27. A Little Guilt, a Lot of Energy Savings

http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/the_efficient_planet/2013/03/opower_using_smiley_faces_and_peer_pressure_to_save_the_planet.html?fb_ref=sm_fb_plugin_activity

On March 1^st, Mark Joseph Stern wrote an article about the methods used by a company to motivate people to reduce their energy consumption. Stern starts out by introducing Opower and the strategies they used: peer pressure and competition. He explained and used examples of how these things are effective in making people do what the company wants them to do. One experiment he cited contrasted how simply showing people why they must conserve energy is less effective than showing them what other people are doing regarding energy consumption. In the experiment, when the researchers displayed how each person was doing compared to their neighbors, the residents were either praised with a smiley face or looked down on with an empty box. By doing so, those who were consuming more than their neighbors were motivated to improve and conserve more energy while those who received a smiley face were motivated to maintain that status. By doing this, the company was able to lower the energy consumption of their customers and make that a habit.

The author’s purpose in writing this article was to show readers the reason why people claim to do things but don’t take action and to show what is necessary to make them take action. His main strategy is the appeal to logic since he uses many examples and statistics as well as quotes from respected individuals in their field of study. He describes the examples he employs thoroughly and explains their results using statistics which help convince the reader. He also quotes experts from well known institutions to show how these methods of calling for action are accepted by people who know a lot about this subject. The author uses a relaxed tone and includes the readers in his article. He also includes some humor, making the text more entertaining.