Data and scripts from: Attachment Priming in Social Norm Messages Reduces Energy Consumption in Extreme Heat in the UAE

Social norms effectively reduce household energy use, yet research often focuses on moderate climates. Extreme heat could hinder energy-saving behaviors, potentially requiring extra motivational triggers. Here we tested whether a social norm message, when combined with secure attachment priming—a psychological mechanism triggering bonding and empathy—enhances energy conservation. In a preregistered field experiment in the United Arab Emirates (100 households, 25,600 observations over 9 months), we compared a standard social norm message against one enhanced with secure attachment priming (vs a control group). Results indicated that households receiving the combined message saved more electricity (9.98%) than those receiving the standard message (6.11%), showed greater efficacy in already efficient households, had heightened effectiveness on hotter days, and retained double the behavior changes post-intervention. During the study's final months, the COVID-19 lockdown occurred, revealing no significant usage differences between experimental groups from lockdown onwards.