WAKE-UP CALL
Welcome to the May 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 – Does Knowledge Lead to Action?
·
Upcoming Workshops Pt I – Cultivating Sustainability in
Australia
·
Upcoming Workshops Pt II – Cultivating Sustainability in New
Zealand
·
Interesting Article of the Month – Simple and Painless?
·
Exercise of the Month – Getting The Knowledge We Need
Feature Article – Stages of Change
Although it would be fantastic if behaviour change happened
in an instant, it is generally accepted that there are a number of stages which
people must go through in order to change.
Those working to promote the uptake of environmentally friendly
behaviours can benefit from understanding these stages, and using this
understanding to tailor their efforts.
A useful model of behaviour change was developed by James Prochaska,
primarily through investigations into people who had successfully changed their
behaviour with relation to health-related behaviours. The model not only describes the steps which
we go through during the change process, but also provides tips on supporting
ourselves to progress through the steps.
The Prochaska model has been adapted by Bob Doppelt, the
author of The
Power of Sustainable Thinking and applied to behaviour change for
environmental sustainability, in order to provide sustainability advocates with
tips on supporting people to adopt green behaviours. The “5-D Model” developed by Doppelt mirrors
each of Prochaska’s stages – below is an overview of Prochaska’s steps, with
Doppelts adaptation in brackets.
1. Pre-contemplation
(Disinterest)
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Upcoming
Workshops Pt I – Cultivating Sustainability in Australia
Cultivating Sustainability workshops have been scheduled
for the following Australian locations and dates.
·
·
Burnie (TAS), Thu June 4th
·
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.
For more information about the Cultivating Sustainability
workshop, see www.awake.com.au/cultivating.html
Upcoming
Workshops Pt II – Cultivating Sustainability in New Zealand
Planning is underway for Cultivating Sustainability
workshops in several
Probable dates and locations are as follows
·
·
·
Napier, Fri August 21st
·
·
These are public workshops with all welcome to
attend.
Cost: For-profits
$250pp
Not-for-profit/Government $200pp
Individuals/Community Groups $120pp
More information can be found at www.awake.com.au/cultivating.html
To register your interest in attending any of the
workshops above, email info@awake.com.au
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
in-house workshop, in or near 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
Interesting
Article of the Month –
“Simple and Painless? The Limitations Of
Spillover In Environmental Campaigning”
Where?
Simple and Painless? The limitations of spillover in
environmental campaigning
By Tom Crompton and John Thogerson
WWF
Strategies for Change Project
What is it about?
This article from WWF is an in-depth investigation into
the degree to which making one small behaviour change, such as installing energy-saving
light bulbs, is likely to lead people to take on more ambitious changes. The authors claim that this premise is a key
assumption in the majority of behaviour change campaigns, and has not been
sufficiently examined in order to justify it’s adoption.
What did they find?
Evidence for the so-called “spillover effect” is limited,
leading the authors to conclude that this strategy is risky, and should not be
adopted with blind faith. Furthermore,
they present evidence that the likelihood of spillover occurring is dependent
on the reasons for adopting the initial green behaviour. If it is done for
self-interest and financial reasons, then spillover is less likely to occur
than if it is done for more pro-social or moral reasons.
What can we take from this?
Luring people into adopting green behaviours to save money
is fine, as long as we recognise that this is where the commitment is likely to
stop. To enact deeper, more long-term
change, we need to be engaging peoples hearts, not
just their heads and wallets. This
article provides a compelling case for reviewing the assumptions on which we
design behaviour change programs.
This months
exercise follows on from the feature article above about the importance of
information and knowledge in supporting us to take action. The purpose is to encourage us to take
responsbility for getting the information we need to move into action.
1. Choose one
pro-environment behaviour you feel you can’t perform fully, because you do not
have the information and knowledge you need.
2. What type of
information do you need?
a) Information about the
pro’s and con’s and benefits of various options?
b) “How to” information
about where to go, what to do etc?
c) Some other type of
information?
3. Where could you get
the information you need?
4. Who else needs to be
involved?
5. What is the first
action you are going to take to get that information?
We often feel like we “can’t” act
when we don’t have the information we require.
By taking responsibility for getting what we need, we can move from
“can’t do” into action and feel a lot more empowered along the way.
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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