*note: this post will be opinionated, feel free to disagree in the comments! “In a world greater than I”. This was a phrase I had written during one of my poetical musings. At the time, it was written to convey that I individually, together with all my problems and troubles, was, in the end, […]
social identity theory & me
In my previous post ‘social identity theory’ where I examined how the social groups you identify with could subconsciously affect your environmental decisions, I left off by saying that perhaps I needed to reflect my own perceived social identity. And so, I did. As an introvert who doesn’t belong to many social groups, and is […]
social identity theory
In my previous post ‘fitting in: singapore’, I talked about how social norms could influence an individual’s sustainable behaviour by examining my observations of Singapore and her people. While doing research for that post, I came across an interesting theory: the social identity theory. the theory Proposed by Henri Tajfel in 1979, the theory […]
fitting in: singapore
It is human nature to want to fit in. We want to belong to a group, and we want people around us to affirm our views. And to do so, we inadvertently change ourselves: our mindsets, our actions, and maybe even our individuality. Sometimes it means changing for the better (like BES’ influence on me […]
the pareto principle
Throughout this blog, I’ve been talking about the possible reasons why people might be reluctant to live sustainably. For a change, this week I’ll instead blog about something that might encourage us to make lifestyle changes. Overwhelmed by the perceived difficulty of living sustainably, some of us may proceed to give up before even trying. This […]
does education drive us to act?
We can’t care about a problem we don’t know exists. This has largely been the stance towards the push for greater environmental education efforts, as the belief is that people aren’t living more sustainably because current efforts are failing. Then again, it’s not like climate change (along with other environmental issues) is a particularly obscure […]
verifying the viability of veggies
It has been 14 days since I became vegetarian 🙂 To mark the occasion, I’ll be taking a break from the depressing social commentary and instead, blog on my veggie journey thus far. viability Some of the most commonly cited reasons for not switching to living sustainably have to do with the troubles of […]
we can save ourselves, but not before we end (it) ourselves
After Dr Coleman’s lecture in week 3 where we learned about the I=PAT formula, I was reminded of a text sent by a relative over a year ago. Following a video sent by another relative that outlined Singapore as having one of the most efficient waste management systems in the world, she remarked that Singapore […]
for the privileged? (part 2)
In my previous blog post, I introduced 2 main ways I believe privilege manifests in sustainability; it enables, and it divides. As promised, in part 2 I will be delving into the way privilege drives a wedge between us. privilege is dividing As more people rally behind the sustainability cause, conversely, more are excluded […]
for the privileged? (part 1)
Sustainability has somehow, always been linked to wealth. As reflected by the results of a survey I conducted a few weeks back, this idea seems to be fairly popular too, where when asked about the biggest barrier to switching to a sustainable lifestyle, the majority of the 68 respondents indicated expense as the key factor. […]