Mitigating climate change: an evaluative appraisal into how different theoretical behavioural models influence household consumption related behaviour

A wide-body of empirical and experimental research on recognising and explaining the behaviour of household energy bill payers suggests that household energy bill payers do not always abide by the postulation of having unchanging preferences. The particular research explored in this dissertation suggests that social preferences support rational choice theory, create reductions in household energy consumption, and encourage the purchase of carbon labelled products. For an explanation for why this decrease in energy consumption occurs, this thesis takes the stance that preferences are malleable and context-dependent and, at times, endogenous. To broaden the research on endogenous preferences in the explanation of household energy bill payers related behaviour, I champion a social preference extension strategy that allows context-dependent preferences to complement the behaviour of household energy bill payers by attaching the social preference extension strategy to rational choice theory. The premise of having malleable preferences creates options where the policymakers rely on persuasion and context manipulation to change preference orderings as well as the tools of rational choice theory that advocates the preference for more over less with given preference