12/12/22, 8:56 PM Environmentally friendly behavior is easy — tourists just need a ‘nudge’ - Science & research news | Frontiers

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Posted on February 9, 2021 by Frontiers Science Communications in Sustainability, Top News // 0 Comments Popular po
Simple cues stimulate environmentally conscious behavior: Frontiers in Communication Se
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Simple cues reduce cognitive strain and provide a nudge — helping tourists to demonstrate environmentally conscious behavior, such as
refusing a plastic bag
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By Tayyibah Aziz, science writer ran

A new study has demonstrated that providing a simple ‘nudge’ — or cue — is an effective way to influence the decision making process of tourists and
encourage them to act in more environmentally friendly ways. The results offer many practical insights on how a simple, low cost intervention, such as Fro
placing a sign in a store, has huge potential on reducing the local impacts of businesses and tourist operators by making pro-environmental choices vo
easy.

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Gili Trawangan, Indonesia, from the air. Credit: Katherine Nelson and coauthors

A new study in Frontiers in Communication has demonstrated the powerful impact that subtle messaging and cues, or ‘nudges’, can provide on
encouraging people to show socially desirable behaviors. Travelers who were observed on the Indonesian island of Gili Trawangan, a popular
tourist destination, were more likely to demonstrate environmentally conscious actions, such as refusing a plastic bag or avoiding contact with a
coral reef, when they were ‘nudged’ towards the desirable action with either a written or face to face interaction. The researchers found that any
intervention, whether framed positively or negatively, was enough to lead people to make environmentally conscious decisions, compared to
being given no behavioral cues or messaging. The study provides many practical takeaways that can be easily implemented by tourist operators
or businesses, at a low cost, to increase environmental stewardship and promote positive behaviors in their customers.

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12/12/22, 8:56 PM Environmentally friendly behavior is easy — tourists just need a ‘nudge’ - Science & research news | Frontiers

► Read original article

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► Download original article (pdf)

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Although many of us feel a responsibility to demonstrate environmentally-conscious behaviors and possess the knowledge we need to take @F
these actions, we are often burdened by numerous obstacles, a phenomenon the researchers describe as the ‘knowledge-action gap’. Dr
New eviden
Katherine Nelson, who led the study in partnership with the Gili Eco Trust, explains:
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placenta and
“The gap between knowledge and action exists because it is much easier to think a certain way than it is to actually consistently behave in that fetuses but
manner – but providing a subtle cue can help us relieve some of the cognitive burden on our brains when we are in a complex environment.” them to foo

To try and close this gap, the researchers set up scenarios for tourists in two real life situations — when being offered a plastic bag at a Read the ful
convenience store, and when given a briefing before a snorkeling trip. The researchers observed the differences in people’s behavior based on @FrontAller
whether a person was confronted with a written or face to face interaction of either a positive message highlighting good outcomes, or a on our news
negative message focusing on the bad outcomes of a specific action.

The study showed that the presence of a ‘nudge’ or cue towards certain behaviors was enough to encourage people to behave in more
environmentally conscious ways, whether that was refusing a plastic bag whilst at the convenience store or ensuring they maintained a safe
distance from turtles when on a snorkeling trip — whether this message was framed positively or negatively did not matter.

“Our study highlights that an intervention can lead people to making better decisions by just drawing their attention to an issue – by providing a
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small cue, we can reduce the obstacles that get in the way and make environmental behaviors easy.”
Artificial intellig
The results offer important insights on the effectiveness of simple messaging as a practical way to nudge people towards environmentally Climate Action
conscious behaviors. The tourist sector in particular has huge potential to utilize these types of approaches and make pro-environmental
Earth science
behaviors a simple choice to reduce local impacts.
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Gili Trawangan’s rubbish dump. Credit: Katherine Nelson and coauthors
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12/12/22, 8:56 PM Environmentally friendly behavior is easy — tourists just need a ‘nudge’ - Science & research news | Frontiers

Coauthor Mirja K. Bauer on Gili Trawangan. Credit: Katherine Nelson and coauthors

Original article: Informational nudges to encourage pro-environmental behavior: examining differences in message framing and
human interaction

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