
the
default

7. Structuring choices to shift decisions
University of Cambridge study
Ø94,000 cafeteria meal choices from
2,140 repeat diners
Menu changed from 1 in 4 to 2 in 4
plant-based choices
Ø40-80% more plant-based choices
Ø33% reduction in carbon emissions
Ø28% reduction in land use
ØAnd no complaints! J
Source: Emma E. Garnett el al., "Impact of increasing vegetarian availability on meal selection and sales in cafeterias," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2019). www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1907207116

9. Social norms
don’t work
when they
apply to a
minority

10. Dynamic norms shift menu choices
Source: Sparkman, G. & Walton, G.M. (2017) Dynamic Norms Promote Sustainable Behavior, Even if It Is Counternormative. Psychological Science, 28 (1), 1663-
1674.

11. Encouraging women to pursue STEM
careers
Source: Cheng, L. et al. (2020) Join us: Dynamic norms encourage women to pursue STEM, Current Psychology https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-01105-4
See also: Jones, S. (2009). Dynamic Social Norms and the Unexpected Transformation of Women’s Higher Education, 1965–1975. Social Science History, 33(3),

13. Mental availability and physical availability
“Always
within an
arm’s reach of
desire.”
(Robert Woodruff, Chairman
TCCC, 1923)

14. Less psychological distance = more available
Temporal
The closer in
time, the lower
the psychological
distance
Spatial
The closer the
physical
distance, the
lower the
psychological
distance
Social
The more similar
the person, the
lower the
psychological
distance
Hypothetical
The better an
experience is
described, the
easier to
imagine, and the
lower the
psychological
distance
Probabilistic
The more likely
to happen (real
or imagined),
the lower the
psychological
distance
Taylor, S. (2019) The Psychology of Pandemics; Jones, C. et al (2017) The future is now: Reducing psychological distance to increase public engagement with climate change. Risk Analysis, 37(2), 331-341.

15. Getting in the room
“A lot of advertising is geared to persuasion
rather than building mental availability.
Persuasion is about assuming you’re in the
room and you’re arguing your point, whereas
mental availability is about getting into the
room. And so that’s the big challenge; most
organisations are failing to get into the room,
but they’re spending all their money on
arguing as if they’re already there.”
(Prof. Jenni Romaniuk)

17. “Don’t mess with Texas”
Texas’s most successful effort to reduce litter on highways (other
campaigns focusing on civic duty had failed to stop littering)
Decided they needed “a tough-talking slogan that would address the
unique spirit of Texas pride”
Within first year of campaign, litter reduced by 29%. In first six years,
72% reduction in visible roadside litter (no threats, mandates or nudges
required!)

18. Nouns reflect identity and values
• Subtle linguistic cues increase
voting.
• Two conditions:
• Personal identity (“I am a voter”)
• Behaviour (“I vote”)
• Personal identity increased interest
in registering to vote.
• In two state-wide elections in the
United States, using personal
identity increased voter turnout as
assessed by official state records
Source: Bryan, C.J., Walton, G.M., Rogers, T., and Dweck, C. (2011) Motivating Voter Turnout by Invoking the Self. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 108(31):12653-6.

20. Should communication be more visual?
Source: De-loyde, K., et al. (2022). Promoting sustainable diets using eco-labelling and social nudges: A randomised online experiment. Behavioural Public Policy, 1–17.

21. Simple visuals more effective than nudges
Source: De-loyde, K., et al. (2022). Promoting sustainable diets using eco-labelling and social nudges: A randomised online experiment. Behavioural Public Policy, 1–17.

22. What are the
visual
messages on
this plant-
based food
pack?

23. TASTY
Plant-based
food brands
focus on taste,
diet & health
S
U
S
T
A
I
N
A
B
L
E
MEAT-FREE
HEALTHY
PLANT-BASED
Source: Semiotic analysis of plant-based products available in Bangkok retail outlets (January-July 2022; 112 products)

24. Reduce physical
& psychological
distance
1. Choice structure
2. Trending norms
3. Up close …
4. … and personal
5. Visual (implicit)

25. thank you!
any questions?
neil@sgs.tu.ac.th
https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilgains/