John Thøgersen

John Thøgersen is a professor of economic psychology in the Department of Business Administration at Aarhus University, Denmark. Among his research interests that include media influences on consumer behaviour and sustainability, the role of social and moral norms in the environmental field, and the inter-generational transfer of pro-environmental values, attitudes and behaviour, John is recognised as one of the world’s leading experts on “spillover” and pro-environmental behaviour. This concept refers to the effect by which the adoption of one particular behaviour positively or negatively impacts on a person’s inclination to undertake other related behaviours. Many environmental organisations, governments and businesses rely on “positive spillover strategies” to drive pro-environmental behaviour change. These strategies rest on the assumption that targeting “simple and painless” actions can spillover into motivating other related and more ambitious environmental behaviours. Such a belief essentially provides the foundation for campaigns that focus on “taking a few simple steps” or claiming that “every little bit counts”.