Through its Climate Culture program, Rare works with partners to design solutions for inspiring lifestyle changes that reduce people’s individual carbon emissions. One solution Rare designed was an interactive, portable pop-up exhibit to be displayed at community events to offer information about climate-friendly behaviors, correct misperceptions about them, and share where people could learn more.
“Our aim was to find practical but scaleable ways to help communities to go green. If we can change attitudes, we can put people on their way,” said Sania Ashraf, an applied behavioral scientist with Rare’s Center for Behavior & the Environment (BE.Center).
The question we were trying to answer
Can interactive exhibits at community events displaying information about key climate-friendly behaviors meaningfully change people’s attitudes and beliefs toward climate-friendly behaviors?
“We believed that if people interacted with the displays, took information about how they could easily bring these behaviors into their lives and corrected misperceptions, they could be motivated to do adopt the behaviors,” said Ashraf.
What were these interactive exhibits?
The exhibits were portable displays with information about four key climate-friendly behaviors: driving electric vehicles, using solar power, eating less meat, and donating to carbon reduction projects. Previous research identified these behaviors as having strong potential for support but are often misunderstood or misperceived.
Working with designers, Rare’s team made the displays attractive, colorful, and interactive to draw in people attending community events and learn more about the behaviors. The displays featured how to take up these behaviors and provided information about descriptive norms—how common the behaviors are in Boston communities.
Study details
In partnership with researchers from Boston College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Brandeis University, Rare’s BE.Center team worked to measure the impact of the interventions. We recruited 125 participants up until a few days prior to the exhibit, had them complete a pre-attendance survey of their attitudes and beliefs about the four behaviors targeted in the exhibits, and then instructed them to attend the exhibit during windows over a two-week period. Following their attendance participants completed a follow-up questionnaire.
Key findings
Exhibits at community events work. Attending the exhibit increased participants’ perceptions of how many members in their community engaged in each key behavior and how confident they felt in engaging in the behaviors.
- The number of participants who felt confident in their ability to buy an electric car jumped 33%
- Those who believed it was easy to switch to community solar jumped 65%
“A well-crafted exhibit localized to your targeted area with relevant information can kickstart real change in attitudes and potentially behaviors,” said Ashraf.
Self-guided learning is effective. Although the researchers staffed the displays to ensure safety of the visitors and exhibits themselves, the staffing was thought to be optional for meaningful engagement. Most participants had brief interactions with the staff and preferred interacting with the displays on their own terms. The exhibits included links to resources for more information.
Why it matters
The study’s insights hold promise for educators looking for a low-cost, scalable way to increase awareness, counter misperceptions, and put people on a path toward behavior adoption.
“These exhibits are a terrific way to promote without preaching. Self-guided learning helped people digest information and seek out more. Now we need to learn whether this information sticks and leads to behavior change,” said Ashraf. “Shifting some beliefs may be easier than you think.”