psyc 277 exam II

*LEARNING TO CHANGE*

*LEARNING TO CHANGE*

*PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH ON ENVIRONMENTAL BEHAVIOR*

*PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH ON ENVIRONMENTAL BEHAVIOR*

social influence...

- conformity, compliance, and **persuasion - the best predictor of our own behavior is others behavior

short term consequences exert more power over long term consequences...

- consequences work best in close proximity to the behavior - clear that action caused consequences

psyc is the study of individuals

- individual behavior adds up when there are ~8 billion people - cultures are made up of individuals - social change in contagious

persuasion

- whether communication is persuasion depends on the source, message + audience - the message depends on audience fit - hostile vs receptive audiences require different approaches - tuned in vs zoned out, more or less active? - messages should conform to audiences primary values - should not clash with worldview, cherished beliefs, or cultural practices

problems with these measures...

- not behavioral (not correlated with behavior) - solutions include devices to track behavior (energy meters/ bills, odometers on cars, cellphones)

qualitative data

- participants respond freely to open-ended questions (surveys, interviews, focus groups, exploratory methods) - can provide a basis for building quantitative measures - problems include time consuming, subjective - must have 2 separate judges with inter-rater reliability

sometimes random assignment is impossible...

- personal variables (gender, age, ethnicity, etc) - quasi IV where confounds are more likely

experiments

1 variable manipulated, 1 measured

who was one of the first psychologists to relate issues of resource depletion, pollution and overpopulation to human behavior?

BF Skinner

3) environmental attitudes inventory (EAI)

120 items (shortened is 72) - measures 12 unique dimensions of environmental attitudes

psychometric properties

The measurement characteristics of a scale that include its reliability, validity, and statistics on items of the measure - psychometric properties for sustainability measures are mixed (improving)

dependent variable

measured

measurements...

measurements...

1) new ecological paradigm (NEP) scale

measures worldview about relationship between humans and natural world - uses a 1 to 5 likert scale

validity

measuring what it is supposed to measure *convergent validity*: is it correlated with similar measures? *discriminant validity*: is it not correlated with dissimilar measures?

empiricism

discovery of knowledge via systematic data collection - direct observation of behavior - inferring mental processes by using behavioral markers like how quickly and accurately people respond to a prompt - measurements of physiological functions like neural or hormonal activity - asking people questions like opinions and preferences

being open to being wrong...

being open to being wrong...

reinforcement is greater than punishment...

better to reinforce good behaviors than punish bad

information

necessary for change but not sufficient - best suited for increasing easy behaviors with few barriers to implementation - gaining approval of existing policies

5) behavior intention scales

don't fully predict actual behavior, but still important *self report*: measures as opposed to direct observation - issues include social desirability

variables

operationalized constructs ex: score on an environmental attitude questionnaire

exceptions

other people behave selfishly - prosocial values - reminders of the personal relevance of public resource - personal identification with the rest of the group

learning

classical and operant conditioning

prompts

environmental cues (signs, rules) for behavior - polite is better than demanding - more effective when closer to behavior point - can work regardless of attitudes *green default*: type of prompt, shifts context so sustainable behavior doesn't need to be prompted ex: smaller plate sizes, motion sensor lights - opt-out systems greatly increase participation over opt-in systems (because then you have to say you don't want to do something)

policy should encourage sustainable behaviors rather than punish unsustainable behaviors

ex: chicago plastic bag tax

3) laboratory experiments

experiments equal causation

credibility + scientific messages

experts are generally better received than non experts

injunctive norm

explicit rules or laws ex: don't litter

social norms

general guidelines about what sort of conduct is typical, expected, or correct in that situations - norms don't always match up

theories

general idea for why individuals think, feel, and behave

monetary

good for large, one-time actions

non-monetary

good for small, everyday behaviors ex: free tickets, prizes

interviews/ focus groups

allow for researchers to hear participants' feelings, beliefs, and attitudes about a topic

correlation DOES NOT IMPLY causation

and correlation DOES NOT IMPLY the predictor causes the criterion

antecedents to behaviors...

antecedents to behaviors...

habits

automatic patterns of behavior established through repeated associations between situational context and behavioral responses - context driven

precautionary principle

avoiding potential risks to human + ecological health - even if evidence of harm has not yet been fully established

4) field experiments

high control over experimental variables in a real world context ex: littering and what they did with flyers because it was varied ex: 397 kids attended camp in a natural or urban environment (but you cannot randomly assign here bc they already chose to go)

random assignment

holding groups constant by giving equal chances of being in either condition

how psyc works...

how psyc works...

variability

how typical is typical

social desirability

participants give responses to make themselves look good - participants can't give a full answer with just a number

4) pro environmental behavior task (PEBT)

participants makes decisions that have real consequences for themselves and the planet

result

people behave selfishly to their own detriment

confounding variables

confounds - variables that are not constant

consequences for who?

consequences for who?

consequences...

consequences...

reliability

consistent results over time *test retest reliability*: is time 1 the same as time 2?

math...

data is usually quantitative (measured in quantity) - proenvironmental behaviors are high or low (3 < 9)

punishments

decreases likelihood of behavior

operationalize

define in terms of how it's represented and measured in a study

dynamic norms

describe trending behavior - behavior is changing ex: recent research has shown that, in the past 5 years, 30% of americans have now started to make an effort to limit their meat consumption. meaning that in recent years 3 in 10 people have changed their behavior + begun to eat less meat

independent variable

manipulated

problem

many people aren't behaving sustainably

common dilemma

many people share a limited resource

problems

many unsustainable actions reinforced - sustainable actions punished

hypothesis

prediction about the expected relationships among variables ex: people are more likely to recycle a bottle (variable) when there is a sign, than when there is no sign (variable) - based on theories

research is a _____ not an event

process

psyc as a sustainability science...

psyc as a sustainability science...

public goods dilemma

public resources require support

punishment creates hostility + feelings of being constrained, coerced, manipulated

reinforcement gives people more options + behavior that's chosen rather than coerced

research designs...

research designs...

type I error

result identified as real but was found due to chance - false positive

peer review

rigorous review of manuscripts by experts in the field to ensure that conclusions are merited

social dilemma

self interest conflicts with the greater good

reinforcers

strengthen or increase likelihood of behaviors ex: recycling rewards, convenience (which is typically bad)

modeling

strongest predictor of behavior is watching what others do - works best if model is a trusted expert - friends, family, classmates, coworkers

habitual discontinuities

sudden change of context allowing new habits to form

1) exploratory methods

these are used for generating hypotheses - naturalistic observation - interviews/ focus groups

descriptive norm

unwritten rules for behavior ex: litter but don't get caught

inferential statistics

used to understand differences between groups + patterns among variables - calculates probability of seeing data pattern if no such pattern actually exists in broader population - how likely are my results due to chance? statistically significant = < 0.05

using social norms to promote environmental behavior...

using social norms to promote environmental behavior...

criterion

variable being predicted

predictor

variable used to predict

behavioral observation

watching + recording what people do - drawbacks include limited time + opportunity, errors in recording and interpretation - solution could be to just ask participants to do 1 thing

- 90% are WEIRD participants that are students

western, educated, industrialized, rich, developed

do you copy others behavior?

what one sees others do is often the best predictor of one's own behavior - therefore we must rigorously test everything, especially what seems like common sense

contingency trap

when actions have short term benefits and long term consequences - solution could be to change short term consequences to match long term ones ex: dont want to drive? dont purchase parking permit

who psyc studies...

who psyc studies...

2) correlational studies

2 variables are measured - relationship between them are described - relationship can be used for prediction

correlations

2 variables measured

behavioral intervention

4 step intervention to encourage composting at university 1 - info signs 2 - persuasive signs 3 - compost bin 4 - confederates set example

construct

factors under study ex: environmental attitudes

type II error

failure to identify an existing phenomenon - false negative

constant

"control" - unchanged between participants - messages, groups

informational message

"if you would like your towels replaced, please leave them on the floor. Reusing towels saves valuable resources"

normative addition

"majority of the guests in this hotel reuse their towels"

relevant reference group

"majority of the guests in this room reuse their towels"

what are conclusions based on?

a body of research

descriptive data =

descriptive statistics

sensitivity

detecting differences among people - can't be too easy or hard

external validity

extent to which a research finding can generalize to the rest of the population

naturalistic observation

observation of public behaviors as they naturally unfold ex: researchers observed how hundreds of small groups reacted to the animal exhibits, zoos are now used to promote conservation

2) inclusion of nature in self (INS) scale

single item - circle the picture

types of designs...

types of designs...

types of incentives...

types of incentives...

central tendency

typical score for a group