Papers by Nives Della Valle
Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives, 2020
Sustainable mobility has a positive impact on quality of life, in both urban and rural contexts. ... more Sustainable mobility has a positive impact on quality of life, in both urban and rural contexts. Policies aimed at promoting greener travel behaviorsat European, as well as at state and regional levelrequire a deep knowledge of differing mobility cultures across European regions. In order to better understand the relationship between the (stated) propensity towards sustainability, reported mobility patterns and users' lifestyles in rural areas, an exploratory study was conducted in South Tyrol, a rural region in Northern Italy that strives to become a model region for sustainable alpine mobility by 2030. More specifically, an online survey on sustainable mobility was administered to the inhabitants, exploring motivations, preferred incentives and drivers that may lead towards the adoption of sustainable mobility solutions (with a focus on e-mobility). By analyzing how pro-environmental self-identity interacts with consumers' heterogeneity, results show that heterogeneity exists in the individual pro-environmental identity measure. Based also on evidence from the literature that extrinsic rewards might negatively impact intrinsic motivations to engage in a certain behavior, this study warns policy-makers of potential unintended consequences of current policy tools used to incentivize the adoption of sustainable means of transport, such as the provision of monetary incentives for electric vehicles.
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Energy and Buildings, 2019
Insufficient access to affordable, safe and reliable energy services deprives individuals of the ... more Insufficient access to affordable, safe and reliable energy services deprives individuals of the essential means to live a good, satisfactory and just life. This problem is becoming more and more urgent in urban areas, in particular in low-income neighborhoods, in which the inability to meet energy costs reflects social segregation and distributional inequalities. Making cleaner technologies available for all homes and providing financial aid are strategies that would combat energy poverty. However, understanding people's everyday decisions that affect their energy use is also crucial. A careful examination of the underlying mechanisms that drive decisions is required, above all in contexts characterized by conditions of scarcity. Living in a context of scarcity depletes people's available cognitive resources, thus rendering their decisions more susceptible to cognitive biases. As an example, contexts of scarcity trigger a tendency to prefer immediate smaller rewards to delayed larger ones. However, studies demonstrate that this can be mitigated by allowing individuals to build community trust. This study taps into recent findings from behavioral sciences regarding the role that scarcity conditions have on decision-making, with the aim to (i) review certain cognitive biases that might arise in energy poverty contexts, and (ii) devise strategies to unlock individuals' potential to make decisions that result in better outcomes for themselves and their surroundings.
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Energy Research & Social Science, 2019
Electric-drive vehicles (EVs) are a promising technology for containing environmental problems of... more Electric-drive vehicles (EVs) are a promising technology for containing environmental problems of the transport sector. However, to be effective on the environment, these need to be purchased by consumers in large quantities. Not only material barriers, but also cognitive biases prevent their diffusion. Particularly, EVs fail to capture a significant passenger car market share, even in regions that can overcome most material barriers. We report the findings from an online survey experiment administered to respondents of a region identified as a potential EV lead market, but which still fails to reach a significant EV market share. We test the effect of two behaviorally informed strategies on EV preferences: a norm-based and a salience intervention. To better identify treatment effect, we control for pro-environment self-identity, heterogeneity in key economic preferences, and size. Results show that making future cost savings salient significantly increases the likelihood of choosing EVs. However, the effect is limited to individuals displaying preferences for big vehicles and for valuing future benefits, and high values in the pro-environment self-identity measure. In addition, results show that EV choices are unaffected by the descriptive norm embedded in the norm-based intervention.
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Energy and Buildings, 2018
Our study proposes to analyze from a social practice and behavioural economics perspective the fa... more Our study proposes to analyze from a social practice and behavioural economics perspective the factors that influence a mismatch between energy behaviour and retrofit efficacy in the context of social housing. Retrofit interventions not only have the potential of improving energy efficiency of buildings, but they also change the context in which individuals live, therefore improving their wellbeing at home. However, the surrounding social context might suggest some context-specific practices and cognitive biases that negatively influence energy behaviour, creating a gap between expected and actual energy performance. Addressing the context-specific practices and cognitive biases is especially necessary when it comes to social housing. Social housing neighbourhoods are not only low-energy efficient, but also socially vulnerable. This context might shape specific practices and make salient specific cognitive biases which require special consideration within an energy retrofit program. The ambition of this study is to understand the context-specific practices and cognitive biases that characterize the pre-refurbishment phase of a retrofit program and to identify the ones that can be used as behavioural and social levers to enhance retrofit efficacy. To this aim, we analyze the results of a questionnaire administered to the tenants of a social housing district through the lenses of social practice theory and behavioural economics. Our results show that analysing tenants' behaviour through an inter-disciplinary social science approach allows to identify a range of context-specific variables that can be used as levers to align behaviour to retrofit interventions.
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Games, 2017
We experimentally investigate whether individuals are more likely to engage in dishonest behavior... more We experimentally investigate whether individuals are more likely to engage in dishonest behavior after having experienced unfairness perpetrated by an individual with a salient group identity. Two individuals generate an endowment together, but only one can decide how to share it. They either share the same group identity or have distinct group identities. Then, they approach a task in which they can opportunistically engage in dishonest behavior. Our results show that when individuals share the same group identity, unfair distributive decisions do not trigger a dishonest reaction. In contrast, when different group identities coexist, dishonest behavior is observed as a reaction to unfairness.
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PlosOne, 2017
Feedback is an effective tool for promoting efficient behavior: it enhances individuals' awarenes... more Feedback is an effective tool for promoting efficient behavior: it enhances individuals' awareness of choice consequences in complex settings. Our study aims to isolate the mechanisms underlying the effects of feedback on achieving efficient behavior in a controlled environment. We design a laboratory experiment in which individuals are not aware of the consequences of different alternatives and, thus, cannot easily identify the efficient ones. We introduce feedback as a mechanism to enhance the awareness of consequences and to stimulate exploration and search for efficient alternatives. We assess the efficacy of three different types of intervention: provision of social information, manipulation of the frequency , and framing of feedback. We find that feedback is most effective when it is framed in terms of losses, that it reduces efficiency when it includes information about inefficient peers' behavior, and that a lower frequency of feedback does not disrupt efficiency. By quantifying the effect of different types of feedback, our study suggests useful insights for policymakers.
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Field studies suggest that feedback is an effective tool for promoting efficient consumption. Fee... more Field studies suggest that feedback is an effective tool for promoting efficient consumption. Feedback enhances consumers’ awareness of the consequences associated
with consumption of those goods, such as energy, that are usually consumed indirectly and unconsciously. Yet, variations in methodologies and weaknesses of internal control in the literature studying the e↵ect of feedback on efficient consumption make it difficult to draw general conclusions. Our study aims to isolate the mechanisms underlying the e↵ect of feedback on consumption in a controlled environment with a neutral language. We design a laboratory experiment in which
individuals are not aware of the consequences of their consumption decisions and, thus, cannot easily identify the optimal ones. We introduce feedback as a mechanism
to enhance awareness of consumption consequences. We assess the efficacy of di↵erent types of feedback that include descriptive norms and framing effects to enhance search of optimal consumption. We find that feedback is most e↵ective
when we introduce a negative frame. On the contrary, feedback reduces efficiency when we introduce information about peers’ inefficient behavior. Our study quantifies the effect of different types of feedback and suggests useful insights for policy makers.
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Employees’ misconduct can be attributed to experiences of unfairness. Does this dishonest reactio... more Employees’ misconduct can be attributed to experiences of unfairness. Does this dishonest reaction change when employees identify with the whole organization or with a subunit only? We experimentally investigate whether individuals are more likely to engage in dishonest behavior after having experienced unfairness perpetrated by a peer with a salient group identity. Two peers generate an endowment together, but only one can decide how to share it. They either share the same group identity or have distinct group identities. Then, they approach a task in which they can opportunistically engage in dishonest behavior. Our results show that when peers share the same group identity, unfair distributive decisions do not trigger a dishonest reaction. In contrast, when different group identities coexist, dishonest behavior is observed as a reaction to unfairness.
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Books by Nives Della Valle
CONTROL, CHANGE AND CAPACITY-BUILDING IN ENERGY SYSTEMS, 2018
As a part of the H2020 SHAPE ENERGY Research Design Challenge, this chapter aims to i) develop a ... more As a part of the H2020 SHAPE ENERGY Research Design Challenge, this chapter aims to i) develop a framework that combines the behavioral economic approach with the sociological one to identify an interdisciplinary intervention that engages consumers in energy transition, ii) provide the methodological basis to quantify its efficacy, and iii) offer how-to-be evidence-based policy propositions to promote energy transition through consumer engagement.
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Papers by Nives Della Valle
with consumption of those goods, such as energy, that are usually consumed indirectly and unconsciously. Yet, variations in methodologies and weaknesses of internal control in the literature studying the e↵ect of feedback on efficient consumption make it difficult to draw general conclusions. Our study aims to isolate the mechanisms underlying the e↵ect of feedback on consumption in a controlled environment with a neutral language. We design a laboratory experiment in which
individuals are not aware of the consequences of their consumption decisions and, thus, cannot easily identify the optimal ones. We introduce feedback as a mechanism
to enhance awareness of consumption consequences. We assess the efficacy of di↵erent types of feedback that include descriptive norms and framing effects to enhance search of optimal consumption. We find that feedback is most e↵ective
when we introduce a negative frame. On the contrary, feedback reduces efficiency when we introduce information about peers’ inefficient behavior. Our study quantifies the effect of different types of feedback and suggests useful insights for policy makers.
Books by Nives Della Valle
with consumption of those goods, such as energy, that are usually consumed indirectly and unconsciously. Yet, variations in methodologies and weaknesses of internal control in the literature studying the e↵ect of feedback on efficient consumption make it difficult to draw general conclusions. Our study aims to isolate the mechanisms underlying the e↵ect of feedback on consumption in a controlled environment with a neutral language. We design a laboratory experiment in which
individuals are not aware of the consequences of their consumption decisions and, thus, cannot easily identify the optimal ones. We introduce feedback as a mechanism
to enhance awareness of consumption consequences. We assess the efficacy of di↵erent types of feedback that include descriptive norms and framing effects to enhance search of optimal consumption. We find that feedback is most e↵ective
when we introduce a negative frame. On the contrary, feedback reduces efficiency when we introduce information about peers’ inefficient behavior. Our study quantifies the effect of different types of feedback and suggests useful insights for policy makers.