Behavioural factors definition
Behavioural factors means many different things to different people, according to their professional background. Some regard them as the readily measurable interactions with technology, for example the number of hours spent watching television, or the choices made in setting the temperature of a load of washing. Others take a broader view and include in this category abstract and complex issues such as cultural values and attitudes to environmental issues. Most often, ‘behavioural factors’ is used as a catch-all phrase covering all the invisible and hard-to-measure aspects of energy use. This broad definition is reasonable if we accept the premise that even the smallest decisions about the smallest actions are invariably informed by much wider and more complex ideas and beliefs. The different ways in which people accumulate and use technology (and thus use energy) reflect a series of choices; these are made according to particular values and beliefs, and perceptions of the environment, all of which are formed in response to a very wide range of factors. A ‘behavioural factor’ can therefore be framed as ‘any factor that exerts an influence on the decision-making process that results in human action’.