Effects of television modeling on residential energy conservation.
One 20-minute TV program cut home energy use 10%, showing video modeling works for adults too.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers made a 20-minute cable-TV show. The show walked homeowners through easy ways to save energy.
One hundred fifty middle-class families watched the program at home. No one checked up on them later.
What they found
Families used about 10% less heating and cooling energy that season. A single short video created the change.
How this fits with other research
Rotta et al. (2022) built on the idea. They tucked short exercise clips into a classroom token economy. Their students with intellectual disability moved more and earned tokens.
Erath et al. (2021) also used a brief video. A 13-minute clip taught staff to run behavioral skills training with near-perfect accuracy.
Whitehead et al. (1975) worked in a nursing home. Staff prompts, not video, boosted activity attendance. Together the studies show pictures plus consequences beat pictures alone.
Why it matters
You can film a skill once and reach many people. Pair the clip with praise, points, or pennies if you need stronger change. Try a two-minute demo during staff training or parent night. Ask viewers to practice right away and track the result.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
A combination of social marketing, communications, social learning (particularly modeling), and behavior analysis may provide an effective framework for behavior change via films and television. We used this approach in developing special television programs about residential energy conservation. The programs were tailored and directed to preselected middle-class homeowners (N = 150), and delivered over a public access channel of a cable TV system. The results indicated that after one program exposure (about 20 minutes), viewers adopted simple strategies modeled in the programs which led to savings of approximately 10% on their home energy use for a substantial part of the cooling and heating season. Although the potential benefits to costs of large-scale media efforts seemed great, institutional barriers for such programs were identified. Less expensive, more local programs seem more viable.
Journal of applied behavior analysis, 1985 · doi:10.1901/jaba.1985.18-33