Some very exciting research in the field of social networks psychology, could revolutionize the way green ventures approach citizens. The latest study, by Dr. Nicholas Christakis of Harvard Medical School, and James Fowler of the University of California, San Diego, reports on the social factors in quitting smoking. It was published this morning in the New England Journal of Medicine, and is already creating ripples throughout the media, starting with the New York Times. From the study’s abstract:
The study examined the extent to which groups of widely connected people quit smoking together.
The results showed that:
- Whole groups of people were quitting in concert
- Smokers were also progressively found in the periphery of the social network
- Smoking cessation by a spouse decreased a person’s chances of smoking by 67% Smoking cessation by a sibling decreased the chances by 25%
- Smoking cessation by a friend decreased the chances by 36%
- Among persons working in small firms, smoking cessation by a coworker decreased the chances by 34%
- Friends with more education influenced one another more than those with less education.
- These effects were not seen among neighbors in the immediate geographic area.
Conclusions are :
- Network phenomena appear to be relevant to smoking cessation.
- Groups of interconnected people stop smoking in concert, and smokers are increasingly marginalized socially.
These results are similar to results of a prior study from same authors on obesity. The network effect is at work not just in the halting of negative behaviors, such as smoking or unhealthy weight gain, but also in the spreading of positive life changes such as happiness. The latter will be documented in a forthcoming study by the authors on,’The Dynamic Spread of Happiness in a Large Social Network’.
The implications for climate strategies are obvious. Behavioral change conservation efforts, will work best if focused on groups, not just individuals. This is a confirmation of the research done by the ‘Nudge‘ team at University of Chicago. The smoking study also shows which clusters to focus on. Friends, as in Facebook or Twitter, coworkers as in Carbon Rally, spouses as in family systems.
Thanks, Meryn, for all the links.
La Marguerite 
[…] 23, 2008 by lamarguerite There is no disputing the importance of the social factor, in moving citizens along the greener path. One additional element to take into account, is the […]
So this is why I keep wishing for greenish friends… most of mine are clueless and indifferent about it.
This is where the issue of personal relevance comes in – see my next post –
I wonder why religious-based communities tend to succeed and similar secular communities tend to fail? Perhaps there needs to be a unifying point bigger than yourself.
I hope the Evangelical community gets fully on board with the green movement- there’d be no stopping it.
Yes, this is why I got so excited when I heard about various religious faiths jumping in the green bandwagon, earlier this year. I wrote a post about it. It has not seeped through the secular world, however. These things take time. There is also the problem of the well intended climate denying mind. This is all a matter of time, a race against time. Hopefully, we will not lose in the end.
I’d like to try out Carbonrally, but it seems to be US only. That’s a shame.
Personally, I believe there’s some kind of (non-specifiable) ideal mindset which – with the absence of mass media and advertising – slowly wins over other, less desirable ones. One of the most important parts of this mindset I think is a certain amount of self-control. I think the rise of obesity can be explained through the pre-existing lack of self-control, which only now has a chance to show itself because of the abundance of food, and high-calorie foods in particular. I think a local decline of obesity (e.g. in a certain cluster) can be explained as people teaching each other some self-control.
I think mass media can distort the normal evolution in this mindset in both good and bad ways. I think that net effect of the media is currently negative. In spite of whatever people’s friends might (implicitly) tell them, it pulls them towards overconsumption and a search for instant gratification. I explain a big part of my change in thinking by the fact that I’ve stopped watching television. It has cleansed my mind.
I think that the speed of change in a good direction can be increased by empowering and encouraging people to share their way of living with their friends, as well as reinforcing, and at least not detracting this effort with mass media. I don’t expect the mass media offerings – as well as the advertising – to change very soon, so making people more resilient to these messages could be a big part of the solution.
One reason why I’m so optimistic about change in thinking is this social factor, combined with the fact that people who deeply care about their lifestyle will want to flaunt it and be most vocal about it. Consumerist behavior simply does not go as deep as a green conviction. One impediment is that it’s inherently hard to flaunt conscious non-consumption. I think our best chance is being vocal about it.
Thanks Meryn. It may be hard to flaunt non-consumption, but I am not sure that is what we want to highlight anyway. Instead I would showcase all the wonderful benefits and alternative activities that take place in the absence of unbridled consumption. Things such as more money in our pocket books, the need to work less, more time for enjoyable experiences, greater personal health, the rediscovery of forgotten joys as in nature, biking, social exchanges with friends and neighbors, etc . . .
Regarding your point about the media, there are ways to go around them. First is demonstrated here in this blog. The more people blog and get their voices heard, the smaller the share of voice for traditional media. There is also the possibility to use well thought out advertising campaigns to get some messages out. I had high hopes for Al Gore’s “we” campaign, that did not materialize. This does not mean, somebody else cannot do it.
“I would showcase all the wonderful benefits and alternative activities that take place in the absence of unbridled consumption.”
I totally agree. I guess this has always been implicit in our discussion. It may be something we should pay far more attention to: Telling people how happy you are with your life, how living green makes you happier, both direct and indirect.
Makes me think back of my idea for a “Happy Without” campaign…
[…] to help address some of the psychological barriers facing our leaders? This one very powerful cluster needs to get moving fast in the right direction. Possibly related posts: (automatically […]
Agree with your group theory for sure. I have found more success presenting green strategies to corporate groups as the sceptics in the room dont like to speak out against the popular consent to take action and save our planet! Good post – thanks.