WAKE-UP CALL
Welcome to
the March 2009 Wake-Up Call, Awake’s monthly newsletter for research and news
about behaviour change for sustainability.
To
view this newsletter as a webpage, click here
In
this edition of Wake-up Call…
·
Feature Article – Identity
·
Upcoming Workshops – Cultivating Sustainability in
Australia
·
60 seconds with… Mandy, a fundraiser for Amnesty
International
·
Interesting Article of
the Month – Sweatshop
Labor is Wrong: Unless the Jeans are Cute
·
Exercise of the Month –
Revealing Identities
Feature Article –
Identity
Many of our
behavioural choices are driven by what we believe about ourselves. This set of beliefs about who we are and what
we care about is called our self-identity (or self-concept).
The reason
that self-identity is of interest to those who seek to influence behaviour
change is that, if we can link the desired behaviour to the individuals
identity, they are more likely to adopt it.
One of the mechanisms by which identity influences behaviour is through
our desire to maintain congruence between who we think we are and our actions,
thus maintaining “cognitive consistency”, and avoiding the discomfort of
“cognitive dissonance” (see Wake-Up
Call Feb 2008 for more on the latter).
The power
of self-identity in predicting behaviour was demonstrated in a 2008
study, in which the researchers added self-identity to a set of
factors already included in a widely accepted model for predicting green
behaviour. It was found that
“self-identity emerged as an independent predictor of environmental activism
intentions, indicating that the stronger participants’ sense of themselves as
environmental activists, the greater their intentions to engage in this
behaviour”. While this is not
immediately surprising, it should be remembered that there is a very large gap
between people’s reported concern for environmental matters, and their
subsequent actions. Therefore, the quest
to isolate the psychological factors which do predict green behaviour occupies
a lot of attention for environmental educators.
This all
begs the question as to how we harness the power of identity as a tool for
effective behaviour change. The world of
marketing may provide some answers.
Marketers have long known about identity, and have fashioned a whole
science around “consumer identity marketing”.
A good discussion of some of the relevant concepts of identity-based
marketing can be found here. The article uses the example of Nike’s “just
do it” slogan, where “the whole idea is
to try to link the Nike brand name to the athlete identity in such a way that
the various products (shoes, watches, and clothing) become like a “prop” in
terms of helping consumers enact their athlete identities.”
Americus
Reed, a leading researcher on identity-related marketing, describes in a 2005 article
the factors involved in invoking an identity through communication. The identity must be…
·
Salient
– meaning we have to be thinking about ourselves in that way when the message
is delivered.
·
Self-important
- that is, it needs to be a powerful identity for us that we have a lot
invested in.
·
Relevant
to the product – meaning that we must perceive a strong link
between the product (or behavioural choice) being
presented, and the identity which is being linked to it.
·
Provides
a basis to respond – it must be clear that “this
what we need to do in order to make a choice which is consistent with this
identity”
If we were
to consider this list in terms of promoting a green behaviour, then an
identity-based approach to selling the green message would be most effective
when people are concerned about green issues and how they relate to them
personally (salience & self-importance), and it must be clear
to them exactly which behavioural choice is most environmentally friendly (relevance), and how to adopt it (basis to respond).
This
checklist can present a few challenges.
In order to increase the salience
of an identity, something must occur to get people thinking about themselves
through that identity. Therefore, the
most effective timing to prompt the green identity will be when people are
feeling particularly green, such as when they are taking public transport,
making a green purchasing decision, or attending a function where the green
message is being communicated. If this
is not possible, then the message must include something to get people thinking
about themselves in relation to the environment.
While salience is a temporary state which can
be prompted, self-importance is a
more solid attitude which may be less easily prompted. If a target audience does not view themselves
as environmentally minded, it will be a tall order to appeal to an
environmental identity. In that regard,
one may be better off designing an approach which recognises the extent to
which a green option is consistent with an identity which this group does
hold, such as a one which is family-oriented, or innovate, or savvy.
Fortunately,
there is some evidence that repetition can lead to the development of
identity. This means that if we can get
people to try a behaviour a number of times (perhaps by providing a short-term
incentive), then they will start to create a belief
that “I am this type of person”. Once
this identity is in place, then it should be easier to engage them in future
behaviours which fit with that identity.
WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE?
You can, as
long as you include this complete blurb with it:
Awake provides psychology-based services to support the development of
sustainable behaviour in individuals, groups and organisations. Visit www.awake.com.au
for more info
Upcoming
Workshops – Cultivating Sustainability in Australia
Cultivating
Sustainability workshops have been scheduled for the following Australian
locations and dates.
·
·
·
·
·
These are
public workshops with all welcome to attend.
Cost:
For-profits $250pp
Not-for-profit/Government $200pp
Individuals/Community Groups $120pp
More
information, including online registration details, can be found at
www.awake.com.au/cultivating.html
Cultivating Sustainability is a 1-day workshop which provides
sustainability advocates with insights, models and practical tools to support
their behaviour change efforts. Anybody
who has taken on the challenge of influencing others to live and work more
sustainably will find this workshop a valuable addition to their skills.
In-house Workshops
Space has
been left in the schedule for groups requesting an inhouse workshop in any of
the locations above, which is a great option if you have a number of people
wishing to attend. If you are part of
an organisation, green team, or community network that would benefit from an
in-house workshop, contact timc@awake.com.au
to discuss.
For more
information about the Cultivating Sustainability workshop, see www.awake.com.au/cultivating.html
60
Seconds with… Mandy, a fundraiser for Amnesty
International
What first
got you focused on sustainability?
I like to support a few charities and thought it was time I supported
one which was doing things for the environment.
Because we don’t want to live in a s**thole do
we? ACF did a good job of presenting the issues to me and really impressed me
as making a difference, so I support them.
What is the
sustainable choice you have recently made of which you are most proud?
I always recycle – everything I can.
What is a
less sustainable choice that you are not so proud of?
Forgetting to turn off the hot water system in our
house. We’re supposed to turn it off when we leave
in the morning, but I sometimes completely forget.
Interesting
Article of the Month –
“Sweatshop Labor is Wrong - Unless the Jeans are Cute”
Where?
Sweatshop
Labor is Wrong Unless the Jeans are Cute: Motivated
Moral Disengagement (2009)
By Neeru Paharia and Rohit Deshpandé
Harvard Business School Working Paper
Thanks
to Nick from Etiko
for sending this article – Etiko provides great sports and fashion gear from
sustainable and ethical sources.
What is it
about?
This
article discusses how we use “moral disengagement” to alleviate our conscience
when considering the purchase of sweatshop-made products.
What did
they find?
One main
finding of the research was that, when the desirability of the product in
question is particularly high, we are more inclined to rationalise purchases
which would usually violate our principles.
What can we
take from this?
One of the
biggest challenges for those involved in behaviour change for sustainability is
to close the gap between what we believe and what we do. This research provides an insight into the
mental process we adopt when we are making a decision which is at odds with our
moral compass. The study also shows how
we can be motivated to disengage from our conscience by increasing the
desirability of the choice in question.
As the authors note “If people were not able to reduce this dissonance, they
might actually demand that their products be produced free of harm”
This
months exercise follows on from the feature article
above about identity. It is an
opportunity to reflect on our own identities, and the way in which they
influence our decisions.
1.
Choose something you have recently
purchased (a good or a service) that you feel is consistent with an identity
which you hold (an item of clothing can be good for this)
2.
What was the identity you were
serving/fulfilling?
3.
How strongly do you really hold
that identity?
4.
What prompted you to purchase that
good/service at that time?
5.
How did you decide that
product/service would meet/fulfill/serve that identity? Was there anything in the way that the
product/service was presented that evoked that identity at the time?
By
recognising the thought processes which we go through when making decisions, we
are more able to make deliberate choices which are consistent with how we
really wish to live.
The
exercise of the month provides a tool to help you get engaged, inspired, aware
and in action around sustainability. Feel free to use it on your own,
with a friend, or in your work. If you do use it with others, please tell
them where you got it!
About Awake
Awake
provides psychology-based services to support the development of sustainable
behaviour in individuals, groups and organisations. Visit www.awake.com.au
for more info
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© Awake 2009