Title: Lawn control, lawn culture, and the social marketing of sustainable behaviors
Abstract: A lawn is an alteration and physical control of a natural environment in the social and informational domain and can either facilitate or impede behavioral control over other members of the community. On the social level, the lawn’s appearance bespeaks the personal values of the resident. Some believe that a person who keeps the lawn well groomed is a person who can be trusted. These perceptions are powerful social motivators and influence people’s preferences. From the standpoint of a preference for lawns, it is a matter of aesthetics, personal taste, property values, and normative views of nature that drive people’s choices and propagates and sustains the American lawn culture. In light of the growing ecological need to find viable alternatives to the chemically dependent lawns, the rationale for changing preferences and behavior modification need to be examined. But, the shifting of preference and attitudes toward conservation or sustainable behaviors often creates paradoxical and conflicting behaviors. People want to do the right thing, but are likely to go with what best serves their self-interest. This article will discuss the strong social–psychological factors that maintain lawn control and perpetuate the lawn culture and suggests that a social marketing approach is necessary to introduce viable naturalized alternatives to traditional idealized lawns and establish environmentally sustainable conservation behaviors. [Photo: Naturalised (above) and manicured (below)] [Joseph W. Dorsey (2010). Lawn control, lawn culture, and the social marketing of sustainable behaviors. Ecopsychology, 2(2), 91-103. DOI: 10.1089/eco.2009.0041]
