Thermostat Anchors: Do Temperature Scale Characteristics Affect the Selection of Temperature Setpoints for Residential Homes?

Torsten Reimer (), Jeonghyun Oh, Juan Pablo Loaiza-Ramírez and Hayden Barber
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Torsten Reimer: Communication and Cognition Lab, Brian Lamb School of Communication, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
Jeonghyun Oh: Department of Communication Studies, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487, USA
Juan Pablo Loaiza-Ramírez: Communication and Cognition Lab, Brian Lamb School of Communication, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
Hayden Barber: School of Communication and Journalism, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD 57007, USA

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 6, 1-11

Abstract: Characteristics of scales, such as the labels that are used on scales, have been shown to affect judgments. The scale-dependency hypothesis predicts specific effects of the properties of a temperature scale on residents’ choices of temperature setpoints. Based on the literature on anchoring in judgment and decision making, we assessed the effects of the displayed current temperature, midpoint, range, and increment of temperature scales on the selection of setpoint temperatures for residential homes. Participants ( N = 384) were asked to imagine that they work as a manager of a residential apartment complex and to select, in this function, setpoint temperatures for incoming residents. The experiment revealed independent effects of the current temperature as well as the midpoint and range of the used scale on the selected setpoints. The scale increment did not systematically affect the chosen temperatures.

Keywords: sustainable behavior; information representation; temperature scales; temperature setpoints; anchoring and adjustment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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