What are Information about social and environmental consequences?
This technique provides information about how a person’s behavior affects other people, communities, or the environment, extending consequences beyond personal health.
How it works
Some people are more motivated by effects on others than on themselves. Information about social consequences (your smoking harms your children) or environmental consequences (your energy use contributes to climate change) activates prosocial motivation. The technique is especially effective for people with strong other-oriented values.
Applied example
An energy conservation campaign showing homeowners ‘Your household contributes 4 tons of CO2 annually’ motivates conservation among environmentally conscious individuals more than ‘You could save $200 per year,’ because it activates prosocial values.
Why it matters
Social and environmental consequence information activates prosocial and moral motivations that self-interested appeals miss, broadening the motivational base for behavior change.
