This is because an unexpected sustainable decision by someone in your environment can get you to think about it as well. This is the surprising conclusion Carina Thürridl of the UvA Amsterdam Business School (ABS) arrived at together with her colleagues Marlene Vock (UvA) and Bonnie Simpson (Western University). They examined how observing unexpected behaviour can influence other people’s sustainable choices. The paper for the project is under review.

Unexpected choices

Thürridl came upon the subject through an example from her own circle of acquaintances: a friend who was not usually preoccupied with sustainability was holding a reusable coffee cup. Thürridl explains: 'I noticed how this change caught my eye and how the behaviour made me pay attention, something that never happened with people I know to be serious about sustainability. When they use a recyclable cup, I don’t see it. My reaction apparently had something to do with a person changing their behaviour in a way I hadn’t expected. This gave me food for thought. I was very curious to know whether what happened to me in a limited context ‒ that I was positively surprised by deviating behaviour ‒ would translate to a larger group. And if it did, whether it was perhaps also the case that people who show an unexpected change in behaviour have greater influence than people who do exactly what you would expect given their normal behaviour.'

Deviating from the norm

It was indeed the case. People who have recently shown, or are considering, an unexpected change in behaviour stand out from the crowd. If they deviate from what’s normal for them, they get noticed and can inspire other people in their environment. So without realising it, they can have a big impact. Moreover, it shows that even small steps or changes in behaviour can be inspirational for others. This is important because many people often believe that their actions have no impact on their environment. Observing unexpected behaviour disrupts our ability to predict what the other person will do, which creates uncertainty around that individual’s behaviour. As a result, the observer relies more heavily on cues from that person with regard to how they should behave themselves.

Vegan challenge

The researcher and her colleagues tested their theory by showing subjects in the study different videos. Both videos were about a 30-day challenge to promote vegan food. Half of the subjects were given a video of the challenge with a participant who normally eats meat. The other half watched a video of a vegetarian participant. At the end of the experiment, all subjects received a voucher for a burger. They could decide for themselves whether to have a vegan hamburger or a cheeseburger. And guess what? People who had seen the clip of a meat eater taking part in the vegan challenge more often chose a vegan hamburger as their reward.

Thürridl observes: 'With the results of this study, we can delve more deeply into what is needed to persuade people. The majority of current marketing strategies focus on people who have been role models for quite some time and ignore the minority who unexpectedly make a sustainable decision or might do so in the near future. But it’s exactly this minority who make a big impression on others. I notice it in myself as well. I don’t give as much thought to decisions made by people I know to be ecologically-minded and sustainable in their choices. If I see someone make a decision I didn’t expect, that decision triggers something in me.'

Impact on consumers

Thürridl believes the study is also important for other choices consumers make such as the decision to quit smoking or to wear a cycling helmet. She points out: 'We should be more aware of the effect we can have on other people. We often think that what we do doesn’t amount to much and has little impact. This is also the reason why we sometimes don’t change anything at all. But we now know that even small changes in our own behaviour can have a major impact. Each one of us can take the first step towards a big change. It’s an idea that inspires hope.'

She enjoys doing research on a subject that anyone can understand: 'I often get ideas from my immediate environment and the research I do is often accessible to many people because it’s about the behaviour of consumers. It’s really interesting to see how we behave as consumers and why. There’s much more I’d like to investigate. For example, how long does the effect of unexpected positive behaviour last and does the outcome of the study also apply to companies or governments?

I myself have always learnt that, if you want to persuade people, you need to meet the expectations of the target group. But our research shows that you are much more influential if you don’t satisfy the expectations of a target group and challenge their expectations with unexpected behaviour. This is an intriguing idea that I’d also like to explore further.'