Cognitive Design

Recently, a group of cognitive design students at Northwestern University set about the task of creating behavior change programs aimed at lowering the carbon footprint of the typical American home.   A fascinating array of programs were developed which I will blog on later.

Just saw an announcement from EurekAlert! on how Psychological factors help explain the slow reaction to global warming.  It provides strong support for the approach the students took, namely, focusing on unmet cognitive needs.  A task force from the American Psychological Association (APA) looked at decades of psychological research and isolated these cognitive factors (and I quote): 

• 1. Uncertainty – Research has shown that uncertainty over climate change reduces the frequency of “green” behavior.
• 2. Mistrust – Evidence shows that most people don’t believe the risk messages of scientists or government officials.
• 3. Denial – A substantial minority of people believe climate change is not occurring or that human activity has little or nothing to do with it, according to various polls.
• 4. Undervaluing Risks – A study of more than 3,000 people in 18 countries showed that many people believe environmental conditions will worsen in 25 years. While this may be true, this thinking could lead people to believe that changes can be made later.
• 5. Lack of Control – People believe their actions would be too small to make a difference and choose to do nothing.
• 6. Habit – Ingrained behaviors are extremely resistant to permanent change while others change slowly. Habit is the most important obstacle to pro-environment behavior, according to the report.

They also reviewed interventions that worked including, for example,  providing immediate feedback on energy use rather than waiting for a monthly bill and combining financial incentives with other forms of behavioral influence (e.g. peer pressure). For those that want to dig deeper there is a 230-page PDF covering the research available from the APA.