Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Environment, Energy and Resilience Department of Psychology University of Bath September 2016
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University of Bath PHD Community-Economic Initiatives: The Psychology and Organisation of Grassroots Sustainability Smith, Carmen Award date: 2016 Awarding institution: University of Bath Link to publication Alternative formats If you require this document in an alternative format, please contact: [email protected] General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal ? Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 07. Oct. 2021 Community-Economic Initiatives: The Psychology and Organisation of Grassroots Sustainability Carmen Jayne Smith A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Environment, Energy and Resilience Department of Psychology University of Bath September 2016 COPYRIGHT Attention is drawn to the fact that copyright of this thesis rests with the author and copyright of any previously published materials included may rest with third parties. A copy of this thesis has been supplied on condition that anyone who consults it understands that they must not copy it or use material from it except as permitted by law or with the consent of the author or other copyright owners, as applicable. This thesis may be made available for consultation within the University Library and may be photocopied or lent to other libraries for the purposes of consultation with effect from ..................................... Signed on behalf of The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences .................................... 1 Abstract Ecovillages, Timebanks and a Local Exchange Trading Schemes are part of global social movements as well as offering innovative approaches to local sustainability. The current study looks at these three community-economic initiatives as a means of addressing the connected social, economic and environmental challenges of local sustainable development. Investigating these collective practices builds on current approaches to studying pro-environmental behaviour change in the social sciences. Two research questions structured this investigation. These focussed on i) how members understand their experiences within the selected groups and ii) processes leading to the formation, maintenance and contraction of the initiatives. Five individuals were interviewed from each group and interviews were analysed using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis. Secondary data sources also contributed to a broad analysis of group processes and contexts. Diverging from traditional approaches, this multi-level, interdisciplinary account is able to capture more of the complex reality of these organisations than would be possible within a single discipline or through focussing on a single element of group membership. Indeed this comprehensive approach to studying community-based models for sustainability is the unique contribution of this study, moving forward methodological debates in this field. Findings that emerged from this study emphasise group members’ motivation to enhance their personal resilience. Participation provided members with a sense of agency and community connection, as well as being a means to express alternative cultural identities. Informal reciprocal exchange was also preferred to more formal exchange practices, with implications for the understanding and development of community exchange systems. This study widens the focus of environmental psychology to include socio-economic practices, and contributes towards the growing interdisciplinary field of complementary currencies and grassroots innovation. Finally, it provides a template for the evaluation of sustainable community-economic initiatives more generally. The thesis concludes that these initiatives and their wider movements are a promising avenue for research and development in sustainability. 2 Contents Acknowledgements 11 Author’s Declaration 12 List of abbreviations 13 Part One: Theoretical and Policy Background 14 Chapter One: Introduction to the Thesis 15 1. Policy Context 2. Theoretical Context 3. The Aims and Scope of this Study 4. Research Questions 5. Structure of the Thesis Chapter Two: Socio-psychological Approaches to Sustainability 25 1. Introduction 2. Challenges to the Psychology of Behaviour Change 2.1 Rational Choice Models 2.2 Segmentation 3. Alternative Approaches in Psychology 3.1 Personal Agency 3.2 Theories of Human Motivation 3.3 Significant Life Experiences 4. Sociological Approaches 4.1 Social Cohesion and Communities of Practice 4.2 Social Identity and Sustainable Behaviour 5. Implications for Theory Development 6. Chapter Summary 3 Chapter Three: Socio-economic Approaches to Sustainability 45 1. Introduction 2. The Unsustainable Creation of Money 3. Reciprocity 4. The Core Economy 5. Core Principles for groups maintaining Common Pool Resources 6. Diffusion of Innovations 7. Implications for Theory Development 8. Chapter Summary Chapter Four: Introducing the Community-Economic Models 66 1. Introduction 2. Local Exchange Trading Schemes (LETS) 3. Timebanking 3.1 Dane County Timebank 4. The Ecovillage Movement 4.1 Lammas Ecovillage 5. Rationale for the Selected Initiatives 6. Chapter Summary Part Two: Methodology 84 Chapter Five: Introducing the Research Methodology 85 1. Introduction 2. Research Aims based on the Literature 3. Research Design 3.1 A Critical Realist Epistemology 3.2 A Qualitative Methodology 4. Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis 4.1 Advantages of IPA 4.2 Limitations and Challenges of IPA 4 5. Evaluative Criteria 6. Ethical Considerations 7. Reflectivity and Researcher Positionality 8. Chapter Summary Chapter Six: Conducting Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis 113 1. Introduction 2. Pilot Studies 3. Sampling 3.1 Selecting the Groups 3.2 Selecting the Interviewees 4. Data Collection 4.1 Interview Schedule 4.2 Interview Preparation 4.3 IPA Interviewing 4.4 Group Observations 5. Analysis 5.1 Transcribing and Note-taking 5.2 Developing Emergent Themes 5.3 Additional Data for Research Question Two 5.4 Writing and Dissemination 6. Chapter Summary Part Three: Results and Discussion 142 Chapter Seven: The Phenomenology of Group Experience: Personal Agency 143 1. Introduction 2. Resilience 2.1 Bristol LETS 2.2 Lammas 2.3 Dane County Timebank 2.3.1 Observations of the Allied Co-op Energy Project Meeting 5 3. Existential Thinking 3.1 Bristol LETS 3.2 Lammas 3.3 Dane County Timebank 3.4 The role of Upbringing in Existential Thinking 4. Sensory Participation in Nature 5. Chapter Summary Chapter Eight: The Phenomenology of Group Experience: Community 180 1. Introduction 2. Community Connection 2.1 The importance of Vulnerable and Marginal Communities 2.2 Lammas: Conflict and the Group Dynamic 2.3 Lammas: Sustainability and the Nuclear Family 2.4 The influence of Personality and Member Demographics 3. Reciprocity within the Community 3.1 Reciprocity and Tribalism 3.2 Formal and Informal Reciprocity 3.3 Reciprocity among Organisations and the Elderly 4. Chapter Summary Chapter Nine: The Phenomenology of Group Experience: Culture 201 1. Introduction 2. Selecting Alternative Culture 3. Lammas: Constructing Alternative Culture 4. Reproducing Alternative Culture 5. The Reaction against Mainstream Culture 6. Culture and Social Change in the UK and USA 7. Chapter Summary 6 Chapter Ten: Group Structures and Processes 217 1. Introduction 2. Bristol LETS 3. Dane County Timebank 3.1 Initiation of the DCTB 3.2 Maintenance of the DCTB 4. Lammas Ecovillage 4.1 Community Relations 4.2 Economic Relations 5. Convergence and Divergence of Group Factors 6. Discussion 7. Chapter Summary Chapter Eleven: The Social Movements and their Contextual Influences 239 1. Introduction 2. The Social Movements 2.1 LETS 2.2 Timebanking 2.3 The Ecovillage Movement 3. Contextual Influences 3.1 Cultural Context 3.2 Legal and Regulatory Context 3.3 Social Services Provision and Access to Finance 3.4 Technological Influences 3.5 Academic Context 4. Discussion: Influence of Contextual Factors 5. Chapter Summary Chapter Twelve: Concluding Discussion 276 1. Introduction 2. Linking Group Members’ Experiences to the Literature 2.1 Personal Experiences 7 2.2 Group Experiences 2.3 Cultural Experiences 3. Linking Group Processes to the Literature 4. Implications and Further Research 4.1 Personal Resilience within Needy Communities 4.2 Options for engaging with Mainstream and Alternative Cultures 4.3 Implications for the study of Environmental Behaviour Change 5. Strengths, Limitations and Challenges 5.1 Interdisciplinarity 5.2 Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis 5.3 Secondary Data Analysis 5.4 Evaluation of Findings 6. Conclusion Appendices Appendix One: Bibliography Appendix Two: Ethics Form Appendix Three: Ethical Approval Email Appendix Four: Information sheet for Participants Appendix Five: Consent Form for Interviewees Appendix Six: Consent Form for Group Representatives Appendix Seven: Interview Schedule Appendix Eight: Transcription Guidelines