Behaviour and Practice Research Group
The Behaviour and Practice Research Group is based in the Business School at Kingston University. The group has two key objectives.
- The development of interdisciplinary theoretical and conceptual insights that emphasise the social dimensions of the shaping of behaviour and practice.
- The development, implementation and evaluation of new interventions that employ these insights.
The group works across a range of domains, including: public policy (for instance, energy consumption, sustainability, healthy lifestyles and flood risk); social marketing, marketing and consumer issues; and, the business and commercial sector. The group produces research which is of value to academics, policy-makers, behaviour change practitioners and commercial organisations.
The team
Professor Ruth Rettie – Director, Professor
Dr Kevin Burchell – Deputy Director, Senior Research Fellow
Dr Tim Harries – Senior Research Fellow
Dr Debra Riley – Research Associate
Dr Tom Roberts – Research Associate
Kavita Patel – CHARM PhD Student
Chris Barnham – Visiting Fellow
Projects
CHARM: shaping consumer behaviour by informing conceptions of 'normal' practice
CHARM, funded by the Research Councils UK Digital Economy Programme, employs digital technologies as a means of providing individuals with feedback about their own and others' sustainability behaviours. Drawing on the 'social norm' approach, the three-year project examines the possibility of using such feedback to change individual practices and behaviours in socially-desirable ways. CHARM features an energy-use study, an active lifestyle study and a study that uses Facebook.
More >.
Contact: Tim Harries
Smart Communities: shaping new low carbon community norms and practices
Smart Communities, funded by the Research Councils UK Energy Programme, is a community action project with the objective of reducing energy consumption at home. The project emphasises: working together in cycles of action and reflection, collaboration with local institutions, employing practice theory as an intervention, energy monitoring and energy literacy, the development and adoption of new community norms, comparative energy consumption feedback, sharing experiences and knowhow.
More >.
Contact: Kevin Burchell
Research on public responses to flood risk
The group is working on two projects in this area. One, funded by the Royal Geographical Society and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), explores the factors influencing the adaptive behaviour and practices of micro-businesses in areas of high flood risk. A second study, for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), analyses the impact on communities and individuals of a state intervention designed to shape new norms in the area of household-level flood protection.
Contact: Tim Harries
Social normalisation and social marketing
Social normalisation refers to a process in which ideas, behaviours, products and practices, which are initially considered to be exceptional or uncommon, are gradually accepted as standard, normal and ordinary, and part of everyday life. Drawing on and developing a range of conceptual and practical insights, this project investigates the potential for social marketers and behaviour change practitioners to contribute to processes of social normalisation by positioning practices as what people normally do. This work is funded by Kingston University.
Contact: Kevin Burchell
Department for Energy and Climate Change projects (DECC)
The group has recently supported the social research company, GfK NOP, on two projects for DECC, working on the evaluation of the Low Carbon Community Challenge and on pre-testing for the Green Deal home and business energy efficiency programme.
Contact: Kevin Burchell
DIASMA: understanding and supporting diabetic self-management amongst adolescents
DIASMA, funded by the Southwest London Academic Network, explores the factors influencing self- management of insulin dependent diabetes amongst teenagers and explores whether and how smart-phone applications can help them reduce long-term medical complications and live healthier, more active lives.
Contact: Tim Harries
PhD study in BPRG
The BPRG invites high quality applications for PhD study in relevant areas. For general discussions of PhD study, please contact Professor Rettie or Dr Burchell.
