Facilitating Design to Engage in Social Behaviour Change for Environmental Benefit

Social interventions emerging from the field of social psychology and sociology have been quite effective in fostering sustainable behaviour and have thus inspired the interest of designers and creative idealists in exploring social ways of changing behaviour for environmental benefit. Although the significance of the social dimension to behaviour change is well recognized, it lacks in-depth understanding and support, which can enable designers to engage in the process of social behaviour change to meet sustainability objectives. Based on a study of four effectively implemented cases of gamified behaviour change programmes (GBCPs), this article presents insights into the mechanics of social behaviour change, particularly the process through which these (social) game-based interventions prepare, motivate, transform and incubate behaviour under the influence of a social setting. The study provides a breakdown of the entire process of change into its individual elements (phenomena, activities, processes, etc.) and how these elements collectively constitute an influential social environment that motivates participants to adopt and perform desired sustainable actions in a playful way. This understanding of the mechanics of the GBCPs provides some essential touch points for designers and social entrepreneurs to engage in social behaviour change to meet sustainability objectives.