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Rank and response: A field experiment on peer information and water use behavior

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  • Bhanot, Syon P.
Abstract
Perception of peer rank, or how we perform relative to our peers, can be a powerful motivator. While research exists on the effect of social information on decision making, there is less work on how ranked comparisons with our peers influence our behavior. This paper outlines a field experiment conducted with 3896 households in Castro Valley, California, which uses household mailers with various forms of social information and peer rank messaging to motivate water conservation. The experiment tests the effect of a visible peer rank on water use, and how the competitive framing of rank information influences behavioral response. The results show that households with relatively low or high water use in the pre-treatment period responded differently to how rank information was framed. I find that a neutrally-framed peer rank caused a small “boomerang effect” (i.e., an increase in average water use) for low water use households, but this effect was eliminated by competitive framing. At the same time, a competitively-framed peer rank demotivated high water use households, increasing their average water use over the full period of the experiment. This result is supported by evidence that the competitive frame on rank information increased water use for households who ranked “last” in the peer group – a detrimental “last place effect” from competitively-framed rankings.

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  • Bhanot, Syon P., 2017. "Rank and response: A field experiment on peer information and water use behavior," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 155-172.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joepsy:v:62:y:2017:i:c:p:155-172
    DOI: 10.1016/j.joep.2017.06.011
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    Cited by:

    1. Perrotta Berlin, Maria & Mandl, Benjamin, 2020. "Selective attention and the importance of types for information campaigns," SITE Working Paper Series 53, Stockholm School of Economics, Stockholm Institute of Transition Economics.
    2. Bonan, Jacopo & Cattaneo, Cristina & d’Adda, Giovanna & Tavoni, Massimo, 2021. "Can social information programs be more effective? The role of environmental identity for energy conservation," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    3. Stefano Clò & Tommaso Reggiani & Sabrina Ruberto, 2024. "Consumption Feedback and Water Saving: A Field Intervention Evaluation in the Metropolitan Area of Milan," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 87(9), pages 2259-2308, September.
    4. Bonan, J. & Cattaneo, C. & d’Adda, G. & Galliera, A. & Tavoni, M., 2024. "Widening the scope: The direct and spillover effects of nudging water efficiency in the presence of other behavioral interventions," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    5. Christopher R. Knittel & Samuel Stolper, 2019. "Using Machine Learning to Target Treatment: The Case of Household Energy Use," NBER Working Papers 26531, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Andrius Kažukauskas & Thomas Broberg & Jūratė Jaraitė, 2021. "Social Comparisons in Real Time: A Field Experiment of Residential Electricity and Water Use," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 123(2), pages 558-592, April.
    7. Jessoe, Katrina & Lade, Gabriel E. & Loge, Frank & Spang, Edward, 2021. "Residential water conservation during drought: Experimental evidence from three behavioral interventions," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    8. Bhanot, Syon P., 2021. "Isolating the effect of injunctive norms on conservation behavior: New evidence from a field experiment in California," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 30-42.
    9. Yan Liu & Yan Wang & Han Zhao & Yibin Ao & Linchuan Yang, 2020. "Influences of Building Characteristics and Attitudes on Water Conservation Behavior of Rural Residents," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-21, September.
    10. Brick, Kerri & De Martino, Samantha & Visser, Martine, 2023. "Behavioural nudges for water conservation in unequal settings: Experimental evidence from Cape Town," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    11. R. Aaron Hrozencik & Jordan F. Suter & Paul J. Ferraro & Nathan Hendricks, 2024. "Social comparisons and groundwater use: Evidence from Colorado and Kansas," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 106(2), pages 946-966, March.
    12. Cattaneo, Cristina & D’Adda, Giovanna & Tavoni, Massimo & Bonan, Jacopo, 2019. "Can We Make Social Information Programs More Effective? The Role of Identity and Values," RFF Working Paper Series 19-21, Resources for the Future.
    13. María Ángeles García-Valiñas & Sara Suárez-Fernández, 2022. "Are Economic Tools Useful to Manage Residential Water Demand? A Review of Old Issues and Emerging Topics," Post-Print hal-04067487, HAL.
    14. Ukasha Ramli, 2021. "Social Norms Based Eco-Feedback for Household Water Consumption," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-13, March.
    15. Yijie Wang & Lei Xie & Shuang Li, 2022. "The Use of Intergroup Social Comparison in Promoting Water Conservation: Evidence from a Survey Experiment in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(13), pages 1-14, June.
    16. Stefano Clò & Tommaso Reggiani & Sabrina Ruberto, 2023. "Consumption feedback and water saving: An experiment in the metropolitan area of Milan," MUNI ECON Working Papers 2023-02, Masaryk University, revised Aug 2024.
    17. Benjamin Ouvrard & Raphaële Préget & Arnaud Reynaud & Laetitia Tuffery, 2020. "Nudging and Subsidizing Farmers to Foster Smart Water Meter Adoption," Working Papers hal-02958784, HAL.
    18. Yurina Otaki & Hidehito Honda & Kazuhiro Ueda, 2020. "Water demand management: Visualising a public good," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(6), pages 1-14, June.
    19. Benjamin Ouvrard & Arnaud Reynaud & Stéphane Cezera & Alban Thomas & Dishant Jojit James & Murudaiah Shivamurthy, 2023. "Distributive Justice in the Field: How do Indian Farmers Share Water? ," Working Papers hal-04150233, HAL.
    20. Difang Huang & Zhengyang Bao, 2020. "Gender Differences in Reaction to Enforcement Mechanisms: A Large-Scale Natural Field Experiment," Monash Economics Working Papers 08-20, Monash University, Department of Economics.
    21. Garcia, Stephen M. & Arora, Poonam & Reese, Zachary A. & Shain, Michael J., 2020. "Free agency and organizational rankings: A social comparison perspective on signaling theory," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 89(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Social norms; Field experiment; Rank; Peer information; Motivation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments
    • D03 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Behavioral Microeconomics: Underlying Principles
    • Q5 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics
    • Q25 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Water

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