Broadly speaking there are 3 types of people on "the bus" - there are a few at the back (the detractors) trying to stop it from moving, there are those at the front driving it (the leaders) and the other 80% are along for the ride. They will follow the leaders. If the followers know what everyone else is doing then they will behave in the same way too. The detractors at the back of the bus will eventually get left behind.
The TedTalk below shows how behavioural science can be used to change behaviours. In this talk, Alex Laskey shows how letting people know how well they are doing against their neighbours in terms of energy consumption changes behaviour. If they know their neighbours are using less then they will attempt to use less too. The reality is we all know how to reduce our energy consumption, we just lack the motivation to do it - perhaps we all assume no one else is putting in the effort so we'll just do the same. But this talk clearly shows how letting people know how they are going against others close by is a driver for change.
Alex Laskey: How behavioral science can lower your energy bill
So if this can be done for energy, what else can it be done for? Lets think about some animal related examples:
- Taking the dog for a walk - Imagine if everyone knew how often their neighbours dogs were being walked.
- Keeping your pets at an optimum weight - Imagine if you kept a neighbouring register of the trim dogs and the not so trim dogs and without naming names you could market that to your local clientèle and help create healthier pets who require less medical treatment throughout their lives.
- Annual health checks - If you knew that most of your neighbours took their pets for annual health checks wouldn't you be driven to do that too?
- What about businesses competing against business - What if you knew that all the neighbouring practices had installed low-flow taps and a foot pedal in their scrub sink to reduce water use? Would you feel compelled to do the same? What about neighbouring practices demonstrating a reduction in waste?
An email I recieved: Good morning.
ReplyDeleteYour bus metaphor is interesting. :)
Seems to me that following those 'leaders' may have got us to where we are now.
Those at the back of the bus - the dissidents, nay-sayers may not always fall off the bus - sometimes they just bide their time - and maybe, just maybe may have got at least some of it right. :) I'm not sufre that we should ever exclude anyone from the dialogue.
Funny that mentioned China. China and India have a third of the world's population. So, I expect we won't be telling or showing them much. As with much of South America Africia - they want what we in the developed world have and the sate of the planet may not be fore moist on their mind.
Actually, when I was referring to the 'baddies' I was thinking more of those Kiwi's that participate in War Birds over Wanaka etc, all the jet boat races and automobile Grande Prix. These folks burn more fossil fuels in a weekend than the rest of us do in a ??? year, life time.
Anyways my intention was not to be negative but to put things in context. So we act locally but we need to think globally.
OK - time to read your most recent post.
Have a good day.
My response:
ReplyDeleteHi
Thanks again. I totally agree and understand the sentiments that everyone followed the leaders in the bus and that’s what got us where we are. It’s a really good point. But remember that people that pull at the back and try and stop things don’t get listened too because they are negative even if they are right – does that make sense. MOST (not all) people like good news stories. If the naysayers want to be heard and listened to they need to pack up the naysay (you know the truth and so do I and many others) and project an exciting good news story and then get into the drivers seat and carry the passengers. Look at what I am doing – I am planting a garden this is how you do it, I am creating a local event that encourages local shopping, I am stopping buying plastic bottles etc etc you can too or say all your neighbours are too……………just that kind of make sense. My post http://futurefocusvet.blogspot.co.nz/2013/05/inspiration.html may help you see what happens in this case. Yep this guy is crazy but wouldn’t you like to be like this. My aim is to do something like this on a much smaller scale……….just trying to get the guts up to do it!.
With regards to warbirds and jetboats etc………people do it because they have fun. How can we make fun without burning oil. Introduce those people to new technologies that allow that fun without fossils fuels. Lots of them are engine buffs, they know we can burn fish and chip oil, ethanol and maybe other things to make engines go – they just need some encouragement to go for it. By having fun and encouraging fun while making good changes will see results – people do want to do the right thing but they also want to have fun. It’s an empowering once you start looking at things this way.
And totally agree – think globally, act locally
Many thanks again, for your feedback.
An email response I recieved: I have no doubt that such ‘behavioural’ (actually, I competitive strategies is a better term) techniques work.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I am always a bit anxious about strategies that encourage competition (methinks NZ is keen on competition – witness this Countries attitude towards sports). Competition has a tendency to bring out the worst in people
I am keener on a strategy that encourages cooperation and collaboration. When I studied all funding was shared. We did not have to compete. Thus we supported each other.
As a teacher, I would be interested in your views of competition vs. cooperation.
In any event, the speaker’s strategy detracts from the need to begin (seriously) to use renewable sources of energy. I live in Marlborough and I suspect with all our sun and wind we could convert immediately. Why does the Government help with insulation and not with conversions?
My response to my email correspondant: Hi
ReplyDeleteActually a big focus in education is to be more cooperative and collaborative – between students – between institutions BUT old habits die hard. Last year I tried to get students to complete an assignment in a group (1 assignment for the group of 3) but it failed miserably. Back to the drawing board this year I have said the assignment needs to involve work with 2 other people but they don’t need to be your study colleagues……..I am awaiting how this went although it has been handed in to the marker and I received no complaints/feedback as they were completing it so maybe I have got closer to designing a collaborative project?? The course I am talking about is non unit standard based though.
In terms of unit standards they don’t in themselves encourage competition – you are passed or not passed, but can have another go. They have their own set of challenges and those challenges certainly and I remain unconvinced that they are a good method of assessing many skills because they encourage ticking boxes as opposed to life long learning.
I do see your point around competition, and there is lots of evidence of people doing the cooperation and collaboration living model – Gloriavale on the West Coast is a reasonably well known example, there is a place called Awhi farm near Turangi and also a place called Solscape near Raglan that are all looking towards more community/collaborative living. However many of those ideas are just too far away from peoples “normal” at the moment whereas a bit of competition isn’t. In fact there is no reason why you can’t be competitive and collaborative.
In terms of renewable energy why don’t the government act? I will avoid commenting there but what I would say is why wait for the government. If we wait for more government and more legislation it will take longer – too long. Dream up a scheme, get the people on board, apply for funding through the many funding avenues available for these initiatives and lead the way. Crowd funding is an new and developing way of getting money too. If you tell a good story and have good backing, people will fund it. Power is a hard one because everyone pays for their own but think about what the local council funds – lighting at sports grounds, the Christmas lights, street lighting – get the whole community on board because all ratepayers would benefit from a reduced power bill maybe? Maybe you could drive a whole community to convert by working out some loan system and because 100’s were being converted in an area at the same time the people supplying the photovoltaic panels will significantly reduce the costs, add to that some crowd funding? However while I write this I am thinking that even before that working with people to insulate and retrofit double glaze might be worth considering OR actually it may even be cheaper to bowl houses and replace with modern house (see passive house and wiki house for some ideas. Passive Houses require little or no heating and wikihouse is a built by the people for the people model so a cheap way of rebuilding.
I don’t have all the answers here, just trying to seed light bulb moments. Let me know if its working!!!