A lecture on “Rank and Responses: A Field Experiment on Peer Information and Water Use Behavior” was presented by Professor Syron Bhanot from the Department of Economics, Swarthmore College in Pettengill G65 at 4:15 pm.

“Perception of social rank, or how we perform relative to our peers, can be a powerful motivator.” This talk outlined a field experiment conducted with 5,180 households in Castro Valley, California, which used household mailers with various forms of social rank messaging to motivate water conservation.The experiment tested the effect of a visible social rank on water use, and how the cooperative and competitive framing of rank information influences behavioral response.

Sponsored by The Casey Lecture Fund.