A comprehensive analysis reveals that positive attitudes and beliefs about energy conservation, rather than income or education, drive individuals to save energy at home, suggesting new pathways for effective climate policies.
A groundbreaking analysis has illuminated a powerful driver behind household energy savings — attitude. Published in the journal Cell Reports Sustainability, the study reveals that psychological factors, such as positive attitudes toward energy conservation and the belief that individual actions matter, are more influential than income or educational background when it comes to saving energy at home.
“If we can tap into these deeper psychological factors, our research suggests that this is a pathway to get as many people as possible engaged in saving energy,” first author Steph Zawadzki, an assistant professor of psychology at Northern New Mexico College, said in a news release.
The research is exceptionally timely as domestic energy use accounts for nearly 20% of all energy consumption in the United States and European Union. This underscores the study’s potential to significantly contribute to efforts aimed at reducing emissions and combating climate change.
To unveil the underlying motivators behind energy-saving behaviors, Zawadzki and her team undertook a Herculean task — analyzing data from 100 existing studies encompassing insights from over 430,000 individuals across 42 countries. These studies spanned a variety of fields, including psychology, sociology, economics and engineering.
What the researchers discovered was compelling: attitudes and moral sentiments were key to whether people chose to save energy. Those who believed their actions made a difference or saw conserving electricity as the right thing to do were more likely to engage in energy-saving behaviors. The desire to be perceived positively by others also played a crucial role.
Notably, the research found that those already engaged in environmentally friendly activities, such as recycling or using public transportation, tended to extend their green practices to energy conservation at home. This suggests a reinforcing loop of pro-environmental behavior.
Conversely, the study noted that simply understanding the environmental impacts of energy use had a surprisingly weak effect on actual behavior change.
Similarly, socioeconomic factors like education and income were not strong predictors of energy-saving actions.
“Knowing what to do is often not enough to actually make someone change their behavior. You have to also tap into deeper attitudes, preferences, and desires to actually motivate people to follow through with their actions,” Zawadzki added.
The insights from this meta-analysis hold substantial promise for policymakers seeking to design more effective public programs aimed at reducing household emissions. Initiatives that foster positive attitudes towards energy saving and bolster individuals’ sense of making a difference could prove particularly impactful.
“The vast majority of people, regardless of their backgrounds, generally want to do the right thing. We’re not trying to change hearts and minds, but activate feelings people already have,” added Zawadzki. “As we are trying to address the urgent climate crisis, we need to add these crucial tools that were missing to our climate-mitigation arsenal.”
Source: Cell Press