What we can learn from climate change

Work in Energy Efficiency is showing that using social science can result in reducing energy use. Are there applications for public health?

Robert Cialdini(expert in persuasion) told David Roberts of Grist, social psychology is:

"the least capital-intensive way of making change…Technology costs a lot. Incentive programs cost a lot (and as soon as they are discontinued, the behavior flops back). Legislation, legal constraints, taxes, penalties of one sort or another–those are costly in terms of social capital, which organizations and governments are loathe to spend these days.

What you have with social psychology is a set of procedures that are essentially costless to enact, but product levels of change that are comparable to those other mechanisms." From Power of Peer Pressure

Opower, an organization that Cialdiniu advises found they could reduce energy use by mailing personalized energy use reports to people that showed their energy use compared to their neighbors and game them a smiley face when they used less energy.

Why it worked:
Relevant, personalized feedback
Made the data visible ( in a way people could understand fast)
Showed a comparison ( more meaningful, easier to understand)
Social influence/Social norms: I am influenced by my neighbors and I am motivated to compete with them ( keeping up with the Jones in reverse)

A comparison of ten energy saving programs that use social science found that these strategies work: Make energy use visible, set measurable goals, market relevant benefits, leverage social norms and networks, promote competitions and goal setting, and speak to non-economic motivations. For more information
Visible and Concrete Savings: Case Studies of Effective Behavioral Approaches to Improving Customer Energy Efficiency Nov 2010