N E W D I R E C T I O N S I N C O N S E R V A T I O N P S Y C H O L O G Y W E B I N A R S E R I E S
Tuesday, March 20, 2018 12:00 – 1:00 PM EDT Have you noticed that some environmental movements
seem to suddenly “take off”, like going organic, whereas others seem to struggle with gaining widespread adoption, like reusable shopping bags? In this webinar we’ll dig into the Diffusion of Innovations Theory (Rogers, 2003) that explains how these movements start in the first place, and what turns a movement into a social norm that sticks. In addition to exploring the theory of social norms, this presentation will also identify the behavioral underpinnings for why they occur and how these behavioral insights can be used to motivate greater adoption of conservation behaviors.
Creating a Conservation Movement
Presenter: Brooke Tully
N E W D I R E C T I O N S I N C O N S E R V A T I O N P S Y C H O L O G Y W E B I N A R S E R I E S
• Overview & Introductions • Dr. Abigail Abrash Walton
• Presentation • Brooke Tully
• Audience Questions
• Dr. Abigail Abrash Walton
N E W D I R E C T I O N S I N C O N S E R V A T I O N P S Y C H O L O G Y W E B I N A R S E R I E S
Presenter: Brooke Tully
Brooke Tully (née Sadowsky) spent the first half of her career working in ad agencies, such as Ogilvy, helping clients reach target audiences to build brand awareness, change preferences, and sell products. In 2007, she joined the NGO Rare where she designed and implemented behavior change campaigns that inspired local communities in Mongolia, Thailand, Laos, and The Philippines to adopt more sustainable fishing and hunting behaviors. Operating as an independent consultant since 2016, Brooke supports non-profits with designing marketing plans for social change. She also produces a bi-monthly newsletter on marketing and behavior insights for brooke’s2cents subscribers.
N E W D I R E C T I O N S I N C O N S E R V A T I O N P S Y C H O L O G Y W E B I N A R S E R I E S
Moderator: Dr. Abigail
Abrash Walton
Dr. Abigail Abrash Walton serves as co-director of Antioch's Center for Climate Preparedness and Community Resilience and as faculty in the Department of Environmental Studies, where she directs the Advocacy for Social Justice and Sustainability master's degree concentration. Under her leadership, Antioch has developed and advanced a range of sustainability and social justice initiatives. Her public engagement, research, and teaching focus on change leadership, facilitating pro-environmental behavior, and translating values into effective action, particularly regarding environmental and social performance. She enjoys the spirit and practice of innovation and has played a central role in launching Antioch's Conservation Psychology Institute and Translating Research to Inform Policy workshops and in catalyzing a national-level working group to build the capacity of scientists and researchers to engage with the public policy process.
N E W D I R E C T I O N S I N C O N S E R V A T I O N P S Y C H O L O G Y W E B I N A R S E R I E S
Webinar Logistics
• Everyone should be connected via Audio Broadcast upon entering the webinar – You do not need to call in and you are automatically muted
• The presentation will be recorded and posted to the Antioch web site within one week
• Please submit any questions you have for the presenter in the Q& A section
• If you are having trouble with any aspect of the broadcast, use the Chat section to message the Host directly
WHAT WE’LL COVER TODAY
• Defining social norms
• How movements happen and when
they become norms
• Why some movements take off and
others don’t
• How you can create a movement
Common standards within a social group
regarding socially acceptable or
appropriate behavior in particular
social situations, the breach of which
has social consequences.
The strength of these norms varies from
loose expectations to unwritten rules. Oxford Reference Dictionary: Social norms
face forward
minimal talking
watch the numbers
give personal space
hold the door
step out to let out
Innovators 2.5%
time
A small number of people willing to take the high risk of adopting a norm first
Early Adopters 13.5% A slightly larger group that is a bit more selective
and require some social proof before adopting
the norm, but are still risk takers.
Early Majority 34%
This group will wait longer to see if
the norm “sticks”, let it work out any
bugs, and wait to hear what opinion
leaders think before adopting.
Late Majority 34%
This group holds out and waits
until nearly
everyone else has already
adopted, and now it’s become
a pain for them not to conform.
Laggards 16% Curmudgeons
who may never
adopt
50%
of group
adopts
norm
Diffusion of Innovation
Theory How, why, and at what rate new ideas and
technology spread.
A visual adaptation of Everett Rogers’ original.
84%
of group
adopts
norm
Segment
has more
than
2X since
2007
more than
5% of total
food sales
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
ORGANIC
FOOD SALES
8.4
%
in organic
food sales
between 2016
and 2015
0.6
%
overall food
market
had nearly flat
growth rate
during same
time
Organic Trade Association 2017 Industry Survey
Millennials driving
growth
Links to health
benefits
# of options
increasing
More readily
available
Cost still a factor
Limited agriculture
Greater visibility
Skepticism &
Conflicting reports
forget
reusable
bags during
40
% of grocery
trips
60
% reported
using plastic
bags during
last grocery
trip
61
% prefer
reusable
bags
Edelman Berland Reusable Bag Survey, 2014
“Easy” behavior to
adopt
Relatively low-
cost/free
Enviro benefits are
known
Difficult to
remember
Unclear personal
benefit
Skepticism &
Conflicting reports
Can get messy =
inconvenient
# needed hard to
know
88
million trips made
on a bike
share bike
in the U.S.
since 2010
National Association of City Transportation Officials. Bike Share in the US: 2010 – 2016.
• Communicating the norm
• Leveraging influencers & early
adopters
• Increasing real and perceived
self-efficacy
• Showing the desired behavior
• Making it popular and safe
GROWING A MOVEMENT INVOLVES
COMMUNICAT
E THE NORM
Describe the
actions or
behaviors others
are doing when in
a similar situation
Just learning that other people are changing can instigate all these psychological processes that motivate further change.
People can begin to think that change is possible, that change is important and that in the future, the norms will be different.
Gregg Sparkman, Stanford University
Dynamic Norms Promote Sustainable Behavior, Even if It Is Counternormative. Psychological
Science. Sept 2017.
INCREASE REAL &
PERCEIVED SELF-EFFICACY
Help the audience
believe they can do
the desired behavior,
and make it easier to
actually do!
TO SUMMARIZE
You can absolutely
create conservation movements for your causes!
• Communicate the norm
• Leverage influencers and
early adopters
• Show the behavior
• Make it popular and safe
• Increase self-efficacy
THANK YOU!
brookes2cents.com/co
npsych/
Curated resources available for you at:
Join THE network for
social change
marketers
at smana.org
• Explicitly declared by a group or
influencer
• Implicitly defined through
demonstrated behavior or
teaching
• Formally decided by a leader
STARTING A MOVEMENT INVOLVES
N E W D I R E C T I O N S I N C O N S E R V A T I O N P S Y C H O L O G Y W E B I N A R S E R I E S
Thank you for joining us today! You will receive an email from us in the next week with a link to the webinar recording and slides.
Please also check your email today for a link to our webinar survey, and take a few moments to fill it out -
we value your feedback!
Thank you also for joining us for this year’s Conservation Psychology webinar series. Stay tuned for more information about our next series.