DISCUSSION PAPER
EXTENDING THE BETTER BALANCE MODEL TO HELP SOLVE THE PROBLEM OF SUSTAINABILITY To find out more about The John Madejski Centre for Reputation, click here
T
he massive environmental, social and economic challenges facing the
world are well documented and some believe that climate change, population growth and increased consumption will challenge the sustainability of human life on this planet.
In this recently published discussion paper, based on work at the John Madejski Centre for Reputation, Professor Kevin Money, director of the Centre, along with Stephen Pain, VP Sustainable Business and Communications, and Professor Carola Hillenbrand, suggest that there needs to be an in-depth exploration of the root cause of the sustainability problem: human behaviour.
A psychological approach to sustainability Much of the current debate focuses on reducing negative symptoms of human behaviour rather than understanding and changing the root causes of it, but we suggest that the world is out of balance because the motivations and, therefore, the behaviours of people are out of balance. By understanding why and how we are motivated to behave as we do, we can find solutions that can restore balance within ourselves, in our relationships with each other and with the wider world. Put simply, we must achieve a better balance in business and in society more generally. By drawing on psychological theory, we propose that sustainable behaviours
Focus@Henley
could be encouraged by redressing the following imbalances that can lead to dysfunctional and unsustainable behaviour: • imbalances between human drives/ motivations • imbalances between learning from positive and negative outcomes • imbalances between people’s public and private identities We conclude the paper by presenting a model of sustainability that can redress imbalances and, thus, encourage sustainable behaviours.
Balancing human drives/ motivations We argue that, as human beings, we are driven to: • Acquire – gain material goods and status • Bond – be a part of a group that cares for us and gives us identity • Comprehend – understand the world around us and have a purpose • Defend – protect things important to us
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