Funded Project Final Survey Report
Principal Investigator: Professor Thomas Robinson
Project Title: Increasing Energy Efficiency Behaviors Among Adolescents
1. Brief Project Description:
We implemented a randomized controlled trial to test the efficacy of a theory-driven, school-based intervention to increase energy efficiency behaviors among high school students. Students in a local public high school were randomized to receive a five-week classroom-based behavioral intervention or to serve as an untreated control group. The intervention was developed over more than a year through formative research, including piloting with representative youth. Week 1 centered on increasing
motivation for behavior change, Weeks 2-4 applied behavioral methods to promote change on the selected target behaviors, and Week 5 reinforced the previous weeks with an advocacy activity. Energy efficiency behaviors were assessed in both groups by self-report at baseline and after the completion of the intervention. We hypothesized that students in the intervention classrooms would significantly improve their total energy efficiency behaviors compared to controls. We also evaluated potential demographic, socio-cultural and psychological moderators and mediators of intervention effects on energy efficiency behaviors to examine potential mechanisms of change, evaluate intervention delivery variables and their relationships to outcomes, evaluate correlates and risk factors, and identify the most appropriate target audiences for dissemination and future studies.
Research Activities:
- Design of high school curriculum using behavioral science theories and design methods.
- Piloting and revision of curriculum before final implementation as a randomized controlled trial. - Implementation included a pre survey the week before, the curriculum (5 hours over 5 weeks) and the
post survey a week later, during spring 2009.
- Data analysis began in summer 2009 and is being completed in spring 2010.
- The paper has been written and should be submitted to a journal by summer 2010 if not sooner.
Major Findings:
Intervention and Process Outcomes (outcomes during the implementation)
- Self-report data show substantial increases in savings of carbon dioxide – approximately 5 tons, or 1000 pounds, or 10 pounds per person.
- Students rated several curriculum activities as moderately motivating, fun, and likable.
Primary Outcomes
- The primary hypothesis – that the intervention group would change its overall energy efficiency behaviors statistically significantly more, from pretest to posttest, compared to controls – was confirmed. The curriculum as a whole resulted in students in the treatment condition changing more of the targeted behaviors compared to controls.
- Jim’s quantification – pending analysis
- Of the targeted behaviors, hang drying clothes and turning off appliances and other energy devices increased significantly. Results from transportation and food behaviors were in the expected direction but not significant.
Secondary Outcomes
- Knowledge about behaviors that contribute to climate change increased significantly.
- Perceived self-efficacy and the importance of environmental sustainability trended in expected directions but the changes were non-significant between groups.
- Exploratory moderator analyses revealed that importance of environmental sustainability was important for turning off appliances and reducing car trips. Knowledge was a moderator for turning off appliances, and perceived self-efficacy was a moderator for reducing meat intake.
2. How have the results from this project contributed to the solution of energy efficiency challenges? How is it likely to contribute to solutions in the future?
- Our results show that a school-based curriculum informed by theory can increase energy efficiency behaviors to lower greenhouse gas emissions from the residential sector.
- Our work can eventually be disseminated across high schools in California, the United States, and internationally. Pieces of our work are likely to be integrated into other interventions, like the ARPA-E projects.
- Our model can be adapted for different populations (adults, elderly, etc.).
3. What undergraduate or graduate students, as well as Post-Doctoral fellows, were involved this project. How were they involved? Please list their name, classification and a short description of their
involvement.
- Lindsey Allen, undergraduate. Lindsey conducted extensive formative research including design and piloting of various components of the curriculum.
- Marilyn Cornelius, PhD Candidate, E-IPER. Marilyn worked on the design and piloting of the curriculum, and oversaw implementation and other day-to-day research activities as Project Coordinator. She
conducted the statistical analyses and wrote the paper under the guidance of Tom Robinson and Carrie Armel. She also supervised a research assistant.
- Kat Hoffman, MSc Graduate, Earth Systems Program. Kat worked on the design and piloting of the curriculum, and taught the lessons.
4. Will you be continuing work on this project? How and with whom? Please include any comments.
- We are advising June Flora and students at Menlo-Atherton High School on their implementation of a version of our curriculum adapted for a different sample of high school students.
- We are advising the Sierra Club on their adaptation of the curriculum into a workshop for adults. - We are planning to incorporate components of this intervention as part of the interventions being
developed through the ARPA-E grant.
5. Are you seeking or have you received additional funding as a result of this project, or for continued work on this project? Please list the amount you are seeking/have received, source of the additional funding and a short description.
- ARPA-E funding includes resources for one community-based intervention that is being developed by Tom Robinson, Nicole Ardoin, Carrie Armel, and Hilary Schaffer Boudet. ($356K over 2 yrs, with a likely additional $120K over that same period)
6. Has this project generated any other projects? Please describe.
- June Flora and students at Menlo-Atherton High School have adapted our curriculum for a different sample of high school students. These students are at a lower academic achievement level and are
ethnically more diverse, and have shorter classes, so the curriculum has been changed significantly to suit this sample.
- The Sierra Club adapted our curriculum into a workshop for adults. Adults who are already motivated self-select into these workshops. The targeted behaviors have been changed to suit adults, and the theoretical basis of the curriculum has been modified (e.g. behaviors extend beyond those with a GHG footprint).
- None
8. Please list all academic and non-academic (Op-Eds, news magazines, etc) publications and conference presentations as well as articles in progress that came about as a result of this project. May we post
these on the PEEC website? If so, please list the URL or provide a pdf version.
Presentations:
Cornelius, M. (June 4, 2009). Increasing Energy Efficiency Behaviors in Adolescents. Environmental Norms and Institutions One-Day Workshop, Stanford, CA.
Cornelius, M., Armel, C., Robinson, T., and K. Hoffman. (November 18, 2009) Increasing Energy Efficiency Behaviors in Adolescents. Behavior, Energy and Climate Change Conference, Washington, DC.
o PowerPoint:
Editorial:
Harrington, C. and Fear, L. (November, 2009) Conversation with Marilyn Cornelius. Bay Area Green.
Article:
Cornelius, M., Armel, C., Hoffman, K., Allen, L., and T. Robinson. (2010) “Increasing Energy Efficiency in Adolescents” in preparation.
9. Provide a URL address for any websites that provide more information for interested parties on your research project, including photos and videos. We will add this information to your project summary on the PEEC website.
10. Have you developed any specific products, (such as databases, physical collections, educational aids, software, etc), as a result of this project? If so, please list along with a short description.
- We are in the process of finalizing the lesson plans for teachers and power points, i.e. the course materials.
11. Were any undergraduate or graduate courses generated as a result of this project? If so, please list the course title and a short description.
- The curriculum did not generate any courses, but was inspired by a course taught by Tom Robinson and Carrie Armel called “Promoting Behavior Change.” This course covered theory relevant to developing community-based interventions, and required that students develop their own interventions.
12. Have you provided any information regarding your research to any public or private institutions (e.g., legislative briefing, government panel, congressional testimony, corporate presentation) or any public or private institution asked you for information regarding your research? If so, please list the
organization, date and a short description.
- Dr. Armel has interacted with numerous public and private organizations and has briefly described the curriculum numerous times.
13. Have you partnered or worked with businesses, governmental agencies, NGOs, or other public or private organizations in connection with your project? If so, what role have they played? Please list the institutional name, type of institution and a short description of the partnership.
- We assisted the Sierra Club with their adaptation of our curriculum into a workshop for adults.
14. What public education activities have you undertaken in conjunction with this project?
- We are in talks with Jim Callahan at ClimateEducation.Org to adapt some of our activities for hands-on demonstrations around the country, and eventually we hope to place our curriculum materials on their portal website.