Sustainable Behavior Challenge Tasks

Step 1. Begin reflecting on your personal consumption and select a behavior to change.

Estimate both your ecological footprint and your carbon footprint using the links under “Sustainable Behavior Resources” on our course blog/website as a starting point for thinking about your own patterns of consumption and environmental behavior.

In your reflection, choose an existing behavior you want to change during the sustainable behavior challenge and identify a specific, more sustainable behavior you want to change it to. For example: Why have you chosen to change this behavior?  Do you anticipate challenges in changing this behavior? What are your thoughts and concerns looking forward over the next weeks?

Requirements for your Step 1 Post:

  • Write a 300-400 word blog entry reflecting on this process.
  • Insert an image to accompany your first post.
  • Assign your post to the “Step 1” category.
  • Publish this entry by Tuesday, October 8th by 5:00 pm.

Step 2. Breaking (your) Bad: Observe & Reflect on your Current Behavior

Spend this week observing yourself doing the behavior you want to change. Being mindful and aware of the conditions and reasons you engage in a specific behavior may give you insight into ways to successfully change that behavior.

This post is all about self-awareness and saying goodbye to your old habits. Reflect upon the context under which you engage in the behavior you want to change. Do you do this behavior more when you are in a hurry? Stressed out? Tired? With friends? Alone? Because everyone else is? Because it tastes wonderful?

Next, learn from those who have gone before you. Do a little outside research into what behavioral scientists find to be driving the behaviors you want to change and think about how it applies to you. Go to the Library Website (http://library.lafayette.edu/), hit up a search engine/database (Web of Science is my favorite), and find one article that studies the behavior you are changing. You will find diverse studies. For example, some might examine things that determine your less-than-sustainable behavior (e.g. What are factors that influence high water usage?) and others might identify barriers to changing your behavior (e.g. People don’t drive less because they don’t perceive that it impacts the problem of climate change). Spend a little time looking at the key findings and then reflect upon the ways they do (or don’t) relate to you and your situation.

So: Eat your last piece of bacon. Take a long, hot, luxurious shower. And then say goodbye.

Requirements for your Step 2 Post (10 points):

  • Write a 400-500 word blog entry reflecting on this process.
  • Insert an image to accompany your post.
  • Discuss the key findings of one scientific article that examines the behavior you want to change and reflect on it’s relevance to you. Make sure to cite the article in your text (Author, year) and include a full reference at the bottom of your post (APA style is good).
  • Assign your post to the “Step 2” category.
  • Publish this entry by Tuesday, October 29th by 5:00 pm.

Step 3. New Life: Starting your New Sustainable Behavior

Today is the day. You’ve accepted “The Challenge”. For the next five and a half weeks you will engage in a new, more sustainable behavior. As you start your new behavior this week, observe yourself and reflect broadly upon the impact of this behavior change on your day-to-day life. Also, address more specifically the environmental implications of your behavior change so that your readers understand the impact that this 5.5 week challenge might have. To do this, find and link to a web-based resource that specifically addresses the potential sustainability implications of your behavior change.

Some questions that you might consider in this post:

  • What was the hardest thing this week about changing your behavior? What was the best, most positive thing?
  • What impact has this behavior change had on you, thus far?

Requirements for your Step 3 Post (10 points):

  • Write a 300-500 word blog post on this weeks’ activities.
  • Insert an image to accompany your post.
  • Link to a website or web-based resource that specifically addresses the sustainability implications of your behavior change (e.g. How much carbon might be reduced? How much water might you save?)
  • Assign your post to the “Step 3” category.
  • Publish this entry by Tuesday, November 5th by 5:00 pm.

Step 4. Getting Creative and Internalizing: Reducing Barriers and Increasing Benefits

You’ve made it to Step 4: Way to go, folks. For the next two weeks, you will continue with your new sustainable behavior and find ways to be more successful. Behavioral research finds that successful behavior change is enhanced when people “reduce barriers and increase benefits” of their new behavior (McKenzie-Mohr, 2011). For Step 4, focus specifically on coming up with strategies to reduce barriers to performing your new behavior as well as find ways to increase the benefits associated with your behavior.

Be creative with this. Look back on your Step 2 post to see what you identified as the context for which you perform your “old” behavior.  Do you need a reminder? Make yourself a sign and post it somewhere visible or set a daily alarm on your phone. Do you need accountability? Ask a friend to keep you honest. Use whatever strategies that you feel will help you be more successful and internalize this behavior change.

Remember also to find ways to increase benefits of your behavior. You might, for example, consider promising yourself a “reward” of some sort if you meet your goals for a week. Increasing benefits is somewhat individualized, so each of you think about what works best for you. In the spirit of the SBC, try to not make the “benefit” to your behavior something overly consumptive or non-sustainable.

In your post, tell us about your process and strategies for reducing barriers and increasing benefits. What worked well? What didn’t? What are your biggest struggles and why? Look back at our “Sustainable Behavior” day in class for ideas on enhancing your behaviors. Finally, now that you are at the midway point – think about: is this behavior change something you might consider continuing beyond EVST 100? Why or why not?

Requirements for your Step 4 Post (10 points):

  • Write a 300-500 word blog post.
  • Insert an image to accompany your post.
  • Assign your post to the “Step 4” category.
  • Publish this entry by Tuesday, November 19th at 5:00 pm.

Step 5. A Little Help from Your Friends: Creating a Community

We’re in the homestretch, folks. You are about to enter the last 2.5 weeks of the SBC, which also means we’re in the final 2.5 weeks of the semester. As we all slog through to the finish, we’ll need a little help from our friends. For this post, I’m going to be putting you in sustainable behavior communities with people in the class that are undertaking a similar behavioral change. Behavioral research finds that creating social norms that support behavior change is critical to success. Basically, we need to change our own social context to support sustainability, not just our own behavior.

For this last regular semester post, please do the following:

By Friday, November 22nd @ 5:00 pm you need to:

  • Categorize all your past posts with your assigned group category.

By Tuesday, November 26th @ 5:00 pm you need to:

  • Read the past posts from all of the members in your SBC group.
  • Comment on at least one post for each of the members in your SBC group. Think about how others in your group have had similar or different experiences. What made the experience different or the same for them or for you? This is a time to commiserate, cheer people on, and discuss common challenges and benefits you’ve experienced.

By Tuesday, December 3rd @ 5:00 pm you need to:

  • Write a post reflecting on the process of forming a community around your sustainable behavior change. First, reflect on commonalities or differences in your experiences, barriers, tactics for change, etc. Then, reflect on the ways having a community (though a bit ephemeral and formal) influenced or didn’t influence the way you viewed your experiences in the SBC.

Requirements for your Step 5 Post (10 points)

  • Categorize your posts by Friday, November 22nd
  • Comment on at least one post from all of your SBC group by Tuesday, November 26th
  • Write a 300-500 word blog post.
  • Insert an image to accompany your post.
  • Assign your post to the “Step 5” category and your assigned SBC group category.
  • Publish this entry by Tuesday, December 3rd at 5:00 pm.