Is social nudging too emotionally taxing? A field experiment of public utilities and electricity consumers in Denmark

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

Standard

Is social nudging too emotionally taxing? A field experiment of public utilities and electricity consumers in Denmark. / Jensen, Carsten Lynge; Andersen, Laura M.; Hansen, Lars Gårn; Henningsen, Geraldine.

In: Energy Research and Social Science, Vol. 67, 101515, 2020.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

Harvard

Jensen, CL, Andersen, LM, Hansen, LG & Henningsen, G 2020, 'Is social nudging too emotionally taxing? A field experiment of public utilities and electricity consumers in Denmark', Energy Research and Social Science, vol. 67, 101515. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2020.101515

APA

Jensen, C. L., Andersen, L. M., Hansen, L. G., & Henningsen, G. (2020). Is social nudging too emotionally taxing? A field experiment of public utilities and electricity consumers in Denmark. Energy Research and Social Science, 67, [101515]. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2020.101515

Vancouver

Jensen CL, Andersen LM, Hansen LG, Henningsen G. Is social nudging too emotionally taxing? A field experiment of public utilities and electricity consumers in Denmark. Energy Research and Social Science. 2020;67. 101515. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2020.101515

Author

Jensen, Carsten Lynge ; Andersen, Laura M. ; Hansen, Lars Gårn ; Henningsen, Geraldine. / Is social nudging too emotionally taxing? A field experiment of public utilities and electricity consumers in Denmark. In: Energy Research and Social Science. 2020 ; Vol. 67.

Bibtex

@article{ce9616bfdc4a4d36be1a2633fbda900f,

title = "Is social nudging too emotionally taxing? A field experiment of public utilities and electricity consumers in Denmark",

abstract = "Appeals to act pro-socially are becoming an increasingly popular way for utilities and authorities to encourage environmental-friendly behavior because of lower financial costs than if price incentives were used. However, recent research suggests that these measures might be emotionally taxing for utility consumers. In this article, we present the results from a randomized field experiment conducted on a sample of 1967 customers serviced by a Danish electricity company. Our results support the suggestion that socially motivated appeals are significantly more emotionally taxing than monetary incentives. We find that this difference disappears when the pro-social appeal is supplemented with a monetary incentive. Finally, we suggest a strategy for reducing emotional {\textquoteleft}costs{\textquoteright} of pro-social appeals without increasing financial costs or reducing the effectiveness of the appeal.",

keywords = "Door-in-the face, Electricity consumers, Emotional cost, Nudging, Pro-social behavior, Randomized field experiment",

author = "Jensen, {Carsten Lynge} and Andersen, {Laura M.} and Hansen, {Lars G{\aa}rn} and Geraldine Henningsen",

year = "2020",

doi = "10.1016/j.erss.2020.101515",

language = "English",

volume = "67",

journal = "Energy Research & Social Science",

issn = "2214-6296",

publisher = "Elsevier",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Is social nudging too emotionally taxing? A field experiment of public utilities and electricity consumers in Denmark

AU - Jensen, Carsten Lynge

AU - Andersen, Laura M.

AU - Hansen, Lars Gårn

AU - Henningsen, Geraldine

PY - 2020

Y1 - 2020

N2 - Appeals to act pro-socially are becoming an increasingly popular way for utilities and authorities to encourage environmental-friendly behavior because of lower financial costs than if price incentives were used. However, recent research suggests that these measures might be emotionally taxing for utility consumers. In this article, we present the results from a randomized field experiment conducted on a sample of 1967 customers serviced by a Danish electricity company. Our results support the suggestion that socially motivated appeals are significantly more emotionally taxing than monetary incentives. We find that this difference disappears when the pro-social appeal is supplemented with a monetary incentive. Finally, we suggest a strategy for reducing emotional ‘costs’ of pro-social appeals without increasing financial costs or reducing the effectiveness of the appeal.

AB - Appeals to act pro-socially are becoming an increasingly popular way for utilities and authorities to encourage environmental-friendly behavior because of lower financial costs than if price incentives were used. However, recent research suggests that these measures might be emotionally taxing for utility consumers. In this article, we present the results from a randomized field experiment conducted on a sample of 1967 customers serviced by a Danish electricity company. Our results support the suggestion that socially motivated appeals are significantly more emotionally taxing than monetary incentives. We find that this difference disappears when the pro-social appeal is supplemented with a monetary incentive. Finally, we suggest a strategy for reducing emotional ‘costs’ of pro-social appeals without increasing financial costs or reducing the effectiveness of the appeal.

KW - Door-in-the face

KW - Electricity consumers

KW - Emotional cost

KW - Nudging

KW - Pro-social behavior

KW - Randomized field experiment

U2 - 10.1016/j.erss.2020.101515

DO - 10.1016/j.erss.2020.101515

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:85082825518

VL - 67

JO - Energy Research & Social Science

JF - Energy Research & Social Science

SN - 2214-6296

M1 - 101515

ER -

ID: 241935313