Introduction
It seems that there is still not enough being done individually or even Governmentally to slow down the irreversible damage being done to the planet by humans. The masses are often presented with statistics and data to exhibit that energy consumption is continuously rising, the meat and animal byproduct industry transpire at least half of all greenhouse gas emissions, earth’s glaciers are melting, the ozone is thinning; the list goes on and on. The numbers presented are both alarming and distressing. However it can be concluded that despite the knowledge at hand, there is still not being enough done; superpowers such as the United States are stepping backwards by dismantling The Clean Power Plan and pulling out of the Paris Trade Deal. What might be the most striking is that in the United Kingdom and globally, many are still not motivated enough to rally for change, as they expect decision makers and lawmakers to take action instead of burdening themselves to change. It can be inferred that everyone is aware of the problem at hand, but most individuals are not making changes to save the planet.
This report tackles the challenges of negative human behavior towards environmentally friendly habits by conducting a qualitative study to suggest design guidelines for persuading human behavior through technology. This project looks at the daily behaviors of individuals to understand how our everyday actions effect the planet negatively.
Aims and Objectives
The purpose of this project is to understand if individuals can improve their behavior towards their individual carbon emissions. To conclude if participants will or will not change their behavior, the current investigation looks to achieve the following objectives:
RO1: To understand the relationship between human behavior and sustainability, and the impact individuals’ behaviors have on climate change
RO2: To understand if technology can influence an individual’s behavior in relation to preventing climate change
RO3: To use the resulting evidence from R01 and R02 to establish design guidelines that may offer solutions to positively influencing user behavior in relation to climate change
Additionally, the following research questions will be deciphered from the exploration of the topical study:
RQ1: What are people’s perceptions and emotions towards climate change?
RQ2: What specific behaviors have people either adapted or unintentionally avoided to reduce their carbon footprint?
RQ3: Can people be persuaded to improve their behavior towards sustainability through technology?
Data Collection Method: Diary Study
The diary study was the first point of crucial data collection in the study, as the cultural probes were intended to giving insight into participant’s behaviors and habits towards sustainability. The data collected in the diary studies was analyzed through two methods including recording observations on “The Rainbow Spreadsheet”, as well as constructing an affinity diagram. These methods were necessary in order to better organize the large amount of data collected. This also created a strategy to follow trends in the behaviors of participants.
Finding Themes From Data Collected
