The document discusses using real-world zoos and academic psychology research to promote conservation action. It describes how zoos can influence visitor attitudes and emotions to encourage pro-environmental behaviors. Studies showed zoo experiences can shift perspectives but don't necessarily lead to actions. Partnerships between zoos, universities, and conservation groups developed behavioral models testing how visitor emotions impact post-visit behaviors. The research identified emotionally arousing experiences and measured changes in attitudes and intentions toward conservation actions. While most attitudes did not change, the studies provided insights into improving behavior change messaging and identifying impactful actions for zoos to promote.

1. Real-world zoos
+ academic psychology
world changing action research?
Simon Garrett, Head of Learning, Bristol Zoo Gardens sgarrett@bristolzoo.org.uk

2. A sustainable future for wildlife and people
Conservation
Research

3. Conservation breeding

4. Field conservation

6. WAZA:
The educational focus should induce a
feeling of wonder and respect for the web of
life and our role in it; it should engage the
emotions and build on this experience to
create a conservation ethic that can be
carried into action.

7. Learning
at Bristol Zoo:
38,000 pupils in education sessions
650,000 visitors a year
Learning outcomes:
• Activity, behaviour and progression
• Skills
• Enjoyment, creativity and inspiration
• Attitudes, values and feelings
• Knowledge and understanding

8. We need to get everyone (i.e. normal people) involved
in conservation to be truly effective in the long term …
… the sustainable future for wildlife and people.
• Connection
• Action

9. ZSL symposium 2005 – ‘The human
dimensions of wildlife conservation’
UK zoo directors
and (mostly) American
(conservation) psychologists
speaking entirely different
languages.

11. … and then I went to IZE …

12. The magic partnership history nutshell
Monash Uni research (Betty Weiler, Sue Broad and Liam Smith)
• showed zoo experiences changing attitudes, creating
arousal – but not much evidence of influencing behaviour
• got people at the zoo thinking differently.
Zoos Victoria
• 2005 evaluation of possum program – zero schools action
• employed Rachel Lowry and … behaviour change became
core business.

13. WAZA:
The educational focus should induce a
feeling of wonder and respect for the web of
life and our role in it; it should engage the
emotions and build on this experience to
create a conservation ethic that can be
carried into action.

14. Tourism Research Unit
Does emotion at the zoo influence pro-wildlife behaviour?
Liam Smith
Tourism Research Unit
Monash University

15. The zoo proposition
ZOO
Institute for changing people
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16. Studies into the zoo proposition
• Some show that visitors are already active in
conservation
• Few studies have tested the impact of different
types of experiences
• Most behaviour studies in zoos show little support
for the zoo proposition
• BUT…
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17. Emotion may be important
• Attention
• Memory
• Behaviour through
cognitive and affective
models
• So there is definitely
potential…
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18. Four studies to examine the impact of visitor
emotions on the behaviour of visitors
– Identify experiences to test
– Test them for emotional arousal
– Develop measures of behaviour
– Test the impact of emotion on behaviour
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19. Identify experiences to test
• Consultation with ZV staff from each property
• Eight selected
– Orang presentation
– Elephant presentation
– Butterfly house
– Bus tour
– Rip Roaring Feed tour
– BOP show
– Watching an operation at the AWHC
– Watching a reptile show
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20. Test them for emotional arousal
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21. Physiological data
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22. Results
• The two most consistently
emotionally arousing
experiences were...
– The BOP show – this
was chosen
(3 behaviours already
asked, open to all)
– Rip Roaring Feed tour
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23. Develop measures of behaviour
• Attitudes toward behaviours
and behavioural intentions
for:
• Buying 100% recycled
• Recycling paper and cardboard
• Removing road kill off the road
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24. Testing the impact of emotion on behaviour
• Measured attitudes and intentions before and after
BOP show
• Measured emotion and attention-paying during the
show
• Examined the relationship between emotion and
changes in attitudes and intentions
• Measured attitudes and intentions of those who didn’t
go to the show
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25. Findings
• Most attitudes and intentions for the recycling
behaviours did not change as a result of attending
the BOP show
• Attitude toward and intention to remove road kill did
change but emotion probably wasn’t the reason
• First time visitors experience more emotional
arousal and this may distract them from requests
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26. Some suggestions
• Separate the WOW
from the REQUEST
• Repetition
• Emotion into the
REQUEST
• Choose novel
behaviours
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27. What to ask?
• New
• Easy
• Response efficacy high or explained
• On-site options
+ consider the number of people you want to influence
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28. Results of applying NERO
• Ran 8 workshops with zoo staff around Australia
• Elicited large lists of behaviours
• Applying NERO criteria led to prioritising
– Political engagement and activism
– Consumerism
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29. The magic partnership history nutshell
Monash Uni research (Betty Weiler, Sue Broad and Liam Smith)
• showed zoo experiences changing attitudes, creating
arousal – but not much evidence of influencing behaviour
• got people at the zoo thinking differently.
Zoos Victoria
• Developed a model.

30. The seed
• 2006/07 – trialled two education programmes at Werribee,
and in Zimbabwe using the new model – with great success.
• Rachel employed for one year
• 2008, budgeted A$3,000 for phone campaign (£2k)

33. Thanks to Melbourne's people
426,000 mobile phones are ‘retired’ in the US every day

36. They’re calling on you – Oct 2008
• Over 47,000 phones diverted from landfill
• more than AU$100,000 dollars raised
• 122 corporations registered, committing their
retired mobile fleets
• over 200 schools and other organisations signed up to do mobile
phone drives
• media communications raised the profile of the program and
Melbourne Zoo.
• Bar codes showed 26% return rate from keeper talks, vs 7% from
main gate
• Newspaper reaching over a million is inserting ‘satchel’ in every copy

38. Don’t palm us off – 2009
• 70,000 signatures in the first five months, now 162,317
• Bill to The Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia titled
‘Food Standards Amendment (Truth in labelling – Palm Oil)’
• Rise in awareness from 53.4% to 97% amongst zoo visitors
• More than 31,000 people joined the facebook page
• The Campaign website has driven traffic to the zoo website
generating more than 138,000 unique viewers
• Country Life Soap sponsored the campaign for $50,000 whilst
placing the Melbourne Zoo logo and call to action on product going
into more 5 million Australian homes
• So far over AU$300,000 raised

39. • 95% of Australians buy non-
recycled toilet paper.
• 6.7 million trees are flushed in
Australia every year.
• http://www.zoo.org.au/wipe
Key objectives
Wipe for Wildlife aims to:
• Shift at least 10,000 households
towards recycled toilet paper in one
year.
• Raise the profile of selected native
species and the power of
conservation-sensitive consumers.

40. What is the theory of planned behaviour?
Attitude
toward the On balance, is it a good thing to do?
behaviour
Who would approve or disapprove?
Intention to do BASED
Subjective the behaviour Behaviour
norm ON
BELIEFS
Perceived
behavioural What makes it hard or easy to do?
control
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41. What is the TPB approach?
If I sign up to an online
• Study 1: Work out what the beliefs are wildlife action group, I could
be sent spam emails
• Study 2: Work out what type of beliefs (attitude belief)
Attitude toward the
are the best predictors of behaviour or
behaviour
My spouse / partner would
If I donate to the Tassie Devil
intention
Appeal, some if I the money will be
approve of purchased
recycled toilet paper
• Study 3: Measure belief strength and wasted on administration
Subjective norm
(normative belief)
Intention to do the
behaviour
Behaviour
compare between doers and non-doers Those that donated = 4.3
My supermarket doesn’t
Perceived
behavioural control
stock phosphate-free
Those that didn’t donate = 6.7
detergent (control belief)
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42. An example of the TPB approach:
purchasing 100% recycled toilet paper
• Study 1 – belief elicitation
– Some beliefs were predictable:
• buying 100% recycled TP will save trees
• buying 100% recycled TP will save wildlife
• it feels uncomfortable to use
• it costs more
– Some were less common:
• my spouse is an important other
• opaque packaging makes it harder to buy
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43. Belief differences between compliers and non-compliers for
buying recycled toilet paper
Belief Complier average Non complier average
score score p
If I purchase 100% recycled toilet paper at the supermarket within a month it
will help save trees 17.8 16.4 0.13
If I purchase 100% recycled toilet paper at the supermarket within a month it
will help save water, energy and resources 17.4 15.8 0.11
If I purchase 100% recycled toilet paper at the supermarket within a month, it
will help save wildlife habitat 18.7 16.6 0.06
When using 100% recycled toilet paper, it feels uncomfortable compared to
using non-recycled toilet paper -2.5 -6.4 0.02*
When using 100% recycled toilet paper, I get annoyed because it is too thin
and tears easily -3.7 -8.1 0.00*
Purchasing 100% recycled toilet paper makes me feel good
16.6 11.0 0.00*
100% recycled toilet paper costs more than non-recycled toilet paper
-4.4 -1.4 0.00*
100% recycled toilet paper is not clearly labelled at the supermarket
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44. Three examples...
• At Perth Zoo, we found these beliefs important:
1. 100% recycled toilet paper feels uncomfortable
compared to using non-recycled toilet paper
2. 100% recycled toilet paper costs more than non-
recycled toilet paper
3. 100% recycled toilet paper is too thin and tears easily
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47. Wipe for Wildlife – 2010/11
• Board gave approval but Rachel was told to keep complaint log. First
complaint was that Crapman wasn’t there the day a family visited.
• 27,000 households engaged
• 45% of visitors got the message
• 27% of non-compliers switched
• Crapman was the most
effective influence

48. Another example...
• At Adelaide, we found these beliefs important
for donating at an enormous globe...
– It is clear what the globe is for
(confusion about ‘Conservation Ark’)
– My kids would approve if I
put money in the donation globe
– If I put money in the donation globe,
it will help endangered species
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49. Conservation ARK
We exist to save animals
from extinction
Help support international
conservation programs
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50. Please consider the environment.
Hang up your towel so we know
not to replace it. Reusing towels
decreases the use of electricity,
detergents and water. Please
reuse your towel
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51. Most guests at this hotel
consider the environment and ↑ 26%
reuse their towel at least once
during their stay. Please join
them in considering the
environment and reuse your
towel.
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52. Most guests who stay in this room
consider the environment and ↑ 33%
reuse their towel at least once
during their stay. Please join
them in considering the
environment and reuse your
towel.
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53. At this hotel we are committed to
the environment. When you 0%
reuse your towel, we donate a
percentage of the energy savings
to WWF. Please reuse your
towel
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54. At this hotel, we are committed to
the environment. We’ve already
donated to WWF on behalf of our
↑ 45%
guests in anticipation of the savings
we’ll make through towel reuse.
Please reuse your towel
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56. A final example...
• At Taronga, we found differences for...
– It will fund the Tasmanian devil breeding program
– The keepers would approve of me donating to the Tassie Devil
Appeal
– My kids would approve
– I could easily find / see the donation box
– The design of the donation box was good
– There was not enough information about the Tassie Devil Appeal
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57. Videos
• Video 1 – existing Tassie Devil Video
• Video 2 – Old Spice ad
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owGykVbfgUE
• Video 3 – Waz doing the Old Spice man
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58. Videos
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59. Conclusions
• Research can help guide but identifying
the message is just the start
• The TPB is just one of many approaches
that can be used
• Need to compare methods
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60. Is this all too much?

63. The personal threshold measure...
How many times during a visit
should the zoo ask you to help
wildlife?
Oh, I reckon about five times
How many times were you asked
to help wildlife today?
Two times today.. that I can
remember
AHA, so your threshold wasn’t
crossed and you could have
been asked three more times
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64. Is this all too much?
• Very few visitors have their personal
threshold crossed
• Visitor satisfaction goes up the more
you ask
• … as long as you only ask for money
once
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