The key to leverage diffusion of responsibility is to make others feel personally responsible for helping to solve problems they may not consider their own. It is crucial to realise what is considered important to an individual may not be important to others. Thus, one way is to make the present situation seems personal.

While the extinction of banded leaf monkeys may not have a direct impact on individuals, individuals can feel personally responsible by acquiring knowledge on how destruction of forest can affect their lives. They can be educated on how they will lose the benefits that the natural environment provides. The key to wildlife conservation is to empower individuals to protect the environment not just for banded leaf monkeys, but also for the sake of themselves.

Overt Commitment

Overt commitment has proved to be effective in ensuring participation of conservation programs. For instance, having people’s names appear on a published list or getting people to sign pledges to participate in the primates conservation programs have proved to yield more persistent behaviour in protection of the environment and endangered species.

It is assumed that commitment affects behaviour change via reduction of cognitive dissonance. Tension arise when individuals’ beliefs or attitudes do not align with one’s behaviour (i.e. I promise to do this, but I am not acting accordingly). Thus, getting people to commit to a behaviour will allow them to take a defensive posture; feel that they are environmentally responsible to behave in ways that will justify their actions to commit.