With information, people can be aware of opportunities to carry out a pro-environmental action, as well as their success in doing so. In fact, studies have found that higher knowledge scores were linked to greater pro-environmental behavior.

Dimensions

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Information is not merely about the content, however; other dimensions have to be considered. Here’s how:

1. Framing.

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Convey the information in ways that are motivating and personally-relevant to people, and which attracts their attention. For instance, in prospect theory, people are more sensitive to losses than to gains of equal value; by getting across the message that a particular anti-environmental behavior results in current and ongoing losses, people will be more motivated to do something about it.

2. Prompts.

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Prompts help to call people’s attention to opportunities to carry out pro-environmental behaviors, located close in time and space, such as a label beside a light switch reminding people to switch the light off. Therefore, people can overcome internal barriers to environmental behavior, such as forgetfulness or laziness.

However, It is also imperative that the prompt is catered to the target audience and does not come across as demanding, rude, or a threat to people’s autonomy. Otherwise, people might ignore, mistrust, or even engage in anti-environmental behavior to display their independence.

3. Highlighting pro-environmental norms.

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There are two kinds of norms: descriptive and injunctive norms. Descriptive norms inform people of environmental behaviors others are engaging in, while injunctive norms inform people of behaviors that others approve or disapprove of. Highlighting these two norms can induce people to conform to norms due to three reasons: belief that what others are doing is correct and therefore the desire to be correct, desire to be socially accepted by others and not to be ostracized or rejected, and finally, to maintain a positive impression of oneself.

Highlighting pro-environmental norms can induce environmental behavior. For instance, results of an experimental block-recycling program in Denver, Colorado, revealed that when residents received flyers, prompts and a personal visit by block leaders to encourage recycling, recycling rates were substantial. This showed that apart from attaining knowledge, residents perceived a social norm of recycling which created pressure to recycle, therefore altering internal motives to perpetuate recycling behavior.

 

Benefits

Information is effective with simple, low-costs behaviors, such as switching off the lights when leaving the room.

Information can produce long-term enduring effects, such as changing norms as in the block-recycling example.

 

Cons

Information may be unlikely to work if attitude advocated is in conflict with people’s values or morality. Moreover, it is difficult to change people’s values or morality

Information can work only if the barriers to action are internal to individuals, such as lack of knowledge.