What form of data visualisation is most effective in encouraging real world action on energy reduction?
What level of granularity does the data need to be at to encourge an individual or group to act?
What forms of 'social visibility' of data are most likely to encourage real world action?
What games are people playing as they consume?
I am interested in the idea that many people are highly conscious that they are playing a game and when they are asked to do something for environmental reasons they are very quick to see themselves inside the game and how doing an action would change their 'score'. A mundane but concrete example would be:
- Action: Please turn your computer off after work because it will save money and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
- Thinking: But that would be inconvenient, it could put me at an advantage, it will make me stand out because most people are not doing it, they would think I am a fool because I am making an effort where the gains of my action are so small, I would be asserting my belief in climate change rather than remaining essentially skeptical (by inaction), I am stating that I am not a risk taker because it might be that technology will come along that means I don't have to think about this, my boss asked me to do this, I don't like to give them a sense of authority...
In other words, we're playing a social game and I think it would be interesting to find out what game people think they are playing socially, and how the new environmental imperative changes the game.
Ways of getting at this information:
- interviews
- surveys
- role playing games where players think aloud (repeat of game theory 'experiments' but treating actors like adults)
- search for prior research on this topic
What I hope emerges is that people actually want to play a different game, they want to change the social dynamics and through social media and visualisations we can help them change norms e.g. act and see their contribution is meaningful, and in so doing persuade more people to act. (This links to the granularity question).
Separate the social aspects of a visualisation from the aesthetic
When we show graphics we need to understand what is interesting about them. Some may be appealing aesthetically but of little use socially e.g. overly complex to talk about.
What metaphors should we rely upon?
Foot races, thermometers, electric gauges, forest health, coastal flooding, happy/sad people/animals, etc?
Can we contrast different approaches to behaviour change?
There seems to be something interesting in the difference between approaches that:
- essentially ask people to do something, and give some reasoned evidence why
- constructing games to change people's behaviour e.g. BBC Climate Challenge, Fate of the World, etc.
- the gaming the world approach as described by Jessie Schell
this is more of a thought exercise, but what is happening in terms of what people expect from people who are asking them to change, the mode of delivery, the need to know that others are doing the same, the reward structure etc