More Use of External Factors to Influence Behavior

External and internal factors drive behaviours. Most of the conservation projects touched on the internal factors, which are factors pertaining to the individual. There should be more use of external factors. Some factors would be reinforcement contingencies, prompts, feedback and goals. Reinforcement contingencies should be use to influence behavior. There should be a mix of rewards and punishments. Rewards can come in the form of rewarding those who provide information on illegal logging activities and poachers to the authorities. As for punishments, strict punishments and heavy penalities should be imposed. One of the main reasons why people still trade endangered species is the fact that law enforcement concerning protected species is generally lacking in both effort and efficiency (Nijman, 2009).Though orang-utans are protected by national and international laws, the authorities rarely prosecute and penalties are mild. Thus, stringent laws should be implemented. There should also be prompts to remind people of a particular behavior. This can be collaborated with the use of reinforcement contingencies. These prompts can serve as a reminder to report any illegal logging and poaching activities to the authorities. Alternatively, there prompts can also be reminders of what people can do to save the orang-utans.

In the context of engagement of sustainable behaviors, feedback can also be used to evaluate if the behaviors’ of people are correct and successful. This can be used in conjunction with goals. In the case of the “conservation villages” initiated by the SOS, feedback should be given to the people letting them know if they are performing the sustainable behavior in the correct manner. Otherwise, their behavior should be rectified. A goal can also be included so that the community will know what they are working towards and be motivated to execute the desirable behavior. This was further supported by a study which states that working towards a common goal instills cooperation among people (Clay, 2001).

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Factors Influencing Behavior. Source: Conservation Psychology: Understanding and Promoting Human Care for Nature