WILL SAVING ELECTRICITY HELP YOU SAVE WATER? A PRO-ENVIRONMENTAL SPILLOVER RESEARCH OF GOAL-SETTING INTERVENTION STUDY IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

Climate change is a growing problem and energy consumption behaviour has become a buzz topic of discussion today. There is a recognised need to study about spillover effects to know the net effect on the environment as a result of one’s behaviour. Several studies have documented about behavioural spillover. However, researchers have not treated psychological mechanisms of spillover effects in much detail. This intervention study sets out to examine (1) the effects of household electricity consumption on other pro-environmental behaviors (behavioral spillover), (2) if the goal-setting intervention helped in shaping the spillover effects, and (3) possible psychological mechanisms involved in such spillover as mediating or moderating factor. A sample of 112 households from four main regions in Singapore were either randomly allocated to a control group, or with one of two experimental conditions varied where they were tasked to set a goal for their electricity consumption. Weekly feedback of their weekly electricity usage was given according to the goals for the treatment groups. Participants responded to a baseline survey before the intervention and a post-treatment survey after six weeks of intervention, where weekly electricity, water and gas usage were recorded to study about their energy behaviours. SPSS software was used to test the collected data for their normality using visual and statistical method, followed by non-parametric test for correlation, multiple regression analysis and mediation analysis. Results showed that the intervention helped in electricity behavior which caused a reduction in electricity consumption, and it positively spilled over to other pro-environmental behaviors. However, no evidence was found for the hypothesized spillover mechanisms of pro-environmental identity, pro-environmental attitude and pro-environmental value as mediating factor but little evidence was found that pro-environmental value could be a potential moderating factor. Keywords: Goal-setting Intervention, Household Energy Consumption, Energy Consumption Behaviour, Pro-environmental Behaviour, Behavioural Spillover, Pro-environmental Identity, Pro-environmental Attitude, Pro-environmental Value