# Demand Response Requirements from the Cultural, Social, and Behavioral Perspectives
## 1 Introduction  
Energy issues were not considered a major concern prior to the 1973 oil crisis [1]. The trend in energy consumption shifted dramatically when crude oil and energy costs rose. Thus, oil-importing countries moved toward more energy savings and better utilization of available resources [2]. Aside from the technological considerations, customer participation in energy management has gained much attention. Therefore, numerous studies were conducted to discover an efficient solution based on customers' behaviors in order to optimize energy consumption patterns. Demand side management (DSM) programs are widely used to modify the overall consumption profile in order to reduce electricity costs. DSM refers to a set of actions aimed to control and optimize energy consumption and minimize expenses, from grid charges to general system charges, such as taxes [3]. However, DSM encompasses a broader concept of energy management, whereas demand response (DR) focuses more on electricity demand [4]. DR programs are significant globally, due to their potential to engage end-users in the power supply chain [5, 6]. Customers'ability to modify their consumption patterns in response to market/system signals is defined as DR [7, 8]. DR implementation is highly dependent on the customers' decisions. Regardless of whether the decisions are responsive or not, the implementation of DR is considered a multifaceted subject. In reality, in addition to the electrical aspect, other factors such as economic, cultural, social, and behavioral ones are required for the successful implementation of DR. In this regard, it is important to evaluate humans' actions, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors in economic, social, and cultural contexts. Moreover, researchers are increasingly considering how communities respond to various challenges as an important topic. In addition, the relationship between environmental exploitation, and environmental beliefs and values is also considered a significant research area [9]. In order to modify consumers' energy consumption patterns, many scientific solutions have been presented. For example, on the one hand, technical experts believe that technological advancement has the greatest impact on energy consumption optimization [10]. On the other hand, economists mainly have focused on increasing the prices of energy carriers as the primary way to control energy consumption. However, even if each of these approaches is correctly implemented, they are not able to address all the aspects of the problem. The findings of several studies demonstrated that, in addition to technical and economic concerns, social, cultural, and behavioral variables play a significant role in energy consumption and, subsequently, DR implementation. Furthermore, nowadays, communities are more concerned about the environment, and societies are moving toward more decarbonization. As a result, this factor should be taken into account for developing a DR implementation roadmap. Additionally, economic and financial aspects should be considered in the real world to design and implement practical projects. Thus, aside from the other non-technical factors, the economic part should also be studied for achieving efficient DR implementation. Nevertheless, the scope of this paper is on identifying the cultural, social, and behavioral factors affecting energy consumption habits and DR programs. However, since different sociological factors are intertwined and cannot be separated in many cases [11, 12], economic and environmental factors are also considered in the literature review of this paper. Culture is the determining element in the development of all long-term human behavior. Culture could be defined as an immaterial and man-made environment that includes values, beliefs, customs, and traditions accepted by the majority of society. The most important feature of culture is stability and adhesion. In other words, culture is defined as the population's lifestyle, including arts, beliefs, and institutions, passed down from generation to generation.