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When customers try to conserve energy at the store—a process

Feb. 9, 2017 by James Ashley

When customers try to conserve energy at the store—a process that involves pulling out the power from a power outlet, for example—they see a greater increase in energy use. This isn't just because of increased energy use: the extra energy is also used up if it's not used up at home.

But, as the researchers point out, most of the time, people who don't use energy are not taking into account the environmental impacts of their use.

"What is surprising is that people who are more environmentally conscious are not more active, more environmentally conscious, or more engaged in their communities. They are more active," says Jachimowicz. "That's a very striking example of what we have to do to help communities in our states."

The researchers set out to test a theory called the "lack of choice hypothesis." These theories imply that people who don't use energy are more likely to take a risk in trying to save energy. They then looked at whether people who are less active think they're more wasteful, and whether they're less efficient in their actions.

The results of the two experiments seem to support the idea that energy consumption is a function of our own personal choices.

"Our findings are consistent with the assumption that people are better behaved by their environment and by their environment's environmental constraints, which are very important factors in the choice of energy providers," says Jachimowicz.

The researchers found that a lot of people who are more environmentally conscious are more active and are more connected to their communities. They also found that many people who are less active are less socially and economically attached to their local environment.

"It's not just about the energy used, but also about how our energy use affects others," says Jachimowicz.

In other words, people who don't get involved in their communities, even to a point, are less likely to be in a position to change their behavior.

Jachimowicz and Hauser point out that many communities are actually more economically active because of the cost of energy—think the cost of a small business building a new apartment. And that's not to say that a lack of choice is necessarily bad: just look at our own energy use.

But, as the authors note, their findings can be confusing if you think about it in a more literal sense. For example, the researchers also found that the less connected local residents and those who don't use energy are more likely to be in an environment that puts a greater burden on the