Completed NRP 73 research project: Increasing the efficacy of behavioural interventions

The project on sustainable consumer behaviour investigated whether the sustainable use of a particular natural resource – for example frugal use of water – encourages households to act sustainably in other areas, or whether it has the opposite effect. The project analysed behaviour of households, hotel guests, or residents of student dormitories, in the context of natural resources use by means of field studies, laboratory experiments and surveys in Switzerland and Singapore. Various interventions were used to encourage consumers to adopt sustainable habits: feedback on consumption, savings tips, targets, social comparison, monetary and financial incentives, sustainability labels, social identity and social norms, ethical appeals as well as guidance on choices and competitions.

Regardless of the type of intervention, no evidence was found that the interventions caused negative spillover effects, i.e. unsustainable behaviour in other areas of resource use. On the contrary: interventions related to the use of hot water led to an additional reduction in the use of heating energy in addition to the directly intended reduction in hot water consumption, or interventions to reduce electricity consumption additionally reduced the water consumption of the participants. Interventions without financial incentives tended to lead to less strong positive spillover effects than those with a financial component. In general, however, the environmental identity of individuals and the perceived connection between the different environmental areas addressed had a strong impact on the emergence of positive spillover effects.

The various studies of the project indicate that the consumption of electricity, water and heating energy are closely linked in the perception of consumers, so that an intervention in one area leads to positive spillover effects in the other areas.

 

More information:

More information on the research project

 

Podcast:

Podcast E8: Die Förderung von umweltfreundlichen Verhalten ..

 

Policy Brief:

Policy Brief N°8: Improving the effectiveness of behavioural interventions

 

Selected publications:

Ghesla, C., Grieder, M. and Schmitz, J. (2019)
“Nudge for good? choice defaults and spillover effects,”
Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 178.

 

Contact:

Prof. Dr. Renate Schubert
ETH Zürich
+41 44 632 47 17
schubert@econ.gess.ethz.ch