Abstract
In the face of continued environmental degradation, policy makers need to accelerate public uptake of pro-environmental behaviours. Promoting behaviours which catalyse the adoption of other similar behaviours through the spillover effect has been proposed as a potential solution. This requires understanding which behaviours are seen as similar and what criteria are used to identify behavioural similarity. We used a sorting procedure with 32 householders in Melbourne, Australia, to investigate the perceived similarity of household water conservation behaviours and identify the underlying constructs used to distinguish between similar and dissimilar behaviours. Location was the primary attribute used to define behavioural similarity, specifically whether behaviours took place indoors or outdoors. Participants also distinguished between curtailment, efficiency and maintenance-type behaviours. Our findings provide empirical support for existing theoretical behaviour taxonomies. The results could inform design of future water-saving campaigns to promote catalytic behaviours, by leveraging off similar, existing behaviours for effective behaviour change results.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1-10 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Journal of Environmental Psychology |
| Volume | 55 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Feb 2018 |
Keywords
- Behaviour similarity
- Categorisation
- Householder perceptions
- Multiple sort procedure
- Spillover
Cite this
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It's what you do and where you do it : Perceived similarity in household water saving behaviours. / Kneebone, Sarah; Fielding, Kelly; Smith, Liam.
In: Journal of Environmental Psychology, Vol. 55, 01.02.2018, p. 1-10.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
TY - JOUR
T1 - It's what you do and where you do it
T2 - Perceived similarity in household water saving behaviours
AU - Kneebone, Sarah
AU - Fielding, Kelly
AU - Smith, Liam
PY - 2018/2/1
Y1 - 2018/2/1
N2 - In the face of continued environmental degradation, policy makers need to accelerate public uptake of pro-environmental behaviours. Promoting behaviours which catalyse the adoption of other similar behaviours through the spillover effect has been proposed as a potential solution. This requires understanding which behaviours are seen as similar and what criteria are used to identify behavioural similarity. We used a sorting procedure with 32 householders in Melbourne, Australia, to investigate the perceived similarity of household water conservation behaviours and identify the underlying constructs used to distinguish between similar and dissimilar behaviours. Location was the primary attribute used to define behavioural similarity, specifically whether behaviours took place indoors or outdoors. Participants also distinguished between curtailment, efficiency and maintenance-type behaviours. Our findings provide empirical support for existing theoretical behaviour taxonomies. The results could inform design of future water-saving campaigns to promote catalytic behaviours, by leveraging off similar, existing behaviours for effective behaviour change results.
AB - In the face of continued environmental degradation, policy makers need to accelerate public uptake of pro-environmental behaviours. Promoting behaviours which catalyse the adoption of other similar behaviours through the spillover effect has been proposed as a potential solution. This requires understanding which behaviours are seen as similar and what criteria are used to identify behavioural similarity. We used a sorting procedure with 32 householders in Melbourne, Australia, to investigate the perceived similarity of household water conservation behaviours and identify the underlying constructs used to distinguish between similar and dissimilar behaviours. Location was the primary attribute used to define behavioural similarity, specifically whether behaviours took place indoors or outdoors. Participants also distinguished between curtailment, efficiency and maintenance-type behaviours. Our findings provide empirical support for existing theoretical behaviour taxonomies. The results could inform design of future water-saving campaigns to promote catalytic behaviours, by leveraging off similar, existing behaviours for effective behaviour change results.
KW - Behaviour similarity
KW - Categorisation
KW - Householder perceptions
KW - Multiple sort procedure
KW - Spillover
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85034818429&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jenvp.2017.10.007
DO - 10.1016/j.jenvp.2017.10.007
M3 - Article
VL - 55
SP - 1
EP - 10
JO - Journal of Environmental Psychology
JF - Journal of Environmental Psychology
SN - 0272-4944
ER -