(Nan’s Note: A few years ago at the Taos branch of the University of New Mexico, I took a class called ‘Energy Basics.’ The teacher was my solar installer, Larry Mapes of Valverde Energy. Larry and I had spent hours talking about energy during my installation, so I was looking forward to a full semester of nothing but energy talk.
It changed my life. Literally. Larry made me see energy and politics from a perspective I hadn’t considered. I can’t begin to tell you what I learned in that class, but, trust me, it was plentiful, deep and life-altering.
I was sick on a day Larry brought in a guest speaker, Norm Ferguson, Psychology Instructor at UNM Taos. Of all days to miss, this should not have been the one! Larry said I would have loved it. I am no stranger to psychology, but to attach it to sustainability was new to me. See what I mean about learning new perspectives?
I contacted Norm last month to see if he would be interested in writing an article based on what he conveyed in class. He sent the following. When I read it, I was really sorry I’d missed that day, but I’m glad to have it now to share with you! Enjoy!)
By Norm Ferguson
Psychology is the scientific study of human behavior. It uses empirical evidence (observations, facts, data) to draw conclusions by studying how behavior is influenced by what we learn, our thinking, other people, stress, and conscious and unconscious motives. The practical idea here is that if we understand why a behavior is occurring, then we can find ways to change it. With regard to sustainable living, the goal is to increase behaviors that contribute to sustainable living and to decrease behaviors which go against it. This article discusses several ways to use psychology concepts to promote sustainable living.
Learning
One approach is called the ABC model. “A” stands for antecedents or what the conditions are before a behavior occurs. “B” stands for behavior or what a person does and says. And, “C” stands for consequences or what happens after the behavior occurs. The idea of this model is that behaviors can be changed by changing the antecedents and/or the consequences.
One example of changing antecedents is “prompts” such as a sign on the wall which says “turn-off lights”. Another approach is to provide information about previous behavior which can help change our current behavior such as a graph on one’s electric bill giving feedback on previous usage. A third approach is called “modeling” where a knowledgeable person shows you how to do something in a more efficient way.
The two main types of consequences are “punishments” and “rewards.” The goal of punishment is to decrease a behavior. For example, putting a tax on polluting will usually reduce such behavior. Rewards are meant to increase and sustain a behavior. Giving tax breaks for installing solar panels would be an example of this.
Another form of learning which has a huge impact on our behavior is classical conditioning or learning through association. This is the basis of virtually all advertising and it is used to actually create a demand for a product. The idea is straightforward. The product (it does not matter what—beer, shampoo, an SUV, bottled water) is associated with something pleasurable such as sex, people having fun, or power and prestige. We are bombarded with such advertising everyday through TV, radio, the Internet, and print media.
This is a major cause of our over-consumption today. We are constantly being told that our life will be better if we just have product “x” and large numbers of us go out and buy it. Being aware of how this process works can help us be less vulnerable to this powerful technique.
A third form of learning which gets us to do things which are ultimately counter-productive to ourselves and the environment is called the “contingency trap.” What happens in this case is that we are lured into a behavior by the prospect of short-term pleasure while we ignore the long-term negative consequences. A prime example of this is the short-term pleasure of smoking cigarettes and the long-term consequences of lung cancer. Most people’s behavior is determined by its immediate consequences rather than effects which take several years to show-up. This is one reason why long term damaging behaviors are so hard to change.
Lastly, the failure to “delay of gratification” or the “I want it NOW” syndrome also causes major problems for many people. We have been conditioned by mass media advertising that we must have things right away, so waiting and saving to pay for something have become “old hat.” Over use of credit cards and sub-prime mortgages are examples of how the failure to delay gratification has gotten many people into serious financial problems.
Thinking (also called “cognition”)
Here are three example of how our thinking processes can get us in trouble.
One is called “either-or thinking” in which we consider only two alternatives. It’s either this or that, it’s yes or no, it’s right or wrong. This form of thinking, which often makes decisions easier because only two choices are considered, can lead us to make bad decisions because it restricts our range of choices. Considering four or five alternatives may well lead to a more informed decision.
The “frog in the hot water” scenario means that when something in the environment changes slowly over time, we are much less likely to notice it than when a rapid change occurs. If we drop a frog into a pot of very hot water, it will immediately jump out, But, if we put the frog in a pot of cold water and slowly heat it, the frog won’t notice and it will allow itself to be cooked to death. This analogy may apply to how we are responding to global warming.
The “folk-model” relates to buying energy efficient appliances. It says we tend to calculate how long it will take to pay for a new (and usually more expensive) energy efficient appliance using today’s energy costs. But, this fails to take into account that energy costs are going to continue to raise so that the payback for the appliance will be faster. Many people don’t consider this when deciding whether or not to buy a new energy efficient appliance.
