This post will briefly indicate the main points made in the paper "The effect of tailored information, goal setting and tailored feedback on household energy use, energy-related behaviors, and behavioral antecedents" by Abrahamse et al.
The study examines the effects of the combination of three interventions. The three intervention types used in the study are information, goal setting and feedback. The households are provided information about energy-related problems and individualised energy conservation tips. In terms of goal setting, the experimental groups are asked to save 5% both as an individual and as a group. As for feedback, the experimental groups received feedback about energy savings. The hypotheses being tested in the study are as follows.
The households exposed to the combination of interventions
H1A - would save more direct (gas, electricity and fuel) and indirect energy (i.e. disposal of goods),
H1B - would adopt more energy-saving behaviours,
H1C - would acquire higher level of knowledge than the control group who had not received any information and feedback. Further, the households who received group goal and group feedback are expected to
H2A - save more direct and inderect energy,
H2B - adopt more energy-related behaviours than the households who only received personal goal and feedback.
The paper proposed the results that the households exposed to the interventions saved significantly more direct energy than the control group. As for indirect energy, the difference is not significant. However, the experimental groups reduced their indirect energy use whilst the control group increased indirect energy use. Further, the experimental groups showed that they obtained more knowledge and formed more energy-saving behaviours than the control group. Moreover, the group goal and group feedback do not have an additional positive effect according to the study.
