Self-affirmed for saving energy in the United States: Cognition, intention, and behavior

Abstract

Reducing household energy consumption is critical to mitigating the effects of climate change. However, changing behaviors around energy consumption is difficult. We introduce a psychological intervention called “self-affirmation” to investigate whether this unique approach can boost energy-saving behaviors, particularly for low-to-moderate-income individuals who stand to gain more financially from reducing energy consumption. Self-affirmation requires people to write down values that are important to them, thereby opening them up to information about which they may otherwise feel defensive. We conducted a survey experiment using a consumer panel in the United States (N = 854) with two follow-ups in 2021 to test the effectiveness of self-affirmation in boosting attitudinal factors toward saving energy and actual behavior change. Across all participants, self-affirmation significantly and positively affected attitudinal factors toward saving energy. Among those treated with the self-affirmation intervention, lower-income individuals demonstrated higher levels of positive cognitive outcomes, positive attitudes, and less message derogation toward saving energy than higher-income individuals. However, there is no evidence that self-affirmed participants practice the recommended behaviors at follow-ups more frequently than their non-self-affirmed counterparts. This study contributes to understanding the potential and challenges of changing energy-consumption behaviors among those who bear the heaviest energy burden in society.