The Psychology of Pledges: A "Commitment Device" Ep65

How to Save the World | The Psychology & Science of Environmental Behavior

In this episode, I explore the power of pledges in driving pro-environmental action and behavior. Pledges are seen as commitment devices, where individuals make promises or commitments to themselves or others.

We highlight the effectiveness of pledges in engaging people and closing the value action gap. The episode delves into the various forms of pledges, such as written notes, online commitments, or public displays, and discusses the astonishing evidence from behavioral literature on their impact.

Pledges can increase engagement in actions by 30% to 70%, making them powerful tools for maintaining eco-friendly behaviors and winning environmental campaigns.

* * *

How to Save the World is a podcast about the psychology of what gets people to do eco-behaviors and take climate action: Environmental engineer, designer, and author, Katie Patrick, hunts down the latest behavioral science literature from top universities such as Harvard, MIT, and Stanford to unearth the evidence-based teachings you can use to rapidly get more people to adopt your environmental campaign, program, or product.

Sign up for Katie's free behavior and gamification design course at ⁠⁠http://katiepatrick.com⁠⁠

Join my Gamify the Planet masterclass training in climate action design for $25/month ⁠⁠http://katiepatrick.com/gamifytheplanet⁠⁠

Get a copy of the book, How to Save the World on Amazon ⁠⁠https://amzn.to/2Z4jivL⁠⁠

Follow Katie on: X-Twitter ⁠⁠@katiepatrick⁠⁠ Instagram ⁠⁠@katiepatrickhello⁠⁠ LinkedIn ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-patrick/