Using techniques of persuasion to save energy… and water
I’m intrigued by the use of “social marketing” to promote water conservation. Much of our water use in the western United States is staggeringly wasteful (lawns in Arizona?) or just inefficient (6 gallon toilets when low-flow models have been available for over a decade). How do you convince people to mend their wasteful ways?
An article in today’s NY Times, Finding the ‘Weapons’ of Persuasion to Save Energy, discusses electrical energy, but it directly applies to water as well. The article profiles the work of Robert Cialdini: “formerly of Arizona State University’s psychology department, he wrote one of the best-selling books on persuasion of all time. ‘Influence’ came out in 1984, and it’s reached five editions since.”
According to some researchers, the things people do every day — driving, showering, mowing the lawn — cause 33 to 40 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. Experts say these actions are packed with cheap ways to cut waste, but mysteriously, people just aren’t doing them.
Cialdini thinks this is because the campaign has focused on money and moral appeals — things that motivate less than the weapons of influence.