IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - January/February 2018 - 40

A central proposition of the social identity approach
is that our self-concept is made up of both
personal identities and social identities.

could increase the motivation to keep on performing well
and motivate other members to change their behavior to
align with the group's descriptive norm.
note that the use of descriptive norms to change behavior
needs to be approached with caution. normative feedback
must always be authentic; that is, accurate feedback must be
provided. there is often a temptation to highlight that there
is a problem by communicating a negative descriptive norm
(e.g., people aren't saving energy); the problem with this is
that it may send the wrong message to group members (e.g.,
"no one else is saving energy, so why should i?"). if it really
is the case that people aren't saving energy, then it would be
better to focus on communicating a strong positive injunctive norm.

Bringing Supportive Social Identity
Content to the Fore
groups can promote sustainable attitudes and behaviors
among its members when the content of its social identity
is supportive of sustainable energy. therefore, for a groupbased approach to change energy behaviors in a more sustainable direction, it is key that the group is clearly perceived
to have sustainable group values (i.e., self-transcendence
values) and norms (i.e., norms promoting sustainable-energy
behaviors). this raises the question of how sustainable values and norms be brought to the fore.
One way to accentuate or even change the perceived
values and injunctive or descriptive norms of a group is by
introducing a particular comparison group (an out group).
if a lack of environmental concern is a central characteristic of an out group, in-group members might come to see
sustainable-energy behaviors as more normative and central
to their group, as a way to positively distinguish themselves
from the out group. for instance, after the united states
withdrew from the paris climate agreement, sustainable
norms were emphasized in many other countries all over the
world, such as germany, china, and india (to name a few),
potentially as a way to reinforce in-group values and differentiate from out-group ones. this also signals the importance of choosing the right comparison group; telling group
members that other groups are behaving more sustainably
than they are might not motivate group members to do "better." rather it may lead members to assume that their group
does not really care about sustainability, thereby decreasing, rather than increasing, the motivation to behave in a
sustainable manner.
40

ieee power & energy magazine

When aiming to accentuate or even change perceived values and injunctive or descriptive norms, group leaders can
play a vital role. such exemplar members can be very powerful in setting group norms and communicating group values.
leaders can advocate for sustainability, and their actions can
provide a clear indication of what is normative and valued
in relation to sustainable energy, thereby motivating members' sustainable-energy behaviors. however, the influence
of leaders depends on the extent to which they are seen as
prototypical members of their group, that is, typical and
representative of the group as a whole. hence, to promote
sustainable behaviors, leaders should not only advocate for
sustainability, but they should also make sure that they are
seen as representatives of their group. they can do this, for
example, by emphasizing the group membership they share
with their followers, by using words such as "we" and "us,"
rather than "i" and "me."
in summary, the content of a group's identity, as reflected
by its values and norms, can influence sustainable attitudes
and behaviors. the "right" values and norms can be brought
to the fore by changing the comparative context or having
representative in-group members advocate for sustainability. Yet, in certain cases, the group may not value sustainability at all and may even endorse unsustainable behaviors.
in these instances, it may be better to have people redefine
themselves in terms of another identity, by making another
group membership salient.

Bringing Supportive Groups to the Fore
as discussed earlier, groups can have a strong influence
on members' behaviors, but only when the group identity
is salient. accordingly, a promising strategy to promote
sustainable-energy behaviors is to make social identities
that are supportive of sustainable-energy behaviors salient,
fostering identification with these groups, and shifting
the focus away from groups that do not support sustainable
energy. this can be done as described previously, by reminding people of the similarities between groups that engage in
sustainable behaviors and highlighting their differences from
ones that do not. Other approaches to make these memberships salient and strengthen identification with these groups
can be to stimulate positive interactions among members and
have them focus on their common outcomes, rather than their
individual ones. for example, feedback systems on energy
usage often give assessments on an individual level; however,
providing group-level feedback, say for the organization
january/february 2018



Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - January/February 2018

Contents
IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - January/February 2018 - Intro
IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - January/February 2018 - Cover1
IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - January/February 2018 - Cover2
IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - January/February 2018 - Contents
IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - January/February 2018 - 2
IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - January/February 2018 - 3
IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - January/February 2018 - 4
IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - January/February 2018 - 5
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IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - January/February 2018 - 76
IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - January/February 2018 - Cover3
IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - January/February 2018 - Cover4
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