Bringing Choice Architecture to Architecture and Engineering Decisions: How the Redesign of Rating Systems Can Improve Sustainability
Publication: Journal of Management in Engineering
Volume 35, Issue 4
Abstract
To increase the long-term sustainability of architecture and engineering decisions, this research combined theory from behavioral science and civil infrastructure design to examine whether redesigning sustainability decision-making tools can alleviate potential status quo bias in planning and design decisions. Using case studies to simulate real-world decision environments, we empirically tested the combined effect of two modifications to the Envision Rating System for Sustainable Infrastructure. One modification provided engineers with sustainability points corresponding to the highest level of achievement, with any change to a lower level leading to a loss of points. The second modification showed engineers an exemplary project to serve as a feasibility example. The combined modifications produced significant gains in sustainability using predefined metrics. One concern is that these modifications work because decision makers are unaware of their effects. To assess this, we disclosed the modifications to another group of engineers. The disclosure had no significant effect on the gains in sustainability performance. We then repeated the experiment with groups. Similar gains in sustainability were achieved by groups who received the combined modifications. Our results suggest ways of using insights from behavioral decision theory to improve the growing array of tools used to plan for sustainability not only in large-scale infrastructure projects but also in a range of other upstream applications that determine downstream consumer choices.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
This material is based in part on work supported by the National Science Foundation, through Grants CMMI-1054122 and CBET-1531041. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
References
An, Y., J. Rogers, G. Kingsley, D. C. Matisoff, E. Mistur, and B. Ashuri. 2018. “Influence of task complexity in shaping environmental review and engineering design durations.” J. Manage. Eng. 34 (6): 04018043. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)ME.1943-5479.0000649.
Antillon, E. I., M. J. Garvin, K. R. Molenaar, and A. Javernick-Will. 2018. “Influence of interorganizational coordination on lifecycle design decision making: Comparative case study of public–private highway projects.” J. Manage. Eng. 34 (5): 05018007. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)ME.1943-5479.0000623.
Arkes, H. R., and C. Blumer. 1985. “The psychology of sunk cost.” Organ. Behav. Hum. Decis. Processes 35 (1): 124–140. https://doi.org/10.1016/0749-5978(85)90049-4.
Arroyo, P., I. D. Tommelein, and G. Ballard. 2016. “Selecting globally sustainable materials: A case study using choosing by advantages.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage. 142 (2): 05015015. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0001041.
Babaeian Jelodar, M., T. W. Yiu, and S. Wilkinson. 2017. “Assessing contractual relationship quality: Study of judgment trends among construction industry participants.” J. Manage. Eng. 33 (1): 04016028. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)ME.1943-5479.0000461.
Bakht, M. N., and T. E. El-Diraby. 2015. “Synthesis of decision-making research in construction.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage. 141 (9): 04015027. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0000984.
Bang, H. M., S. B. Shu, and E. U. Weber. 2018. “The role of perceived effectiveness on the acceptability of choice architecture.” Behav. Public Policy. https://doi.org/10.1017/bpp.2018.1.
Beamish, T. D., and N. Biggart. 2010. “Social heuristics: Decision making and innovation in a networked production market.” UC Davis Graduate School of Management Research Paper No. 01-10. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1533429.
Benartzi, S., and R. H. Thaler. 2007. “Heuristics and biases in retirement savings behavior.” J. Econ. Perspect. 21 (3): 81–104. https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.21.3.81.
Benhabib, J., A. Bisin, and A. Schotter. 2010. “Present-bias, quasi-hyperbolic discounting, and fixed costs.” Games Econ. Behav. 69 (2): 205–223. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geb.2009.11.003.
Bottom, W. P., K. Ladha, and G. J. Miller. 2002. “Propagation of individual bias through group judgment: Error in the treatment of asymmetrically informative signals.” J. Risk Uncertainty 25 (2): 147–163. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020643713354.
Bovens, L. 2009. The ethics of nudge. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer.
Boyd, R., and P. J. Richerson. 2005. The origin and evolution of cultures. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Brewer, G. D., and P. C. Stern. 2004. Decision making for the environment: Social and behavioral science research priorities. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
Buiten, M., A. Hartmann, and J. Meer. 2016. “Nudging for smart construction: Tackling uncertainty by changing design engineers’ choice architecture.” Engineering Project Organization Society. Accessed June 1, 2018. http://www.epossociety.org/EPOC2016/papers/Buiten%20et%20al_EPOC_2016.pdf.
Camerer, C. F. 2000. “Prospect theory in the wild: Evidence from the field.” In Choices, Values, and Frames, edited by D. Kahneman and A. Tversky, 288–300. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Chan, A. P. C., A. Darko, E. E. Ameyaw, and D. Owusu-Manu. 2017. “Barriers affecting the adoption of green building technologies.” J. Manage. Eng. 33 (3): 04016057. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)ME.1943-5479.0000507.
Clevenger, C. M., M. E. Ozbek, and S. Simpson. 2013. “Review of sustainability rating systems used for infrastructure projects.” In Proc., Associated Schools of Construction 49th Annual Int. Conf. Fort Collins, CO: Associated Schools of Construction.
Delgado, L., and T. Shealy. 2018. “Opportunities for greater energy efficiency in government facilities by aligning decision structures with advances in behavioral science.” Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 82: 3952–3961. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2017.10.078.
Delgado, L., T. Shealy, M. Garvin, and A. Pearce. 2018. “Framing energy efficiency with payback period: Empirical study to increase energy consideration during facility procurement processes.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage. 144 (5): 04018027. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0001464.
deMonsabert, S., F. Snyder, and L. Shultzaberger. 2003. “Comparative evaluation of analytical and intuitive decision making.” J. Manage. Eng. 19 (2): 42–51. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0742-597X(2003)19:2(42.
Dinner, I. M., E. J. Johnson, D. G. Goldstein, and K. Liu. 2011. “Partitioning default effects: Why people choose not to choose.” J. Exp. Psychol. Appl. 17 (4): 332–341. doi:10.1037/a0024354.
The Economist. 2007. “Sunk infrastructure.” Accessed April 18, 2019. http://www.economist.com/blogs/freeexchange/2007/08/sunk_infrastructure.
Envision. 2019. “Envision: Driving success in sustainable infrastructure projects.” Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure. Accessed April 18, 2019. https://sustainableinfrastructure.org/envision/.
Feng, Y., P. Wu, G. Ye, and D. Zhao. 2017. “Risk-compensation behaviors on construction sites: Demographic and psychological determinants.” J. Manage. Eng. 33 (4): 04017008. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)ME.1943-5479.0000520.
Fischer, M., and H. Adams. 2011. “Engineering-based decisions in construction.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage. 137 (10): 751–754. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0000304.
Genesove, D., and C. Mayer. 2001. “Loss aversion and seller behavior: Evidence from the housing market.” Q. J. Econ. 116 (4): 1233–1260. https://doi.org/10.1162/003355301753265561.
Gonzalez, C., J. Dana, H. Koshino, and M. Just. 2005. “The framing effect and risky decisions: Examining cognitive functions with fMRI.” J. Econ. Psychol. 26 (1): 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2004.08.004.
Harris, N. E. 2017. Barriers and cognitive biases in the monitoring-based commissioning process. M.S. thesis, Virginia Tech. https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/handle/10919/81102.
Harris, N., T. Shealy, and L. Klotz. 2016. “How exposure to ‘role model’ projects can lead to decisions for more sustainable infrastructure.” Sustainability 8 (2): 130. https://doi.org/10.3390/su8020130.
Harris, N., T. Shealy, H. Kramer, J. Granderson, and G. Reichard. 2018. “A framework for monitoring-based commissioning: Identifying variables that act as barriers and enablers to the process.” Energy Build. 168: 331–346. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2018.03.033.
Hastie, R., and T. Kameda. 2005. “The robust beauty of majority rules in group decisions.” Psychol. Rev. 112 (2): 494–508. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.112.2.494.
Heath, C., R. P. Larrick, and G. Wu. 1999. “Goals as reference points.” Cognit. Psychol. 38 (1): 79–109. https://doi.org/10.1006/cogp.1998.0708.
Ismael, D., and T. Shealy. 2018. “Aligning rating systems and user preferences: An initial approach to more sustainable construction through a behavioral intervention.”. In Proc., Construction Research Congress 2018, 716–725. Reston, VA: ASCE. https://doi.org/10.1061/9780784481301.071.
Jachimowicz, J., S. Duncan, E. Weber, and E. Johnson. 2019. When and why defaults influence decisions: A meta-analysis of default effects. Behav. Public Policy. https://doi.org/10.1017/bpp.2018.43.
Johnson, E. J., et al. 2012. “Beyond nudges: Tools of a choice architecture.” Marketing Lett. 23 (2): 487–504. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11002-012-9186-1.
Johnson, E. J., G. Häubl, and A. Keinan. 2007. “Aspects of endowment: A query theory of value construction.” J. Exp. Psychol. Learn. Mem. Cognit. 33 (3): 461–474. https://doi.org/10.1037/0278-7393.33.3.461.
Kruskal, W. H., and W. A. Wallis. 1952. “Use of ranks in one-criterion variance analysis.” J. Am. Stat. Assoc. 47 (260): 583–621. https://doi.org/10.1080/01621459.1952.10483441.
Kunreuther H., et al. 2014. “Integrated Risk and Uncertainty Assessment of Climate Change Response Policies.” Chap. 2 in Climate change 2014: Mitigation of climate change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 151–206. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Lassiter, J., and T. Shealy. 2017. “An assessment of the Coast Guard's engineering operation and design decisions in preparation for sea level rise due to climate change.” In Proc., Int. Conf. on Sustainable Infrastructure. Reston, VA: ASCE. https://doi.org/10.1061/9780784481202.004.
Li, S., J. Linn, and E. Spiller. 2013. “Evaluating ‘cash-for-clunkers’: Program effects on auto sales and the environment.” J. Environ. Econ. Manage. 65 (2): 175–193. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeem.2012.07.004.
Liu, J., L. Geng, B. Xia, and A. Bridge. 2017. “Never let a good crisis go to waste: Exploring the effects of psychological distance of project failure on learning intention.” J. Manage. Eng. 33 (4): 04017006. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)ME.1943-5479.0000513.
Loewenstein, G., C. Bryce, D. Hagmann, and S. Rajpal. 2015. “Warning: You are about to be nudged.” Behav. Sci. Policy. 1 (1): 35–42.
MacDougall, C., and F. Baum. 1997. “The devil's advocate: A strategy to avoid groupthink and stimulate discussion in focus groups.” Qual. Health Res. 7 (4): 532–541. https://doi.org/10.1177/104973239700700407.
Mann, H. B., and D. R. Whitney. 1947. “On a test of whether one of two random variables is stochastically larger than the other.” Ann. Math. Stat. 18 (1): 50–60. https://doi.org/10.1214/aoms/1177730491.
Markle, A., G. Wu, R. J. White, and A. M. Sackett. 2018. “Goals as reference points in marathon running: A novel test of reference dependence.” J Risk Uncertainty 56 (1): 19–50. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11166-018-9271-9.
Müller, D. B., G. Liu, A. N. Løvik, R. Modaresi, S. Pauliuk, F. S. Steinhoff, and H. Brattebø. 2013. “Carbon emissions of infrastructure development.” Environ. Sci. Technol. 47 (20): 11739–11746. https://doi.org/10.1021/es402618m.
Mulvaney, B. 2012. “Red teams.” Marine Corps Gaz. 96 (7): 63. Accessed September 7, 2018. http://www.hqmc.marines.mil/Portals/138/Docs/PL/PLU/Mulvaney.pdf.
Nederhof, A. J. 1985. “Methods of coping with social desirability bias: A review.” Eur. J. Soc. Psychol. 15 (3): 263–280. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2420150303.
Newsham, G. R., S. Mancini, and B. J. Birt. 2009. “Do LEED-certified buildings save energy? Yes, but…” Energy Build. 41 (8): 897–905. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2009.03.014.
Nikolaeva, R. 2014. “Interorganizational imitation heuristics arising from cognitive frames.” J. Bus. Res. 67 (8): 1758–1765. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2014.03.001.
Nikou, T., and L. Klotz. 2014. “Application of multi-attribute utility theory for sustainable energy decisions in commercial buildings: A case study.” Smart Sustain. Built Environ. 3 (3): 207–222. https://doi.org/10.1108/SASBE-01-2014-0004.
Odean, T. 1998. “Are investors reluctant to realize their losses?” J. Fin. 53 (5): 1775–1798. https://doi.org/10.1111/0022-1082.00072.
Olsen, W., T. Shealy, F. Paige, J. Taylor, A. Anderson, and S. Comu. 2016. “Do virtual worlds amplify or reduce cognitive bias in group decision making: An investigation during the design of a bio-inspired building.” Seattle: Engineering Project Organization Society.
Parkin, J. V. 1994. “Judgmental model of engineering management.” J. Manage. Eng. 10 (1): 52–57. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)9742-597X(1994)10:1(52.
Pichert, D., and K. V. Katsikopoulos. 2008. “Green defaults: Information presentation and pro-environmental behaviour.” J. Environ. Psychol. 28 (1): 63–73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2007.09.004.
Poveda, C. A., and M. Lipsett. 2011. “A review of sustainability assessment and sustainability/environmental rating systems and credit weighting tools.” J. Sustainable Dev. 4 (6): 36. https://doi.org/10.5539/jsd.v4n6p36.
Rowe, G., and G. Wright. 1999. “The Delphi technique as a forecasting tool: Issues and analysis.” Int. J. Forecasting 15 (4): 353–375. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-2070(99)00018-7.
Saad, D. A., and T. Hegazy. 2015. “Behavioral economic concepts for funding infrastructure rehabilitation.” J. Manage. Eng. 31 (5): 04014089. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)ME.1943-5479.0000332.
Scheffé, H. 1959. The analysis of variance. Oxford, UK: Wiley.
Scofield, J. H. 2009. “Do LEED-certified buildings save energy? Not really…” Energy Build. 41 (12): 1386–1390. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2009.08.006.
Shealy, T., I. Dalya, A. Hartmann, and M. van Buiten. 2017. “Removing certainty from the equation: Using choice architecture to increase awareness of risk in engineering design decision making.” Seattle: Engineering Project Organization Society.
Shealy, T., and L. Klotz. 2015. “Well-endowed rating systems: How modified defaults can lead to more sustainable performance.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage. 141 (10): 04015031. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0001009.
Shealy, T., and L. Klotz. 2016. “Choice architecture as a strategy to encourage elegant infrastructure outcomes.” J. Infrastruct. Syst. 23 (1): 04016023. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)IS.1943-555X.0000311.
Shealy, T., L. Klotz, E. U. Weber, E. J. Johnson, and R. G. Bell. 2016. “Using framing effects to inform more sustainable infrastructure design decisions.” J. Construct. Eng. Manage. 142 (9): 04016037. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0001152.
Slovic, P. 1995. “The construction of preference.” Am. Psychol. 50 (5): 364–371. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.50.5.364.
Sprauer, W., T. Blackburn, P. Blessner, and B. A. Olson. 2016. “Self-organization and sense-making in architect–engineer design teams: Leveraging health care's approach to managing complex adaptive systems.” J. Manage. Eng. 32 (2): 04015042. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)ME.1943-5479.0000405.
Sunstein, C. R. 2015. “The Ethics of Nudging,” Yale J. Regul. 32 (2): 413–450. Accessed April 5, 2019. https://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/yjreg/vol32/iss2/6.
Sunstein, C. R., and R. Hastie. 2015. Wiser: Getting beyond groupthink to make groups smarter. Boston: Harvard Business Press.
Sunstein, C. R., and R. H. Thaler. 2003. “Libertarian paternalism is not an oxymoron.” U. Chi. L. Rev. 70 (4): 1159–1202. https://doi.org/10.2307/1600573.
Teddlie, C., and F. Yu. 2007. “Mixed methods sampling: A typology with examples.” J. Mixed Methods Res. 1 (1): 77–100. https://doi.org/10.1177/1558689806292430.
Thaler, R. H., and S. Benartzi. 2004. “Save More Tomorrow: Using behavioral economics to increase employee saving.” J. Pol. Econ. 112 (S1): S164–S187. https://doi.org/10.1086/380085.
Thaler, R. H., C. R. Sunstein, and J. P. Balz. 2013. “Choice architecture.” Chap. 25 in The Behavioral Foundations of Public Policy, edited by E. Shafir, 428–439. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Tukey, J. W. 1949. “Comparing individual means in the analysis of variance.” Biometrics 5 (2): 99–114. https://doi.org/10.2307/3001913.
Tversky, A., and D. Kahneman. 1974. “Judgment under uncertainty: Heuristics and biases.” Science 185 (4157): 1124–1131. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.185.4157.1124.
Tversky, A., and D. Kahneman. 1992. “Advances in prospect theory: Cumulative representation of uncertainty.” J. Risk Uncertainty 5 (4): 297–323. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00122574.
van Buiten, M., and A. Hartmann. 2013. “Public–private partnerships: Cognitive biases in the field.” Seattle: Engineering Project Organization Society. Accessed April 5, 2019. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/d924/a35406a873a8f775da1d55bb533a03b64add.pdf.
Weber, E. U. 2015. “Climate change demands behavioral change: What are the challenges?” Soc. Res. Int. Q. 82 (3): 561–580.
Weber, E. U., and E. J. Johnson. 2009. “Mindful judgment and decision making.” Annu. Rev. Psychol. 60 (1): 53–85. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.60.110707.163633.
Weber, E. U., and E. J. Johnson. 2011. “Query theory: Knowing what we want by arguing with ourselves.” Behav. Brain Sci. 34 (2): 91–92. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X10002797.
Weber, E. U., E. J. Johnson, K. F. Milch, H. Chang, J. C. Brodscholl, and D. G. Goldstein. 2007. “Asymmetric discounting in intertemporal choice: A query-theory account.” Psychol. Sci. 18 (6): 516–523. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2007.01932.x.
Yechiam, E., and G. Hochman. 2013. “Losses as modulators of attention: Review and analysis of the unique effects of losses over gains.” Psychol. Bull. 139 (2): 497–518. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0029383.
Yechiam, E., and G. Hochman. 2014. “Loss attention in a dual-task setting.” Psychol. Sci. 25 (2): 494–502. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797613510725.
Yuan, H., H. Wu, and J. Zuo. 2018. “Understanding factors influencing project managers’ behavioral intentions to reduce waste in construction projects.” J. Manage. Eng. 34 (6): 04018031. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)ME.1943-5479.0000642.
Zimmerman, R. 2001. “Social implications of infrastructure network interactions.” J. Urban Technol. 8 (3): 97–119. https://doi.org/10.1080/106307301753430764.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Management in Engineering
Volume 35 • Issue 4 • July 2019
Copyright
© 2019 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jun 11, 2018
Accepted: Oct 18, 2018
Published online: May 2, 2019
Published in print: Jul 1, 2019
Discussion open until: Oct 2, 2019
ASCE Technical Topics:
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.