The human environment can be defined the conditions in most cases outside where people live or work. It is important to note that where an individual life or those whom they interact with in one way or the other determines how they carry out themselves within a society. The acquired characters can, therefore, have either a positive or negative impact on their environment. This paper explains in details the different ways through which environmental cues shapes the behavior of individuals in society; it also discusses how behavior can be modified to support sustainability and how this can limit the effects which can be experienced in the environment. The essay also offers an explanation on how social norms influences how individuals carry out themselves and their beliefs towards the environment and finally this paper will provide solutions that can successfully change the behavior and habits of people to lessen the negative impact which may harm the environment.
How Environmental Cues Shape Behavior
Human behavior can have different effects on the environment, and these may either be positive or adverse depending on their nature and how they are executed . It is worth noting that societal behaviors come as a result of environmental cues. The internal drive that an individual can have on themselves to attain their set goals greatly depends on the societal norms which in most cases are established through the societal behaviors that these people are involved in most of their free time. Notably, environmental preservation is not given preference and does not even fall on the agendas of various individuals. Efforts are increased to make more people aware of how the environment can be taken good care of, and it is to attain proper sustainability in the future, there is a need to practice preservation at all cost as asserted by Easterbrook (2009). Coming up with appropriate plans to preserve the environment and in full support of the society will automatically lead to a society where individuals are more conscious of their surroundings.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Also, the environmental cues can be referred to as the aspects of experience that may trigger reactive response which is majorly influenced by the environment in which an individual lives. It is notable that how a person is exposed to an experience in their environment produces a signal that triggers how they respond to issues around them and consequently the manner in which they act. The best example of how environmental cue affects behavior is when a student is caught cheating on an assignment which has been given to test their listening and concentration ability; the consequence would be that the students may get suspended during which they may not be able to complete the assignment during that period. The incomplete job may not reflect well on the remaining students, and through this, they may not be able to cheat on their individual assignments. The environmental cue in this scenario is the punishment that this person is subjected and which acts as a great lesson to the remaining students to avoid cheating (Steg and Vlek, 2009).
How Behavior can be modified to promote sustainability
Environmental preservation for the future can be improved through the modification of the responses which may have adverse impacts on the environment. Although to impact on an individual to conserve their environment, incentives should not be necessary to realize a remarkable change, but this can be achieved through self-discipline notably, when a person takes a behavior not to be negative it comes both desirable and more appealing to them. Communities should modify their behavioral activities to realize the immediate change required in the environment. According to Michon, Chebat and Turley (2005), some of the behaviors can be turning off taps while brushing one's teeth helps conserve water and in return contributes to preserving our environment to a greater extent.
Having a greater understanding which improves survival to higher degrees indirectly or directly depends on the environmental preservation. Creating and maintaining a favorable environment in which individuals can live in peace and harmony while improving on both social and economic requirements can significantly improve the current and future generation’s living standards. Those behaviors people obtain through learning tend to have some conditioning modalities which substantially support the cause of environmental conservation. If these practices are put into consideration, the living standards of these individuals can significantly improve and through this sustainability can be achieved.
How social norms influence behavior and beliefs about the environment
Social norms may refer to the acceptable rules that govern the way a particular group of people carries out themselves. Individuals who do not obey the standards in most instances suffer from some challenges by going through against the accepted rules. These social norms have been shown to have a significant influence on the way different people believe and how they act towards their environment. These standards are also prone to change depending on the situation where the environment has been modified . The normative goals and social norms tend to be more secure when individuals support and promote one another, and in return, communities which have the great support of the manner in which people carry themselves out in most cases conform to the accepted rules.
Having a strong emphasis on the goals and being mindful of the social norms and environmental cues are very much necessary especially in the adoption of a pro-environmental behavior. And if the goal is strong enough to get adequate support from the community then the required respect which will ensure that how the individuals carry out themselves shows support towards the goals. In some instances, there may be obstacles which hinder the goals, and it is, therefore, prudent to get rid of them which may be noted in time when individuals may be barred from offering their full support for the cause. Having a great consistency towards a goal gives the people the motivation to accomplish it however much it may be difficult to follow.
Solutions which can successfully change the behavior of people
There are things which if put into actions can help in improving the behavior of individuals towards having a positive attitude in keeping and maintaining their environment so that even their future generation may enjoy the same things. Among the solutions is having a proper plan which focuses on the environmental, economic and social requirements that promote harmony to all the individuals in the environment. Even though preservation of the environment is a combination of various techniques and different factors put together, it is more important to focus on the future than in the current status of the environment.
Also, to make preservation attainable economically is very key and for instance obtaining a green surrounding is more expensive than doing things the traditional way. This is because the products used tend to be very costly, and the consumers are in most cases forced to pay more. Reduction of the cost of the organic products would make many individuals to obtain the organics products at pocket-friendly prices. The profits made in return can be used to fund other input products.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is important to note that having a sound environment is essential for the existence of humans and therefore its preservation should be the responsibility of almost every individual. All these things should be done having in mind that how we think or treat the environment has a significant impact on us and our future generation.
References
Easterbrook, J. A. (2009). The effect of emotion on cue utilization and the organization of behavior. Psychological review, 66(3), 183.
Michon, R., Chebat, J. C., & Turley, L. W. (2005). Mall atmospherics: the interaction effects of the mall environment on shopping behavior. Journal of Business Research, 58(5), 576-583.
Steg, L., & Vlek, C. (2009). Encouraging pro-environmental behavior: An integrative review research agenda. Journal of environmental psychology, 29(3), 309-317.
