6.Goldstein et al. (2008): A room with a viewpoint: using social norms to motivate environmental conservation in hotels

Question 1

two field experiments examined

Answer 1

the effectiveness of signs requesting hotel guests’ participation in an environmental conservation program

Question 2

Descriptive norms =

Answer 2

motivate both public and private actions by informing individuals of what is likely to be effective or adaptive behavior in that situation

Question 3

social norms

Answer 3

how most people behave in a situation

Question 4

provincial norm:

Answer 4

immediate surrounding: guests of the same room

Question 5

global norm:

Answer 5

less immediate surrounding: guests of the whole world

Question 6

Field experiment 1: social norms vs. industry standard

Answer 6

2 conditions for towel reuse message in the hotel:
‘help save the environment’
‘join your fellow guests in helping to save the environment. almost 75% of guests who are asked to participate in our new resource savings program do help by using their towels more than once’
results: towel reuse rate was significantly higher

Question 7

Field experiment 2: factors that influence the extent to which people adhere to descriptive norms: 2

Answer 7

social comparison theory: how similar they are
social identity: the extent to which people identify with the reference group

Question 8

Field experiment 2: examined

Answer 8

whether the towel reuse norm of hotel guests’ immediate surroundings motivates participation more

Question 9

Field experiment 2 conditions-reference group:
4

Answer 9

guests who stayed at the hotel (global norms)
guests who stayed in the same room (provincial norm)
gender of guest (join the men and women)
citizen (join your fellow citizens)

Question 10

experiment 2 resulst

Answer 10

results: same room identity descriptive norm leads to highest towel reuse. Why? maybe because of overgeneralization of associations people learn from previous experiences, or interpersonal relations

Question 11

Being observed by others we… 3

Answer 11

we care about what others think of us!
make our activity observable by others is helpful to change our behavior
presence of others affects our self-contro

Question 12

How to improve our self-control?
3

Answer 12

bundling the cost:
reward substitution:
pre-commitment:

Question 13

bundling the cost:

Answer 13

instead of viewing an impulsive behavior in isolation, bundle it with other impulsive acts, so it biomes more difficult to justify

Question 14

reward substitution

Answer 14

: others’ perception of us (buying an electric car because they want to look good in the eyes of others)

Question 15

pre-commitment:

Answer 15

alarm clock connected to bank account (having to pay money to a charity every time you have to snooze)

Question 16

How to change our behavior?

Answer 16

change the environment to:
minimize the friction: making tasks easy to do, eliminating extra effort
maximize the motivation