September 28

People won’t change their behaviour unless they get a reward

By: L.A. (Leonie) Venhoeven, MSc

This second lecture will focus on the behavioral side of sustainability, and more specifically on how to motivate people to engage in sustainable behavior. When looking at commercials, money seems to be one of the key motivators employed to convince people to act sustainably. Is offering external rewards for sustainable behavior indeed the most effective motivator for action? And what are the long-term effects of using external rewards to get people to act? In this seminar we will look at previous research on this topic, and develop our own commercial based on psychological theories.

Reading material:

• Self-interest and pro-environmental behaviour
• Comparing the effectiveness of monetary versus moral motives in environmental campaigning

Optional reading material:

• Simple and painless
• An integrated framework for encouraging pro-environmental behaviour

Video examples of environmental campaigns

• Make love, not CO2
• Do the right thing
• Green Police Audi Ad Super Bowl
• Do the right thing - anti-litter campaign
• GE Big Change Commercial: Switch to the Energy-Efficient Soft White Incandescent Bulb
• Best climate change advert

Class evaluation

Powerpoint presentation
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