Getting involved

Social norms and conventions are rules and standards that are shared by many people in a group and which guide or influence our behaviour without having to rely on laws.

Through our behaviour, we can establish new norms by practising them (and setting examples to others). Hence, by demonstratively turning off the light when everyone is leaving the meeting room or the office kitchenette, this may boost awareness and can result in others doing the same thing next time. Another way to boost social norms is by talking about them with others. The following short saying gets to the heart of it: “Do good and tell others.”

We often decide to do or not do something by carefully considering and comparing the costs and benefits of either choice. If I want to establish a new behaviour, the benefits (in terms of purpose or fun) should be as large as possible and the costs (in terms of effort) as little as possible.

For recurring activities, it can be beneficial to simply lower the “costs” by making this new behaviour as easy to do as possible. A good example is the following tip: Make it easy to reach the On/Off switch of a multiple-socket strip. Place the On/Off switch in such a way that it can be activated easily and comfortably (in easy reach of your foot or on the table).

Before we start on something, we need to make up our mind. The resulting inner weighing processes usually happen with or without conscious thought. Here social norms and conventions including the costs and benefits of behaviour etc. are considered and our intention is developed. We compiled some useful tips for you to help you turn an intention into behaviour:

Set clear (sub)goals

Rome was not built in one day.

Whenever we plan on doing something, it is best to formulate a specific goal and identify some subgoals, as necessary. For example: From now on, I will take the stairs when going to or leaving my office. For starters, my subgoal for the first week could be that I take the stairs when going down and use the lift/elevator only when going up.

2. Implementation intent

It makes perfect sense to think about the required implementation steps in addition to thinking about a specific goal. The more precisely I plan a specific behaviour, the more likely it will be that I actually implement and practice it. The following questions may be of help:

o When does the behaviour take place?

o Where does the behaviour take place?

o How do I get there

o Who (else) is involved?

o What happens when something unforeseen happens?

3. Prompts (notes)

To not lose sight of our goal, little notes can help us to remember the behaviour, we want to practice. A little note stuck to the door saying “lights and socket strip turned off?” reminds us of what we want to do whenever we leave a room.

Many things that we do, we have done for many years. These practices are well established. About 35 to 53 % of what we do are firmly established routines or habits. This is why it takes a bit of time and incentives to change them.

Rewarding yourself is one way of dealing with this: For instance, reward yourself with a piece of your favourite food group, like a slice of apple pie, after having successfully switched off the socket strip for an entire month. Or make your achievement visible. You will need two glasses. Put marbles or pebbles in one of the glasses. Every time you take the stairs instead of the lift/elevator, put one marble or pebble in the other glass. This can be as effective as it is simple.

Emotions can influence our actions and behaviour in a positive and in a negative way. We can benefit from negative emotions, such as fury or frustration regarding the current situation, by redirecting them into motivation. It is just as helpful to think about change when we are in a good mood. It makes us more open-minded and more creative. Appreciation and praise that we demonstrate or receive can be a way to get in a good mood or put others in it. Good food and humour are another option. Equipped with these new insights, we may be able to motivate colleagues or friends with a witty remark during a nice get-together to act in a sustainable way, too. It is much more fun like that and self-rewarding.