Giving Compass' Take:

• Pacific Standard reports on a recent study that shows how energy customers are more cognizant of consumption when they learn about their neighbors' use.

• How can we harness this basic human psychology to advance climate change causes? With dire warnings on the environment in the news, anything that may move the needle is worth a look.

• There is a basic psychological reason we keep ignoring climate change reports in the first place.

Limiting climate change will require convincing people to reduce their energy consumption. New research reveals a simple and effective way of doing so, based on a widely shared proclivity: our tendency to compare ourselves to our neighbors.

A large-scale study reports informing power-company customers about their neighbors' level of energy consumption inspired them to turn off lights, or turn down the thermostat. This effect was far stronger in states where people believe conservation is a behavior valued by their fellow citizens.

We may care deeply about the environment, but "we need to believe that others care about it too," says the University of Exeter's Oliver Hauser, a member of the research team behind the study. "People believe, rightly or wrongly, that a majority of those around them know what's right — and they are afraid that they might be told off if they behave in a different way."

The study, which was published in the journal Nature Human Behavior, begins by analyzing data on more than 16 million households in 27 states. It was compiled by Opower, which the researchers describe as "a firm that is contracted by utility companies to help meet energy conservation requirements."

Read the full article about how comparisons to neighbors helps people be more climate-conscious by Tom Jacobs at Pacific Standard