ABSTRACT
Social norms are a powerful and effective way of influencing sustainable behaviours, but there are some pitfalls to avoid. Social norms are a fantastic method of amplifying the influence of existing good behaviours, but they can't bring about these good behaviours on their own. There are different reasons that people adopt social norms, and encouraging people to adopt a sustainable behaviour simply to 'conform', to avoid a feeling of guilt, or for fear of not 'fitting in', can lead to problems. Academic research on social norms is now being put into practice by the energy company Opower, who have achieved small but consistent savings on average energy use with their United States customers. As Robert Cialdini and his colleagues at Arizona State University have demonstrated repeatedly, the problem with appeals based on social norms is that they often contain a hidden message.
