Anne Marike Lokhorst

Commitment and Behavior Change A Meta-Analysis and Critical Review of Commitment-Making Strategies in Environmental Research

Commitment making is commonly regarded as an effective way to promote proenvironmental behaviors. The general idea is that when people commit to a certain behavior, they adhere to their commitment, and this produces long-term behavior change. Although this idea seems promising, the results are mixed. In the current article, the authors investigate whether and why commitment is effective. To do so, the authors first present a meta-analysis of environmental studies containing a commitment manipulation. Then, the authors investigate the psychological constructs that possibly underlie the commitment effect. They conclude that commitment making indeed leads to behavior change in the short- and long term, especially when compared with control conditions. However, a better understanding is needed of the possible underlying mechanisms that guide the commitment effect. The authors see commitment making as a potentially useful technique that could be improved by following up on findings from fundamental research. They provide suggestions for future research and recommendations for improving the effectiveness of commitment-making techniques.

CAMPFIRE and human-wildlife conflicts in local communities bordering northern Gonarezhou National Park, Zimbabwe

Human-wildlife conflicts are a global problem, and are occurring in many countries where human and wildlife requirements overlap. Conflicts are particularly common near protected areas where societal unrest is large. To ease conflict, integrated conservation and development projects (ICDPs) have been implemented. The Communal Areas Management Programme for Indigenous Resources (CAMPFIRE) is an example of an ICDP. We hypothesized that (i) a higher perceived effectiveness of CAMPFIRE would be associated with a decline in human-wildlife conflicts, and (ii) local communities with higher perceived effectiveness of CAMPFIRE programs would have more favorable attitudes towards problematic wild animals. Four focus group discussions and interviews with 236 respondents were conducted in four local communities adjacent to northern Gonarezhou National Park, Zimbabwe from December 2010 to August 2011. Moreover, we included data on recorded incidences of human-wildlife conflicts and CAMPFIRE financial returns to study communities between 2000 and 2010. Our results indicate that local communities showed considerable differences in how CAMPFIRE effectiveness was perceived. Local communities with higher ratings of CAMPFIRE effectiveness generally perceived a decline in human-wildlife conflicts, although some people had experienced problems with wild animals. Attitudes towards main problematic wild animals varied across the study communities and were partly associated with perceived CAMPFIRE effectiveness. Our findings partly support both of our study hypotheses. Contextual factors across the four local communities seemed to influence the perceived effectiveness of CAMPFIRE programs and attitudes towards problematic wildlife species. We recommend that decisions and actions regarding the control of problem animals be devolved to the community level in order to help reduce human-wildlife conflicts in community-based natural resources management programs.

Using tailored information and public commitment to improve the environmental quality of farm lands: An example from the Netherlands

By adopting nature conservation practices, farmers can enhance the environmental quality and biodiversity of their land. In this exploratory study, a behavioral intervention that focused on improving Dutch farmers’ nature conservation practices was developed and tested. This intervention was based on insights derived from social psychology and combined tailored information and public commitment. Participating farmers were divided in three groups: one group received tailored information only, one group received both tailored information and a public commitment manipulation, and one group served as a control. A questionnaire measuring relevant aspects of conservation was completed before and after the intervention. Results show that tailored information combined with public commitment making resulted in a stronger desire to engage in conservation, an increase in surface area of non-subsidized natural habitat, and an increase in time farmers spent on conservation. The intervention affected both subsidized and non-subsidized conservation, but the effects were stronger for non-subsidized conservation.

Effective Nurse Communication With Type 2 Diabetes Patients : A Review

Many type 2 diabetes mellitus patients have difficulties reaching optimal blood glucose control. With patients treated in primary care by nurses, nurse communication plays a pivotal role in supporting patient health. The twofold aim of the present review is to categorize common barriers to nurse–patient communication and to review potentially effective communication methods. Important communication barriers are lack of skills and self-efficacy, possibly because nurses work in a context where they have to perform biomedical examinations and then perform patient-centered counseling from a biopsychosocial approach. Training in patient-centered counseling does not seem helpful in overcoming this paradox. Rather, patient-centeredness should be regarded as a basic condition for counseling, whereby nurses and patients seek to cooperate and share responsibility based on trust. Nurses may be more successful when incorporating behavior change counseling based on psychological principles of self-regulation, for example, goal setting, incremental performance accomplishments, and action planning.

The pivot points in planning: How the use of contracts influences trust dynamics and vice versa

To organize new governance arrangements and to restore trust in spatial planning, contracts are often seen as vital policy instruments. The relations between contracts and trust are regularly studied from various perspectives. In this article, we add to the existing knowledge by exploring a dynamic perspective on the use of contracts over time and the influence thereof on trust dynamics. We conclude that, longitudinally, the use of contracts can play a pivotal role in trust dynamics by influencing the construction of, and actors’ perspective on, the common history of the parties involved and their future expectations in close relation to the changing context. This perspective might help planners to deal with the inevitable dynamics of planning processes and trust.

Quality assessment of practice nurse communication with type 2 diabetes patients

OBJECTIVE Nurse self-management support for type 2 diabetes patients may benefit from applying theory-based behavior change counseling. The 5As model was used to assess if, and how, nurses applied the five key elements of self-management support in standard care. METHODS Seven practice nurses audio-recorded consultations with 66 patients. An existing instrument for assessing counseling quality was used to determine if the 5As were applied. Applied As were compared with quality criteria, to provide an in-depth assessment. RESULTS In almost every consultation, nurses assessed health behaviors, and arranged a follow-up meeting. However, nurses advised behavior change in less than half of the consultations, while setting goals and assisting patients to overcome barriers were used even less. Comparing applied As with quality criteria revealed several issues that could be improved. CONCLUSION Nurses consistently discussed health behaviors with patients, but important elements of self-management support were not applied. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS Self-management support may benefit from training nurses in performing assessments that form the base for specific advice, setting goals, and addressing barriers to behavior change. Nurses also have to learn how to combine being medical expert and behavioral counselor. Clarifying both roles to patients may facilitate communication and establishing a collaborative relationship.

Communication Between HIV Patients and Their Providers: A Qualitative Preference Match Analysis

Since the introduction of cART (combination antiretroviral therapy), HIV has evolved into a chronic disease such that it requires lifelong medical treatment to which patients must adhere. Communication with health care providers is pivotal in supporting patients to adapt to having HIV and adhering to treatment, in order to maintain health and quality of life. Previous research indicates that communication is optimal when it matches patient preferences for information exchange, relationship establishment, and involvement in treatment decisions. The aim of the present study is to explore HIV patient communication preferences as well as patient experiences with their providers (not) matching their preferences. A second aim is to explore provider beliefs about patient preferences and provider views on optimal communication. Data were collected through interviews with 28 patients and 11 providers from two academic hospitals. Results indicate that patient preferences reflect their cognitive, emotional, and practical needs such that patients look to increase their sense of control over their HIV. Patients aim to further increase their sense of control (by proxy) through their relationship with their providers and through their decisional involvement preferences. Providers are well aware of patient communication preferences but do not explicate underlying control needs. Implications for clinical practice are discussed.

Energy saving in office buildings : Are feedback and commitment-making useful instruments to trigger change?

This study focuses on energy saving in an office environment. We developed and tested an intervention that contained both the administration of feedback as well as commitment-making: two techniques that are often described in the literature as successful, especially when combined. Using a sample of 146 employees, we tested the intervention’s effectiveness for our sample in terms of behavior change. Our results show some effects, but these were irrespective of experimental category. We use this failed experiment to reflect upon critical aspects of the design and implementation of intervention, and provide ideas on how such interventions can be improved.

The role of government in environmental land use planning: towards an integral perspective

© 2012 Aarts and Lokhorst, licensee InTech. This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The Role of Government in Environmental Land Use Planning: Towards an Integral Perspective

Landscape context and farm uptake limit effects of bird conservation in the Swedish Volunteer & Farmer Alliance

In Europe, agri-environmental schemes (AES) have been unsuccessful in halting biodiversity declines to any great extent. Two particular shortcomings of AES include the low farm uptake and the modest efficacy of many AES options. Partly in response to these shortcomings, initiatives encouraging farmers to take an active role in biodiversity conservation have gained in popularity. However, almost no evaluations of such initiatives exist. 2. We evaluated uptake of conservation advice on farms in the Swedish Volunteer & Farmer Alliance, a BirdLife Sweden-coordinated project aimed at farmland bird conservation, and the response of farmland birds to those actions using farm-level survey data, in a before-after implementation assessment. 3. Uptake was higher for unsubsidised (i.e. non-AES) measures than for AES options, and depended on farmers’ interest in nature, farm size (higher uptake on larger farms) and production type (higher on organic farms). 4. In general, abundances of non-crop nesting and field-nesting bird species declined between inventory years (median interval 3 years). Decreases were more marked in agriculturally marginal regions than in more arable-dominated regions, and declines were stronger on organic than conventional farms. 5. Negative abundance trends among non-crop nesting species were reduced by an increasing number of conservation measures at the farm, but only in the more arable-dominated landscapes. Changes in other non-crop species and in field-nesting species did not significantly relate to implemented measures, but the power to detect such effects was generally small due to the small sample size of high-uptake farms as well as high inter-farm variability. 6. Implications: Our results suggest that Volunteer Farmer Alliances and the addition of unsubsidised measures may be successful in changing the local number of non-crop nesting farmland birds at the farm level, and especially so in intensively managed agricultural landscapes. Thus, unsubsidised measures can be a useful addition to the set of agri-environment tools, although their effects on breeding bird numbers are (as with AES) dependent on landscape context, as well as on ensuring high on-farm uptake of different interventions.