Environmental Ethics and Behavioural Change by Benjamin Franks & Stuart Hanscomb & Sean F. Johnston

Author:Benjamin Franks & Stuart Hanscomb & Sean F. Johnston
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Published: 2017-11-27T05:00:00+00:00

p.142

The evidence suggests that this approach is only usually successful under two conditions. The first is if a person already has an intention to change the habit in question (Bamberg 2006; Thompson et al. 2011). Under such circumstances interventions (such as a well-served and clearly timetabled bus route for a new housing estate) can be the final catalyst. The second is where the habit is weak (e.g., something that was contextually created and rarely a matter for reflective thought). Weak habits can be seen as those that co-opt a far smaller degree of a person’s sense of identity or basic needs, and where their automaticity is more prone to being disrupted by contextual changes that can be externally manipulated. Strong habits, on the other hand, are things we must have a strong desire to change if change is going to happen. However, to return to where we began, since this strong desire by itself is often not enough to change the habit, the value of contextual approaches is that they provide external support for an otherwise weakened will (Wood et al. 2005).

Practice theory is the sociological approach to changing habits that has gained the most attention in recent years, and in particular the ideas of Elizabeth Shove and her colleagues (2010, 2012). In an expansion of MacIntyre’s notion of practices (as discussed in Chapter 2), a practice in this context refers to most or all human activities, from feeding babies and washing clothes to attending festivals and parliamentary debates.

Shove understands everyday behaviours in terms of ‘three elements’: materials, procedures, and meanings. ‘Materials’ refers to physical objects, ranging from gadgets to roads and buildings. ‘Procedures’ includes competences (skills), but also to ‘soft infrastructure’ such as legislative frameworks and timetables. ‘Meanings’ refers to the connotations that various activities carry with them. So, the habit (or ‘routine’ as it is known in practice theory) of commuter cycling will be influenced by materials such as the design of bikes and the environments in which they are ridden (most obviously the presence or otherwise of cycle paths); by procedures like the ability to ride a bike safely and carry out maintenance and repairs; and meanings such as the odd, obsessive, cliquey or geeky connotations cycling can have in some cultures.

Practice theorists tend to be frank about the difficulty of attempting to influence particular practices, but they can inform us that in order for this to happen, these three features must be taken into consideration. To use one of Darnton et al.’s examples (op cit., 53–5), if the practice of line drying (as opposed to tumble drying) of clothes is to increase, a wide set of changes is needed. There is a competences aspect to it (constructing a washing line, knowing when to put out washing and when to bring it in, maybe even the acquisition and use of pegs), and a scheduling aspect (the time it takes in comparison to tumble drying). Having the right materials (e.g., design of yard or garden) can be a

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