Exploring catalyst behaviours

Client:
Defra
Start date:
November 2008
Due for completion:
November 2009

This research explores the idea that certain pro-environmental behaviours may have a knock-on effect and cause wider behaviour change.

Brook Lyndhurst’s ‘Exploring catalyst behaviours’ project, commissioned as part of Defra’s ongoing programme of research into pro-environmental behaviours, explores the idea that certain pro-environmental behaviours may have a knock-on effect and cause wider behaviour change. For example, is it possible that participation in a pro-environmental behaviour such as recycling or energy saving could spur individuals on to be more environmentally friendly in their purchasing or personal transport decisions? If so, how does this knock-on effect occur?

Objectives

The project, was structured around the following research questions:

Is there plausible evidence that catalyst based behaviour change occurs?
How does the process or mechanism work (including psychological and sociological factors)?
Do catalyst effects occur generally, or do they occur only for specific behaviours or sets of behaviours; specific groups of people; under specific conditions?
If the process occurs, how can it be stimulated?

Method

This study was devised around three phases:

Phase 1: Evidence review

Interviews with 20 'behaviour change' practitioners
Calls for information from online networks of behavior change practitioners
Desk based literature review, covering literature from the fields of psychology, sociology, marketing, health, economics and behaviour change in two stages: a scoping exercise and initial review; and a full systematic review.
 

Phase 2: Primary research

Pilot, exploratory exercise of qualitative fieldwork with a street sample of 18 participants using a multiple sorting procedure requiring participants to sort a set of elements into different categories. The overarching aim of the pilot exercise was to explore the relationships and links between different pro-environmental behaviours.
Cluster analysis of Defra’s Pro-environmental attitudes and behaviours survey. The aim of this exercise was to investigate the co-occurrence of pro-environmental behaviours across a larger, representative sample of the British public.
 

Phase 3: Analysis and reporting

Expert workshop
Brainstorming, analysis and writing

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