Moving house the mother of reinvention

28 January 2016 - 02:41 By © The Daily Telegraph

When buying a house or switching jobs, the last thing that might come to mind is making another huge life change. But psychologists have found that big upheavals create a window of opportunity for getting rid of bad habits, such as smoking.The University of Bath has discovered that people are more open to new ideas and information when going through a major change in their lives.In the study, published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology, behaviour-change experts studied 800 adults in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire.Professor Bas Verplanken, from the University of Bath's department of psychology, said: "Life transitions - such as moving house or changing jobs - present a real opportunity to influence the choices that people make."Often around the time of a major change life can be up in the air and as such we know that people are generally more open to new ideas and information."Speaking about the potential for stopping smoking, Verplanken added: "I think that would certainly be a possibility."For instance, when people catch a severe cold and have to stop smoking, but there may be other, bigger, events as well."The study aimed to see if people would change their recycling behaviour and reduce energy use.Half of those involved had moved house within the past six months, while the other half had not.The participants were given a free reusable shopping bag containing sustainable products such as eco-washing liquid, vegetable and flower seeds, a bus timetable and a shower timer.The study found the intervention was more effective among participants who had recently moved house.Verplanken added: "Timing environmental interventions to coincide - while also reinforcing messages about saving money through such changes - can be particularly effective."However, we now know the window for this is limited - probably to a maximum of three months."After that point habits begin to get entrenched and become much harder to break."The key, therefore, is to find these opportunities if we are to help people make positive shifts that improve the environment and can save them money."For policymakers looking at returns on investment, the clear message is that targeted investments at this time stand more chance of success than blanket campaigns sent to everyone."The study tested the so-called "habit discontinuity hypothesis", which suggests that behaviour- change interventions are more effective when delivered in the context of life-course changes. ..

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