Verifying the application of online gamification methods to introduce pro-environmental behavior

The goal of this thesis is to validate whether online gamification methods can be used to introduce pro-environmental lifestyle. Human activities have since the Industrial Revolution had an increasingly destructive impact on the biosphere, which has started to endanger the environment and our existence as a species. Awareness of the situation is increasing, but real actions to combat the problem are not, as environmental activists lack the knowledge and tools to drive the necessary individual behavioral change. At the same time, the emergence of the internet has created a mass medium which has proven to be very effective in altering individuals’ habits. One of the newest and most potent methodologies to spark behavioral change is gamification, which implies using game design elements in non-gaming context. Due to a vast gap between the academic and commercial practitioners’ world, little research has been so far done regarding gamification, and the results of these studies have not been implemented to create effective products. This research tried to bridge this gap and validate the use of gamification to drive proenvironmental behavior change, by deploying an experimental prototype which was developed based on Eric Ries’ Lean Startup ideology and Yu-kai Chou’s Octalysis gamification framework. In addition, a pretest-posttest survey was conducted to investigate the impact of using the prototype. The minimal prototype proved to be effective in acquiring and engaging new members by growing its user base 8.5 fold. More than one fourth of registered members became engaged users and continued to use the gamified product throughout the experiment. The pretestposttest survey results indicated that engaging with the prototype did in fact change the users’ behaviors towards a more sustainable lifestyle, moderate pro-environmental increases were detected in both respondents’ attitudes and concrete undertaken everyday activities.http://tartu.ester.ee/record=b2654451~S1*es

Spirituality and sustainable lifestyle

The paper aimed to provide additional insights into the wide and partly uncovered area of interactions among spirituality, happiness, life satisfaction and sustainability, supported by a survey representing the Hungarian society. As results reflect, spirituality definitely proves to matter in pro-environmental behaviour, sustainable consumption, happiness and life satisfaction

Modelling transport energy demand : a socio-technical approach

Peer reviewedPostprin

Anti-Democratic Tenets? Behavioural-Economic Imaginaries of a Future Food System

This article makes the central argument that basic democratic values such as justice, autonomy and participation run the risk of being neglected when designing 'nudges' (i.e., indirect suggestions to influence individual behaviour) for sustainable behaviour change in the context of food governance, potentially complicating a democratisation of the food system. 'Nudges' uphold freedom of choice while simultaneously advocating a non-coercive soft force of paternalism to help people realise their preferences, maximise societal well-being and meet macro-sustainability goals. While the promises of the 'nudge' approach are widely echoed, nudging is also being contested because of its possible anti-democratic effects, such as individualisation, depoliticization and the emphasis of the status of citizens as 'consumer-citizens.' From a food democracy perspective, these dangers may undermine efforts to organise collective political action and impede alternative visions of a future food system. Empirically, the article examines specifically how behavioural-economic approaches imagine transitions to a more sustainable food system. By using the "COOP Supermarket of the Future" as a case study, the following analysis will illustrate how private actors are increasingly involved in steering consumer choice towards socially desirable actions. The analysis suggests that the design of choice environments may under specific circumstances increase the susceptibility of individuals to the influence of corporate preferences and simultaneously decrease the prospects for democratic legitimation and decision-making. The article therefore critically assesses whether reforming the food system by altering consumers' choice-sets and the attribution of personal responsibility, may in fact point towards implicit anti-democratic tenets underlying the 'will to nudge' citizens

Prospects for radical emissions reduction through behaviour and lifestyle change

Over the past two decades, scholars and practitioners across the social sciences, in policy and beyond have proposed, trialled and developed a wide range of theoretical and practical approaches designed to bring about changes in behaviours and lifestyles that contribute to climate change. With the exception of the establishment of a small number of iconic behaviours such as recycling, it has however proved extremely difficult to bring about meaningful transformations in personal greenhouse gas emissions at either the individual or societal level, with multiple reviews now pointing to the limited efficacy of current approaches. We argue that the majority of approaches designed to achieve mitigation have been constrained by the need to operate within prevailing social scientific, economic and political orthodoxies which have precluded the possibility of non-marginal change. In this paper we ask what a truly radical approach to reducing personal emissions would look like from social science perspectives which challenge the unstated assumptions severely limiting action to date, and which explore new alternatives for change. We emphasise the difficulties likely to impede the instituting of genuinely radical societal change regarding climate change mitigation, whilst proposing ways that the ground could be prepared for such a transformation to take place

Consumers’ Acceptance of a Bio-circular Automotive Economy: Explanatory Model and Influence Factors

Sustainability in the automotive sector and appropriate end-of-life (EOL) management options for car tyres are important and constitute global issues. There is currently an oversupply of EOL tyres and the potential of circular economy (CE) tyres and for bio-based (BB) tyres warrants further investigation. Likewise, BB and CE tyres might be an interesting approach to improve the overall sustainability of the tyre life cycle. Research on drivers for the acceptance of CE and BB tyres is currently missing. In 1989, a socio-economy model was created to understand the acceptance of various products. This model is still popular in many areas but does not address sustainability questions of the 21st century appropriately. This article aims to provide a better understanding of the factors which drive acceptance of sustainable tyres. It presents an acceptance model and related influence factors in three areas: variables related to the consumers, perceived product characteristics and stimulating moderator variables. The third aspect refers in particular to labels and certification influencing consumer views on existing product characteristics. This article ends by discussing how availability of such labels could be promoted through eco-labelling of tyres and related standardization, addressing the industry and policy makers to make the automotive sector more sustainable.BMBF, 033R236E, ReziProK - Verbundvorhaben: ConCirMy - Entwicklung eines stufen- und kreislaufübergreifend vernetzten Konfigurators zur Gewährleistung geschlossener Material- und Komponentenflüsse im Rahmen der zirkulären Ökonomie, Teilvorhaben 4: Sozioökonomische Analysen und GeschäftsmodelleDFG, 414044773, Open Access Publizieren 2019 - 2020 / Technische Universität Berli

Two birds, one stone: the effectiveness of health and environmental messages to reduce meat consumption and encourage pro-environmental behavioural spillover

There is a growing consensus that reducing excess meat consumption will be necessary to meet climate change targets, whilst also benefitting people’s health. Strategies aimed at encouraging reduced meat consumption also have the potential to promote additional pro-environmental behaviors through behavioral spillover, which can be catalyzed through an increased pro-environmental identity. Based on this, the current study tested the effectiveness of a randomized two-week messaging intervention on reducing red and processed meat consumption and encouraging pro-environmental behavioral spillover. Participants were undergraduate students in the United Kingdom (n = 320 at baseline) randomly allocated to four conditions in which they received information about the health, environmental, or combined (health and environmental) impacts of meat consumption, and a no-message control. The results showed that receiving information on the health and/or environmental impacts of meat was effective in reducing red and processed meat consumption compared to the control group during the intervention period, with some effects remaining one-month later. However, the intervention did not have any effect on pro-environmental identity and there was little evidence of behavioral spillover. Implications for future research and interventions aimed at reducing meat consumption are discussed

Let my people grow: the diffusion of the Jewish farming movement through the Jewish community of the Greater Baltimore Metropolitan Area

The purpose of this research is to account for the diffusion of the Jewish farming movement as it transpires through several sites in Baltimore County and Baltimore City, Maryland. This research develops an empirically grounded theory surrounding the establishment and diffusion of the Jewish farming movement, as well as its influence on participating individuals. Research questions include determining the context and reason for the movement's establishment, the mechanisms surrounding its diffusion, and the Jewish cultural and pro-environmental influence of the movement on participants. A grounded theory and mixed method approach was used to discover empirical regularities surrounding this phenomenon. This research resulted in the generation of a substantive level theory, explaining the Jewish farming movement in Baltimore as a new social space that is both the result of social processes, and results in new social processes, all of which are embedded in the theory's core categories of "Jewish community," "Jewish cultural sustainability," and "environmental sustainability." The author concludes that as a new social space, the Jewish farming movement in Baltimore uses community-based organizations to address Jewish cultural longevity and pro-environmentalism

The evolutionary psychology of climate change behaviors:Insights and applications

We examine climate-related activities through an evolutionary psychology lens, zooming in on factors that motivate or discourage people to behave sustainably to mitigate climate change. Complementing current knowledge, we discuss five core ancestral psychological motivations that shape people's environmental decisions in fundamental ways. We review recent studies that explore how evolved psychological mechanisms related to self-interest, status, sensing, discounting tendencies, and social imitation can be used to promote proenvironmental behavior. We discuss the potential strengths and limitations of evolutionary-based behavioral interventions and briefly reflect on outstanding research questions that can further the integration of evolutionary approaches into mainstream environmental psychology