Behavioral Foundations of Sustainable Development at Universities

This paper presents three behavioral insights for researching and teaching sustainability at universities: In a behavioral field experiment at a North American university campus, individuals were found to engage in sustainability actions if facing social status loss prospects. In line with (Kahneman and Tversky 1979) prospect theory holding losses looming larger than gains, social status loss prospects appear as powerful motivating factors to boost sustainability. In a university collaboration, behavioral online and paper-pen campus survey studies showed that when individuals judge alternative choices, presenting alternatives concurrently improves decision-making outcomes for future orientation and intergenerational balance. The joint alternative presentation mode therefore can boost sustainability. The third study used academic laboratory experiments, in which students played an economic trust game followed by a common goods game. The repeated interaction in two standard economic games provided evidence for trust and reciprocity leading to individuals contributing more to common goals. Educating future leaders at universities in a climate of trust and reciprocity may thus help elicit future contributions to sustainable development. Combined these studies prove behavioral economics to offer powerful ways to foster a sustainable society and pursue the Sustainable Development Goals.