Fostering Connection & Empathy
An individual’s choices are often inconsistent with that person’s stated concern for the environment. We believe that fostering a greater sense of empathetic connection between personal choices and environmental consequences is likely to promote decisions that benefit the environment and future generations. We are experimenting with the use of animated characters that respond to real-time consumption data as one mechanism to better connect viewers' understanding of resource use with behaviors. Creating displays that foster a sense of connection among community members and a desire to make decisions that benefit the community and future generations is also an important goal of this project.
Animated characters in these “empathetic gauges” are intended to translate patterns of the rates of resource use into a form that affects the emotional connection and personal choices of the viewer.
