Behavioural Change
Believing that you should live in a sustainable way is one thing, actually doing it is another. It is likely that you, like me, have thought about this issue and despite feeling that we should live sustainably, do not. Human beings living in the UK are collectively living in an unsustainable way - which means it cannot continue. In other sections of the website we consider the broader issues of how processes like contract and converge in which every country brings its per capita greenhouse gas emissions down to the same level. But how do we achieve this at a personal level?
Over the past few years, Environmental Psychologist, Professor David Uzzell has been conducting studies in just this area. In a recent report for the Defra in 2006 entitled 'Understanding Choice' he covers some of these areas in a useful and accessible summary. He says:
The premise of this research was that choices made during production and consumption are of primary importance to the sustainability debate. Producers choose to use resources in a way which may or may not be sustainable. Consumers choose to buy products which may or may not be sustainable in their use of resources. Such choices are important throughout the life span of a product, service, or utility from production, to purchase, to consumption and disposal. It is these choices which must take into account environmental pressures and sustainability issues over and
above aesthetic appearance, must-have branding and basic functionality. The question therefore is how to make sustainability an automatic and primary part of producer and consumer choice, rather than a self-satisfying added extra.
This research investigated three alternative approaches to achieve behavioural goals of sustainable consumption and production:
- restricting choice, constraining freedom
- using social networks; and
- provoking emotions.
His conclusions are that all three play a part, but that the first, restricting freedom, unpalatable though it may be, is likely to be necessary as attitude change is not enough. People have to believe that something is reasonable, will affect the outcome (in this case climate change or something similar) and that everyone has to take some share of the pain ( it is fair). This presents some major challenges to all of us, as we value freedom very highly, and there is a strong lobby agains the nanny state, both on the left and right of traditional politics.
Some recent research has been posted in the good news/bad news discussion forum of this site which develops some of these themes.
A compilation of current research on behaviour change - influencing public behaviour on climate change - has been prepared by Elizabeth Baines for Groundswell.
For further information on behaviour change please contact: tonywainwright [at] hotmail [dot] com