Climate-relevant behavioural spillover and the potential contribution of social practice theory

Nash, Nicholas ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4421-6041, Whitmarsh, Lorraine ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9054-1040, Capstick, Stuart ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1934-4503, Hargreaves, Tom, Poortinga, Wouter ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6926-8545, Thomas, Gregory, Sautkina, Elena and Xenias, Dimitrios ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2973-9664 2017. Climate-relevant behavioural spillover and the potential contribution of social practice theory. WIREs Climate Change 8 (6) , e481. 10.1002/wcc.481

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Abstract

Urgent and radical transition to lower-carbon forms of society is imperative to limit current and future climate change impacts. Behavioural spillover theory offers a way to catalyse broad lifestyle change from one behaviour to another in ways that generate greater impacts than piecemeal interventions. Despite growing policy and research attention, the evidence for behavioural spillover and the processes driving the phenomenon are unclear. The literature is split between studies that provide evidence for positive spillover effects (where an intervention targeting an environmentally-conscious behaviour leads to an increase in another functionally related behaviour) and negative spillover effects (where an intervention targeting an environmentally-conscious behaviour leads to a decrease in another functionally-related behaviour). In summarising findings, particular attention is given to the implications for climate-relevant behaviours. While few examples of climate-relevant behavioural spillover exist, studies do report positive and negative spillovers to other actions, as well as spillovers from behaviour to support for climate change policy. There is also some evidence that easier behaviours can lead to more committed actions. The potential contribution of social practice theory to understanding spillover is discussed, identifying three novel pathways to behavioural spillover: via carriers of practices, materiality, and through relationships between practices within wider systems of practice. In considering future research directions, the relatively neglected role of social norms is discussed as a means to generate the momentum required for substantial lifestyle change, and as a way of circumventing obstructive and intransigent climate change beliefs.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Architecture Psychology
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Publisher:	Wiley
ISSN:	1757-7780
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	19 June 2017
Date of Acceptance:	26 May 2017
Last Modified:	12 Nov 2024 01:45
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/101538

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