Group 114: SOCIAL SCIENCES l

ENERGY CONSERVATION AS A SOCIAL SCIENCE PROBLEM

Elliot Aronson

INTRODUCTION

The 1980 Summary Study on Building Energy Efficiency

juncture in this nation's approach to its energy problem 0

the first time a conference funded by the Department of

a

for

was

receptive to a social science perspective and incorporated recommenda­

tions from social scientists into its analysis of energy and the

design of new programs0

The social scientists at Santa Cruz considered the energy as

.largely a upeoplett problem rather than an exclusively technological one~

Physical scientists maintain that by the year 2000, the United States

can reduce the amount of energy required to heat, cool, and illuminate

buildings by as much as 50 percent through conservation efforts alone~

Much of the technology to accomplish this goal exists0 A

is that many people appear reluctant to adopt conservation tech-

or to utilize them to the fullest extent~ In order to

understand the human factor in energy conservation, the social science

group relied on a social psychological framework for under­

human motivation and decision making~ While this

with the so-called ueconomic.....rationalu model whichis not

has tradi""..&.,.,JI"""","io"&"...L. been used policymakers, the social science model

does differ on certain basic assumptions and thus results in novel pol­

recommendations ~ Social science distinguishes between situations

1 Members of the Social Science Group were: Elliot Aronson (Chair), Dane) Dudley Burton, Hal Levin, Tom Pettigrew, Joel Primack, and

Suzanne Yates--from the University of California at Santa Cruz; MarkChristensen and Karl Dake--from the University of California at Berke-

; John Darley--from Princeton University; and Paul Stern.....-.from theInstitution for Social and Policy Studies at Yale University~ SuzanneYates was particularly helpful in the preparation of this manuscript0

that give rise to n economic-rational n decision-ma.king processes and

those that cause other factors to become more salient~ Based on what

social scientists have discovered about the nature and the dynamics of

these different situations, they are in a position to help construct

programs which could produce far greater impact than would otherwise be

possible 0

This overview consists of three sections:

l~ A brief review of the economic-rational model as it has been

employed by energy-policy makers;

2$ An introduction to a few central social psychological

and the of these for development; and

3~ A brief discussion about program evaluation needs and

research

THE ECONOMIC-RATIONAL MODEL: MAJOR STRATEGIES TO DATE

The economic~rational model (at least as it has been applied to

energy rests on the that an individual in a

choice situation surveys the environment a.nd a cost-benefi t

s on each of the available alternatives@ According to this

model, the i11dividual studies the alternatives to determine the costs

and benefits associated with each, collects to the

criteria of value, discounts future costs and benefits, and

does on risks and Every actor is

assumed to be a ~ autonomous decisionmaker who tries to maximize

own benef! t and to reduce costs externalizing as

many costs as onto other actors or the environment QI In the

usual case, costs and benefits are measured prices or plau-

sible surrogates 0 While economists argue that, in , the model is

not limited to financial costs and benefits, in practice these have been

the or considerations as the model has been to energy conser-

vation~ A linear between costs and behavior in the market-

is assumed to exist~ Based on these assumptions,

strategies for achieving energy conservation rest on the assump-

tion that the most cost effective technologies or behaviors will be

adopted $ The general premise is that if cost-effective insulation

materials are available, for example) people will install them in their

houses and save much of the fuel that is normally UwastedU in home heat­

ing* Contrary to these expectations, however, actual energy savings to

date fall far short of the potentia10 It has been estimated that in the

buildings sector energy savings of from 40 percent to 50 can be

achieved nationally through technological measures alone (Hayes, 1976;

Solar Energy Research Institute, 1981), but

these savings has yet been realizede

a small of

Policy makers to market failures--those cases in

which the decisions made are not the most cost-effective--in one of

several ways 111 One explanation, within the ~irationaln model, for the

failure to reach the technological is that the relevant infor-

mation has not reached the decision makers@ When this is to be

infor­

much

The of

of various informa­

-~~~-~~~s~ But the data available

of a million

research, while limited, suggests that

, inform8c tion campaigns are

~u~__ ~, pamphlets, surveys, and

and distributes

the

tional

from

rna tion on how to save energy does not in and of itself

, the implici t

will seek;that

behavioral change (Stern and Gardner 1980) 0

of the informational

understand, believe~ and abide the information are not met ~

Another solution is to institute economic incentive systems on the

Again, theof conservation

the relative costs of alternatives will have athat

direct effect on the

evidence is mixed ~ The recent federal energy credi ts have been used

the affluent, even cost~effectiveness is not a function

of income~ studies (Stern and Gardner, 1981; Winett, in

press) that, in the short run, a in the of energy

only about a reduction in consumer demand Further,

The few limited stu-

the institution of incentive systems show that usage

and after

terns return to

to,

the impact of incentives appears to be short-term

dies tha t have tracked energy

levels after the incentives are discontinued (Kohlen­

berg, Phillip, Proctor, 1976; Hayes and Cone, 1977)~ Systems that use

disincentives J such as higher prices, also produce a disproportional

amount of hardship for the poor and the people on fixed incomes~ Thus,

not only is this strategy ineffective but it is also unjust~ Moreover,

since the poor are not the major energy consumers, these policies have

maximal impact on the wrong group~

Finally, the government often resorts to regulation as a means of

influencing behavior~ Thus, the federal government has dictated ther­

mostat settings in office buildings, speed limits on highways, and is

considering imposing efficiency standards for appliances and buildings~

These have been effective at beste Most people do

not wi comply with regulations; enforcement is costly, sporadic,

and inefficient~ This is not to say that costs is always inef-

fective: one s of the effect of charging a fee for telephone

direc calls ) found that local directory

calls after inst! the fee0 No reductions,

however, occurred in the distance directory-

assistance calls, which remained free of s* Thus, even in those

cases where there is effectiveness, there is not much g'eneraliza-

tion~ , we do not that conservation behavior mandated

in one situation will to other unregulated set-

makers that none of these has been com-

successful~ Failures elicit one of two basic

responses 0 First, ~8newn often consist of proposals to do

more of t he same ~ The seems to be: 1I~ If send!ng ou t one mil-

lion brochures didn't the conservation message across, then surely

out two million will @ U Or, §& If means have produced

some energy , then more will savings" U

The second s is to support from

conservation programs al Because of the lim! ted

success of the conservation methods that have been tried, there is a

that conservation in may be deemed unworkable & This

would lead to~policy based on the of new sup-

ply technologies III , nuclear power s, and other

supply source.s might be considered the feasible alternatives to

imported oil @ A more realistic s would be to seek ways of

improving existing conservation programs~ The same number of brochures

may be sent out each year, but market surveys could be conducted to

learn how to increase their effectiveness~ surveys could be

undertaken in order to different consumer tiona so that

information distribution could be tailored

While such marke are reasonable and should be

wherever possible, another involves the consideration of the

from an ent different s In effect, the

latter was where the social science group at Santa Cruz focused its

attention~

A SOCIAL SCIENCE ANALYSIS: AN ALTERNATIVE PERSPECTIVE

Social Diffusion and : Social scientists are aware of the

fact that of innovation occurs in a linear fashion0

Ra ther, social diffusion ts tha t of innova tion

occurs very at first and builds momentum over time0 Moreover~

research s that cal ,are not economic

and rational information Rather, are to

innovation because come into contact with others who have

1t~

Goldman, wrote the followingthis new convenience:

Its inventor, Sylan

s response to

cart~

of the

of theConsider the

UWomen customers would come in ~ ~ ~ but very ~ very few wouldtake one e Their comment was 'No, we ha.ve pushed enough babybuggies around# 0 ~ ~ and the men customers would say 'with mybig arms, I can carry my baskets 0 P strollaround with carts was the gimmick that did the trick0 @~

) record the

the 1930s to disseminate

At first, the

filled

tural

, Crandall and Reed (1

tried to di

, Nisbett,

case of the U0S~

information about

with tables, charts, and statistics* This information was a

dismal failure0 Then the set up a demonstration in

with fa.rmers on selected

farmers saw the size of their

the new

s worked

harvest~

which

farms 0 When the

The diffusion model is to consider for several rea.sons 0

First, it that we want to less effort on media

This

that

current

toand more on

will be discussed below0 In addition, the diffusion model

researchers may have been when

estimates of conservation levels~ Some survey data indicates that the

number of

True,

to reduce their use of energy falls below

have been made, but there does not seem to be

8. S li"near trend in a direction0 These have

caused many to conclude that conservation programs will not be suffi­

effective in the United States0

2 Goldman'sthe Smithsonian Collection, asHow Grevl~lU The Smithsonian,

of the now stored ints:

416

after a Ucritical mass u is

The

accep""'"

to accelerate

to social diffusioll

at first

Recall, however, that

tance occurs very

reached does the rate of

curve which best describes this process is a distribution, not

a linear onee A , initial of the diffusion process may take

of energy conserva~

...,."l$,.... ""'''''!1'''11 te the diffu-

therefore, it is

in behavior to manifest

in establi more

evaluations More

to lines of research from

abandoned before have had time

momentum 0 The

or

to social diffusion

of diffusion

new and little has been done to

to

several years before it

tion is

sian process 0

probably too

itself~

realistic timetables and

tantly, this

cut off

to behavior~

This is not to that the national conservation effort s

as as possible, however.. On the ) it would be

efficacious to make interventions which wi 1 facilitate the social

observed

effec­

of new

of

the exam-

(1980)~

the

t cart, the

conducted a small demons-

would be to

learn from and are influenced

Aronson and

of

In the case histories

and the use of the

on the

proceSS0 One way of

is evident0

of otherS0

tive model

tration

behavior in the Universi of California. ~ Santa Cruz .... s

athletic field house~ It is a fact that water and energy are saved if

take short ~ rather than :~ showe,rs When interviewed, the

of students indicated that know that

short showers saves e11ergy 0 When asked to describe the shower room j

all students indicated that were aware of a s on the

showers short and to turn off the water

~_.~_~~u~) of this nor­

to conserve

te of this, very few (6

took the recommended

them to

In

wall

while

of the behavi.or was not

sufficient to ensure proper actiou0

When the researchers made the very obtrusive, shower-

taking increased to 19 , but many verbal hostility in

response to the obtrusiveness of the Clearly, the success of this

tac tic was limi ted ~ Indeed; it may have done more harm than good by

creating a grqup who, as part of the backlash to the sign, might have

become extra-lengthy shower-takers~

During the third of the , researchers employed students

who would serve as models off the water and soap-

ing up whenever someone came in to use the This strategy had

the desired effect~ When a model was used) the number of

off the water to soap up climbed to 49 ; with two simul-

the proper behavior it rose to 67

How can we accelerate the social diffusion of energy conservation?

We should first locate the Hsocio-metric s in each communi A

socio-metric star is an individual who is well and who has a

wide range of contacts; this is the person whom others follow and emu-

late0 should be taken to ensure that these are involved in

consumer education such as the home t programs)

home insulation ) and demonstrations of the feasibili for con-

standard systems to 801a:r0 If need be, these

could be offered free or minimal-cost retrofits to ensure their partici-

Because of their tion in the will communi-

cate with a wide range of and their will be respected~

Time and e'vidence shows tha t are more influenced the

fellow-next-door than are brochures and data

summaries~

This is true even if the more vivid information is a

indi·""

s

and is

of :i.nfOl1n8''''''

most will be more the:ir

ca.r is a ulemonu than will a technical

that the same make and model of car gets excellent

sound~ When faced with such

that hi

For

make of car,

it has lesswith

thattion, most people will refuse to

for one that another

attractive statistical

and

sinfluenceprocesOther factors in human

evaluation of the '*facts H

5l 1979), do not to infor1llation in strict

accordance wi th its economic

low ities and ones

research has shown that most pay more attention to the

do the rule itself Another finding is thatto a rule than

are more affected a loss than a of the same tude>;, Thus~

it has been shown that the aluoun of when one wins $100

is not as as the amount of consternation red when one loses

00 Related to this is the fae that individuals tend to

be more to take a risk to avoid a loss than to increase their

fortune~ Furthermore~ choose diffel:~ent of reference in

evalua situations Different of reference can result in one

as a s~loss situation U(

risks) while another individual who is

a

more prone to

to the same set (

very hesitan,t to These factors are

of obvious of infol~ational

will succeed however, unless t

mosthe

is the :role of sel

also considers the forces of human motivation

element which needs to be

esteem~ are motivated a desire to maintain and increase their

self~esteem (Aronson~ Chase 51 Helmreich and Ruhnke~ 1975)

(from the of view of energy , many individuals have

to define their own worth in terms of their behavior as consu~

mel'S who have suffered economic in the pas may be

4 9

reluctant to adopt energy conserving behavior~ Such behavior implies to

them--or they fear implies to others--that they cannot afford to live

comfortably. This poses a threat to self-esteem which tends to result

in overconsumption~ Hence, energy consultants report that it is not

uncommon to hear members of middle-class minority groups ask, UWhy

should I turn down the thermostat at night? I can afford to pay for the

heat*u

It should be emphasized that we are not suggesting merely that some

people prefer comfort to savings. If that were the case, the prescrip­

tion for change would involve persuading those people that it is impor­

tant to give up some comfort in the national interest as well as in

their own financial self-interest& While that is not an easy task, it

is far les.s complex than the self-esteem issue; the latter is deeply

embedded in the psyche of the individual and is therefore relatively

unresponsive to either direct persuasion attempts or economic rational­

i

How can people be motivated to substitute, in place of consumerism,

an alternative means of self-esteem that is more conducive

to energy conservation? We can speculate on this empirical question ~

One be by an obesity model: if individuals can be con­

vinced that, in the case of energy consumption, consuming less is akin

to slim and trim is esteem ) rather than obese)

some progress be made~ A different method might involve encourag-

to teach their about the benefits of conservation 0

It is that this would residents with an opportunity to

maintain their self-esteem while foregoing the need to consume large

amounts of energy~

Commi tment One model of change in social sys-

tems derives from the psychology of commitment and self-perception0

s behavior) a tti tudes, and defini tion of themselves are influ­

enced their actions and the situations surrounding them~ Thus, to

the extent that people act in the absence of coercion) .public commi t

themselves to act in front of others, or invest time, money, or personal

in an activi , they come to see themselves as believers in

(see Aronson 1978;

of the iterature

:i.nteres

976,~ for

aandthat

Aronson, 1980; Wicklund and Brehm

in this area)@

This model that commitments can be ielted

from with smaller commi tments Such a process is

Freeman and Fraser

ane who would agree to

to 3~Drive

of

on their front lavffi

(1966) found that the

increased drama tical (from 17 to 55

had first been the to petition safe

'What does this have to do with energy conservation? Consider

very energy conscious~ but who agrees to

on her win--­

energy audi

Let us assume that as a resul of

to install weathers

~ about

home

the person who is not initial

have an energy audit on hi

this contact, Ms~ X is

dowsq If Ms~ X talks to her

visi t;s she will tell hirn about benef! ts of ~7eathers

If Ms~ X invests fme and money in weathers and finds herself

to about wJeathers she v.lill star to

think of herself as someone \~lho is concerned about residential heat

loss~ who are concerned about residential hea loss tend to be

interested in wall and insulation, storm windows~ sand

air leaks as well~ As a result Ms

close and open s at the

~lil1 be more inclined to

tlmes~ consider instal

had the energy audit

her windo~;ifs and talked to Mr Y ',11 th

that t s easier to filotivate to

insulation, and so on} than she v.las beforE:

done

this, i should be

engage in cOl1servation

new; energy efficient

that are one-time in nature--such as

an,d cars ~flhen old ones wear

out--than it is to them to engage in behaviors

cammi tment-=¥=-such as bottles and cans

We should that the not if e are

forced into the behaviors @ As Linder ~ " ........,ii'l.,§iW"_.s., and Jones (1 ) have

demonstrated, who induced to rID a.ctions without their

On the othe

volition or the appearance of choice do not

that action; thus) continued action is not

their attItudes th

hand, Linder, et al~, have also found people do change attitudes to

make them congruent with their behavior if they believe that the

behavior was chosen* People resent being told what to do;

it offends a person's sense of being a free and competent adult to be

prodded with either a carrot or a stick& The model of human behavior

presented here suggests that heavy-handed attempts to influence behavior

through prohibitions or large tangible incentives may be counterproduc­

tive (Dec!, 1975; Brehm, 1966)~ If people feel pressured, they may

react doing the opposite of what the incentive or regulations call

for, or at best, complying for only a short time~ For example, peo-

can probably be induced to comply with limits if we are wil-

to have a patrol car stationed every mile or so along the highway~

This is not consistent with our goal, which is to motivate

to internalize a whole new set of values so that will drive

more of whether anyone is watching0

This model s, therefore, that ations and incentives be

used and be constructed with an eye toward minimiz-

their coercive nature0 In most cases, these should be thought of as

minor interventions which may encourage interest rather than as major

solutions in their own At the Santa Cruz conference, it was

noted that appear to be more interested in solar energy than in

insulation--even solar installations are more expensive

and less practical--because solar is usexier n than insulation,~ One of

the suggested that this Uirrational U behavior could be

remedied wi tax credits for unless the home had

first been insulated and This approach has a certain

intuitive wisdom to it; it is akin to a child that he may not

have dessert unless he first eats his brussels sprouts~ But we believe

that such a reco'tnmendation may be naive from a social psychological

s cannot slate how people become interested in

energy conservation; nei ther can it dictate how they express their

interest~ Withd tax credits from who wish to put in solar

lJ8,ter heaters before install is likely to discourage

from at all ~ , providing people wi th

some for in whatever behavior

choose should the seeds for and continued commitment

in the futurel~ In short~ the sexier '~~desse:rt~'~ of sola!' energy ['118.y pro"=

vide the foot in the door for the less sexy insulation and weatherstr

need to exercise a serLse of control over thetr Iives ~ To

maximize and programs should allow to exercise

choice whenever This does not mean that makers need to

construct elaborate systems of critical choices for citizens to select

from~ On the to make small choices in s

matters can have very result For e and Rodin

(1 ) studied nur hOIfte,* SOIDe of the 'w(~rt;

make decisions about their routines 0

Patients decided how wanted the their rooms

where wanted to meet with sitors~ what kind of wanted

in their rooms, and when wanted to view the movie The con-

tent of these decisions may not have a dramatic effec on the of

ife in homes, but the process of them does The result

of this are clear: pa ients who over their lives

v,7henever became much more act and alert and in

sense of personal than a

group of in the same home

Work done social sts at the Center for and

Environmental Studies at Princeton Universi a e of

the of this to energy conservation (Becker~

man, and 197)~ The Princeton group considered #8 resis~

tance to ins autom2~tic thermostats

that the involved believed that lacked control over the tem-

Ol1.ce the p:rograrn The st ?

wj~th technical assist.ance) modified the thermostats so that resident

were able to override the system This made

the automatic thermostats much more attractive to the residents because

i allo\r>led them to ad the system the partictllar

needs These studies are because 8ucce in.cor~:"

mechanisms that encourage to become act involved

maintain a sense of control their

The more the of energy conservation involve

residents in conservation awareness programs that make them feel as if

they have control over and are for their energy usage, the

more successful the conservation efforts will bee Consistent with this,

enlisting community groups in local conservation or renewable energy

projects shows great promise (Stern and Kirkpatrick, 1977)0 If conser-

vation are adopted on a basis) or if a

community commits itself to a local energy production , it should

be possible to involve relatively numbers of non-

coercive means such as encouraging them to be to their

neighbors, to up their civil commitments, or to assume active con­

trol over their energy

resources and for mobilization of these

exist wi thin the VISTA and CETA programs, as

well as among the various level assistance programs

and among young ~ environmental These can be

trained and far more economical than the contractors and

utili who have been to most of the conser-

vation service programs now

a cadre of such would not only

deliver assistance more homeovmers and

tenants, but it would also a cohort of energy

of new and energy conser-

vation measures~ to Denman (1980)~ a recent Science

Foundation s concluded that small businesses were times

more cost~effective than businesses in new

Grass roots action and programs, therefore) deserve sup-

for many reasons~ involve a number of residents in all

of the process; engage individuals

in energy efficient behaviors; awareness;

for members; allow programs to be tailored

to the needs of the locale; and se the

return for each dollar invested

Demography and the American Dream: In another vein, social scien­

tists can also offer some valuable insights into rapidly changing demo­

graphic patterns~ There is a widespread belief that in order to achieve

energy conservation goals, it might be necessary to change radically or

destroy completely "The American Dream * 1lf The American Dream is thought

by many to consist of a four-bedroom, single-family house in the

suburbs 0 But recent demographic survey evidence indicates that although

this was the American Dream from the end of World War II through the

19508, the u~s. population is now shifting to small cities and towns of

under 50,0000 Many young couples and their families are leaving subur­

bia in search of affordable housing and communities that encourage

citizen participationo

The cohort of people currently joining the housing market consists

of those who were of college age during the social turmoil of the 1960s@

This generation highly values community awareness, collective action,

and interpersonal contact ~ The idea of a centrally located dwelling

that provides quick access to work) schools, stores, and recreational

facilities is considered by this group far more appealing than a spread

out housing tract requiring inhabitants to commute long distances~ In a

search for affordable housing, this group has come to welcome the

development of the condominium, the townhouse, and the planned commun-

Additionally, many older couples who provided the market

for the suburban dream houses are moving back into apartments and con­

dominiums in the cities0 The four-bedroom suburban house has become too

to operate, is inconveniently located, and is unnecessarily

for with grown childrene

The American Dream is changing rapidly, and this change is creating

a demand for a new and different kind of housing ~ Fortunately, it

appears that this new market is completely compatible with the type of

design our economy now requires~ There is evidence

that architects and planners are beginning to recognize and respond to

this shift (Miller, 1980)@ Consideration should be given to discovering

mechanisms for providing support and encouragement for these trends0

RESEARCH AND PROGRAM EVALUATION NEEDS

Up to this , we have drawn upon the store of knowledge that

social scientists have compiled regarding persuasion, attitude change,

demographic patterns, policy formation, and the like$ But social scien­

tists can contribute in another major area as welle Social scientists

possess an of methods and research skills that are

larly well suited to applied situations and which can provide answers to

the new questions generated involved effort

to increase energy efficiency@

If the nation is to achieve significant reductions in the amount of

energy resources consumed to our energy services, it is impera-

tive that we be able to di effective conservation programs from

ineffective ones~ To date, most for program evaluations

stress the collection of U data~ That is, evaluators focus on

technical measures such as the number of kilowatt hours used when

variables ~ ) this choice will infor-

mation that is necessary to the evaluation of conservation programs~ It

is not~ however, sufficient to answers to all of the basic and

relevant Social scientists have for the advan-

of e measures of variables in

studies ~ How will 'we determine a program failed if we depend on

one technical measure of success? Such a fails to

makers with information about the nature, , and numbers of

Nor can this new;; for the

future~ a person seeks an energy audit or refuses to have

one done may be even more than out how much energy the

audited households save

We need to answer other about the human aspects of conser-

vation We must learn how individual decisions of consumers about

energy use are (or are not) affected If we are to

maximize our efforts, we need to compare the reasons one gives

for insulation, another for a solar water heater, and

a third for no action at all. If conservation ices and new

energy sources are to have an ~ we must learn what makes some

innovations diffuse throughout the society while others fail to be

adopted@

In order to make useful contributions to evaluation of conservation

programs, social scientists need to be included in their planning

stages @ Analyses are flimsy at best when done in post-hoc fashion;

attitude change can only be studied in situations which have upreu meas­

ures~ People cannot be relied upon to provide accurate ions of

former opinionsG Similarly, behavioral indices cannot be generated by

speculation., Although people will not invariably lie about the informa-

tion in question, they sometimes will do so to present themselves in a

good light or in an effort to IUhelpu the researcher@ The same non-

economically-rational forces that work to distort judgments also influ-

ence people when they attempt to reconstruct the past or their

own behavior~ Consider the residents of Portland, Oregon, who partici-

pated in an experiment designed to decrease automobile use and

Bachman, 1980)~ Bus fares were drastically lowered for a period of

timee When questioned, citizens clearly believed and

they were driving less0 Indeed, bus rider records

maintained

their

claims: ridership was considerably higher~ Unfortunately, the residents

were wrong ~ The experimenter kept careful odometer records of cars

before and during the study~ It appears that people felt so virtuous

about the bus to work everyday that they felt of spe-

cial reward on weekends--namely, long, recreational car Reliance

on memory alone, or memory supported circumstantial evidence) would

have led to an conclusion~

, social scientists are needed to conduct longitudinal stu­

dies. Because both the diffusion of social innovation and the degree to

which an individual is committed to a cause changes and grows over time,

it is essential that research contact be maintained with over a

of years~ Research strategies in which a large number of

are interviewed only once will be far less useful than those in which

fewer people are interviewed more often$

CONCLUSION

In presenting the case at Santa Cruz for the importance of the

social science perspective in energy conservation research and program

evaluation, the social scientists also maintained that it is not

intended to usurp the economic-rational model~ Rather) it suggests fac­

tors that need to be considered in order to increase the effectiveness

of tradi tional The use of this can lead to the

development of programs that will be effective in a wide array

of situations~ Further, several social concepts--such as

the social diffusion of innova tion, the role of the self-esteem as a

motivational force, and the of rational fac-

tors in described 0 The of these con-

for energy conservation were discussed and a. recommendation

for the of based programs was made~ Additional

the nature of the American Dream and recent shifts in demo-

terns were outlined @ A case for the inclusion of social

scientists in all of conservation research and evaluation pro-

grams was made ~ Final , the need for tudinal studies·

mult measures of variables was noted@

REFERENCES

commitments for

on Social

Press, 1980~

l~ Aronson, E@ Persuasion~ self

small rewards 0 In L~ Fe

Oxford: Oxford Universi

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