The Benefits of Less : The Effect of Sufficiency Gain Framing on Consumption Reduction

Sufficiency strategies aimed at reduced production and consumption levels have a high potential to help combat environmental issues. There is limited knowledge on how to promote voluntary sufficiency behaviors at the individual level. In an online experiment with participants from the United States (n = 1,317), we examine the effect of providing information about different sufficiency benefits to nature, society, or the individual on sufficiency behavior. Sufficiency behavior was measured by participants’ consumption level in an incentivized task. The results show that only the individual sufficiency gain framing leads to significantly less consumption compared to a neutral control group. Informing about individual sufficiency benefits, such as more free time and better mental health, may be fruitful in promoting sufficiency behavior