‘Environmental numbness’ is defined by Dr. Robert Gifford as a human instinct to selectively attend to various different environments. Given that environments contain a plethora of cues and issues that require our attention, we tend to prioritize the immediate and pressing difficulties in our lives over distant, abstract concepts and problems. Similar to an “out of sight, out of mind mentality,” the consistent presence or absence of specific cues or reminders can heavily influence our behaviour. For example, have you ever left your running shoes by the front door to prompt your future self to go for a run, or kept an empty milk carton in the fridge as a reminder to buy a new one? This same principle can be applied to our collective behaviour, which can influence social change.
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