title: Talking with consumers about energy reductions: recommendations from a motivational interviewing perspective.
abstract: Reduction of energy costs has become a concern for many organizations. First, we review energy-saving studies in organizations in which consumers showed resistance to change their behavior. Second, we relate resistance to change to the psycholinguistic construct "sustain talk" that describes verbal arguments against behavior change (e.g., "Work processes have priority here"). Third, we argue how Motivational Interviewing (MI)-an interaction-approach to facilitate behavior change-might be helpful in dealing with this behavior. We transfer MI to interactions about energy-savings in organizations and demonstrate how qualification in MI for energy managers may affect these interactions. Therefore, we present three short case scenarios (i.e., video vignettes) that demonstrate socio-interactional mechanisms underlying energy-relevant decisions and behaviors. Consumer' verbal responses are graphed as one single time-variant index of readiness versus resistance (R-index) in order to illustrate interactional dynamics. In sum, we combine theoretical and empirical perspectives from multiple disciplines and discuss an innovative socio-interaction approach that may facilitate energy-efficient behavior in organizations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Industrial/Organizational and Social Psychology, Technische Universität Braunschweig Braunschweig, Germany.
authors.forename: Florian E
authors.initials: FE
authors.lastname: Klonek
authors.affiliation: Department of Industrial/Organizational and Social Psychology, Technische Universität Braunschweig Braunschweig, Germany.
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kauffeld
keywords: MI Skill Code; R-index; change intervention; change talk; energy-saving; interaction analysis; motivational interviewing; resistance to change
references.citation: Psychol Addict Behav. 2014 Dec;28(4):1212-9
references.pmid: 24955660
references.citation: J Clin Psychol. 2002 Feb;58(2):219-27
references.pmid: 11793334
references.citation: J Consult Clin Psychol. 2014 Dec;82(6):973-83
references.pmid: 24841862
references.citation: Br J Gen Pract. 2005 Apr;55(513):305-12
references.pmid: 15826439
references.citation: Annu Rev Clin Psychol. 2005;1:91-111
references.pmid: 17716083
references.citation: Addict Behav. 2008 Sep;33(9):1177-82
references.pmid: 18558466
references.citation: J Subst Abuse Treat. 2013 Aug;45(2):155-62
references.pmid: 23537923
references.citation: Psychol Addict Behav. 2013 Dec;27(4):1196-200
references.pmid: 23772761
references.citation: PeerJ. 2014 Aug 19;2:e508
references.pmid: 25177533
references.citation: J Subst Abuse Treat. 2010 Apr;38(3):299-305
references.pmid: 20149571
references.citation: Cogn Behav Ther. 2014;43(1):12-21
references.pmid: 24134594
references.citation: J Subst Abuse Treat. 2009 Jan;36(1):101-9
references.pmid: 18657936
references.citation: Addiction. 2009 May;104(5):705-15
references.pmid: 19413785
references.citation: Subst Abuse Treat Prev Policy. 2010 May 13;5:8
references.pmid: 20465805
references.citation: Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2007 Oct;31(10 Suppl):40s-47s
references.pmid: 17880345
references.citation: J Subst Abuse Treat. 2010 Oct;39(3):272-81
references.pmid: 20708900