Energy Psychology

A few months ago, I read Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein's book, Nudge, in which the authors proselytise a world in which governments and businesses encourage us (consumers) to behave in a way that is best for ourselves and for the world. The model they employ is called soft paternalism (or libertarian paternalism) and as the title of the book suggests, involves gently nudging people towards the right choices.

One of the areas the book covers is sustainability. They look at ways in which consumers can be encouraged to reduce their energy consumption (rather than being forced to do so by price increases, for example). One example they give is of a utility company that included on each household's electricity bill an indication as to whether their bill was higher or lower than their neighbours' bills.

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~tdillahu/index_files/Dillahunt08-Pervasive.pdf

http://earth2tech.com/2009/03/02/upcoming-honda-insight-turns-eco-friend...

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/118505549/abstract?CRETRY=1&S...

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327222.100-how-psychology-can-he...