“In addition, we should be sure to raise the profile of the majority that does act pro-environmentally, because that spurs others to follow suit … Our survey of nearly 2,500 Californians showed that those who thought their neighbors were conserving were more likely to conserve themselves. But, at the same time, almost all of the survey respondents underestimated the conservation efforts of their neighbors … Even though our prior survey indicated that residents felt that they would be least influenced by information regarding their neighbors’ energy usage, this was the only type of information that led to significantly decreased energy consumption, almost 2 kWh/day.”
Extracts from speech entitled: “The Contribution of the Social Sciences to the Energy Challenge” , by Robert Cialdini — read the full text here.