Abstract:
Humans are always driven by their sensation for adequate comfort. Occupants’ behaviour is important
in the built environment as it affects the building performance and the indoor comfort requirements.
The built environment industry is moving towards high-performance buildings. However, highperformance
buildings often fail to achieve ‘as designed performance’. It is due to occupant
behaviour. The purpose of the paper was to investigate the theoretical background of behavioural
economics and its relevance in developing sustainable human behaviour in a building’s lifecycle.
Behaviour Economics uses the combined knowledge of psychology and economics to analyse and
understand human behaviour. It has been successfully used to influence human behaviour in consumer
markets, healthcare and insurance policies. This study explains six behavioural anomalies along with
their applications in different industries. Behavioural anomalies such as Status Quo Bias, Incentives
and Social Norms have been applied in consumer industry to create a positive impact on human
behaviour. It concludes by highlighting the potential of applying behaviour economics in built
environment and influencing occupant behaviour towards eco-friendly behaviour. This research study
is a part of a research endeavour to develop strategies for office buildings’ operation to change human
behaviour towards more eco-friendly behaviour. It will be useful for built environment professionals to
use these literature findings in design and operation strategies of an office building. It also provides a
good initial research note for researchers working in the field of sustainable human behaviour.
