C. Low-Hanging Fruit
IV. THE ROLE OF NORM ACTIVATION
2. Empirical Studies
large car, air travel, and a large office to demonstrate her importance.156
that reduced demand would be good for people in general and believed that "households as a group could make a big difference in peak demand" reported that they felt a moral obligation to lower elec- tricity use during periods of peak demand.162 The study concluded that the sense of moral obligation was more influential than price, and that, "In fact, this effect was greater than that of price even when the price differentials between peak and off-peak hours ranged as high as 8 to 1."163 Other studies have concluded that personal norms are reli- able predictors of temperature setbacks (lower thermostat settings in winter).16" Studies in Europe have reached similar conclusions.165
Moreover, an extensive body of research suggests that norm acti- vation affects recycling behavior, which can reduce individual carbon emissions by saving energy.166 For example, personal and social norm effects may explain why recycling programs involving block captains have more success than programs that do not, increasing recycling by
28%.167 The block leaders may remind individuals of their personal norms regarding recycling and may call attention to a social norm regarding recycling. A survey of participants showed that perceptions of personal and social norms favoring recycling increased in groups with block leaders but not in the others.168 Another study found that personal norms explained 35% of the variance in recycling behavior.169
port the hypothesis that information about the aggregate effects of individual behavior can activate norms and change behavior.").
162 NRC, ENERGY, supra note 156, at 72 (citing Black, supra note 158).
163 Id.
164 See Paul C. Stern et al., Responses to Changing Energy Conditions Among Massachusetts Households, 8 ENERGY 515, 522-23 (1983) (concluding that personal norms are reliable predictors of temperature setbacks but less reliable predictors of low-cost actions, such as weather stripping and minor curtailments, and have weakest relationship to major household investments).
165 See, e.g., Annika M. Nordlund & J6rgen Garvill, Value Structures Behind Proenvironmental Behavior, 34 ENV'T & BEHAV. 740, 751-54 (2002) (finding relationship between abstract proenvironmental norms and feelings of obligation to engage in proenvironmental actions); Steg et al., supra note 140, at 423 (concluding that personal norms have more influence on less costly behaviors such as recycling and energy policy changes than on more costly behaviors such as changes in car or subway use).
166 For a recent overview of the recycling literature, see generally P. Wesley Schultz, Knowledge, Information, and Household Recycling: Examining the Knowledge-Deficit
Model of Behavior Change, in NAT'L RESEARCH COUNCIL, NEW TOOLS FOR ENVIRON- MENTAL PROTECTION: EDUCATION, INFORMATION, AND VOLUNTARY MEASURES 67 (Thomas Dietz & Paul C. Stern eds., 2002).
167 GARDNER & STERN, supra note 86, at 88.
168 Id. at 88-89. Focusing an individual's attention on descriptive and injunctive norms can also influence littering behavior. Cialdini et al., supra note 128, at 206-32.
169 Joanne Vining & Angela Ebreo, Predicting Recycling Behavior from Global and Spe- cific Environmental Attitudes and Changes in Recycling Opportunities, 22 J. APPLIED SOC.
PSYCHOL. 1580, 1602 tbl.10 (1992).
Reprinted With The Permission of New York University School of LawHeinOnline -- 82 N.Y.U. L. Rev. 1710 2007
More recently, studies have examined the effects of environ- mental norms on transportation behaviors. A study by Annika Nordlund and Jorgen Garvill, for example, concluded that activation of abstract environmental norms through increased awareness of con- sequences had a positive effect on willingness to reduce personal car use.'70 Other studies have identified more muted environmental norm effects regarding transportation.17 1
A recent analysis by Joni Hersch and W. Kip Viscusi of a survey of more than 15,000 Europeans demonstrates that individuals who believe that global warming requires immediate attention are more likely to reduce their car fuel usage, increase their public transporta- tion usage, insulate their homes, and reduce their lighting and appli- ance use.17 2 Similarly, individuals who believe that fossil fuels contribute to global warming are more likely to take the first three steps, as are those who believe that transport contributes to global warming.173 Although the study did not explicitly test the VBN theory, it concluded that beliefs regarding the harms that may arise from global warming (awareness of consequences, or AC) and the linkages between particular individual behaviors or sources and global warming (ascription of responsibility, or AR) are associated with energy-saving activities.174 Conversely, individuals with inaccurate beliefs about the causes of global warming (such as believing that nuclear power contributes to climate change) are less likely to take ameliorative actions.175
In addition to changing carbon-emitting behaviors, norm activa- tion can influence civic behaviors, such as voting and joining advocacy groups. In fact, studies suggest that norm activation often has a greater effect on civic behavior than on direct or consumer behavior.176 For example, one study concluded that norm activation explains 30% of the variance in environmental citizenship activities, such as voting or contacting policymakers, but only 19% of the vari- ance in consumer behavior.177 Similar conclusions have been reached
170 Annika M. Nordlund & Jorgen Garvill, Effects of Values, Problem Awareness, and Personal Norm on Willingness to Reduce Personal Car Use, 23 J. ENVTL. PSYCHOL. 339, 345 (2003).
171 See, e.g., GARDNER & STERN, supra note 86, at 103-04, 162 (noting that structural barriers to transportation choices can impede proenvironmental behavior even when paired with existence of environmental norms).
172 Joni Hersch & W. Kip Viscusi, Allocating Responsibility for the Failure of Global Warming Policies, 155 U. PA. L. REV. 1657, 1682-83 (2007).
173 Id. at 1683.
174 Id.
175 Id.
176 Stern et al., supra note 95, at 91.
177 Id.
in studies that examined support for energy conservation policies in Europe.178 Norm activation thus may be an important foundation for