Is the Monster Green-Eyed, or just Green? Assessing the Impact of Group Cohesion and Environmental Attitudes on Energy Conservation

Mike Brock
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Mike Brock: Centre for Competition Policy and School of Economics, University of East Anglia

No 2016-08, Working Paper series, University of East Anglia, Centre for Competition Policy (CCP) from Centre for Competition Policy, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK.

Abstract: Using tools from behavioural economics and psychology to establish non-financial ways to incentivise people to reduce domestic energy usage has become a popular and ever-expanding area of research. This study builds upon the existing literature by providing subjects with energy performance information at group-level in a controlled field experiment setting. The results indicate that the provision of this relative information does stimulate energy-conserving behaviour, and this is most pronounced among those who held pre-trial preferences for sustainable living. Because these participants are more responsive to comparative information, one conjecture is that the attitudes and structure of social groups could be a key driver in determining the extent to which behavioural change is achievable. These results therefore imply that there is a role for issuing relative information on performance, but that the role of group cohesion and affiliation could heavily determine the magnitude of these effects.

Date: 2016-01-01
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:uea:ueaccp:2016_08

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