Environmental Cues and Social Norms to Support Sustainability

Behaviorism: Human Behavior Negatively and Positively Affects the Environment

Environmental cues, sustainability and social norms are all highly influential aspects of human life in society. While environmental cues and social norms can work against sustainability, they can also support sustainability and the quality of human life for this generation and for future generations. There are abundant examples of the use of environmental cues and social norms to support sustainability by creating and strengthening pro-environmental beliefs and behaviors. These uses do not at least initially need to be on a grand scale; rather individuals can do their parts to support sustainability and lessen negative impacts on the environment.

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How environmental cues shape behavior and provide at least one example.

Environmental cues are formally defined as "elements in the environment that convey important information or trigger an affective reaction" (Steg, van den Berg, & de Groot, 2012, p. 127). They are components of an individual's and group's surroundings that transmit influential clues or cause emotional responses or both. These cues often bypass thought processes (Steg, van den Berg, & de Groot, 2012, p. 200) but can be so strong that they inform people of what is happening in their environment, give clues to them on how to act in that environment and can even be deliberately used to solve behavioral problems (Steg, van den Berg, & de Groot, 2012, p. 324). One classic example of an environmental cue is the phenomenon of litter: if an individual sees quite a bit of litter in his/her environment, he/she is likelier to litter; if he/she sees no litter in the environment, he/she is less likely to litter; if he/she is used to seeing no litter and sees a piece of litter in the environment, he/she is more likely to stop, pick it up and dispose of it. In these ways, environmental cues are telling the person what's going on in the environment (littered, not littered or a little littered) and how he/she should behave (litter, do not litter, pick up that bit of litter) (Steg, van den Berg, & de Groot, 2012, p. 159). A classic example of solving a behavioral problem through an environmental cue is the noisy class that the teacher advises to be quiet through switching the classroom lights off and on. Here, the class learns that the rapid on/off of the classroom lights is a sign to quiet down (Steg, van den Berg, & de Groot, 2012, p. 229). These are well-known examples of the numerous environmental cues that tell people what is happening, how to behave and how to change their problematic behavior.

b. How behavior can be modified to support sustainability and how this can limit a negative impact on the environment.

"Sustainability" is "a well-balanced relationship between humans and the environments they inhabit; this involves finding an ideal balance between economic, social, and environmental qualities" (Steg, van den Berg, & de Groot, 2012, p. 108). In other words, humans behave economically, socially and environmentally so that all those interests are fairly served. As humans use, develop and protect our resources with processes and timetables that both serve current needs and protect future generations' ability to serve their needs (Steg, van den Berg, & de Groot, 2012, p. 262). As those interests become more balanced, negative impacts on the environment are decreased and the quality of human life improves. When the relationships between humans and their environments are imbalanced, the environment is negatively impacted and the quality of human life declines. These concerns are about more than a person's local environment; the concern has taken on global importance (Carr, 2012, p. 2).