Internal and External Factors’ Influence on Recycling: Insights From a Laboratory Experiment With Observed Behavior
Internal psychological factors, such as intentions and personal norms, are central predictors of pro-environmental behavior in many theoretical models, whereas the influence from external factors such as the physical environment is seldom considered. Even rarer is studying how internal factors inter...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2021-07-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.699410/full |
| _version_ | 1818921743157297152 |
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| author | Noah Linder Sonny Rosenthal Patrik Sörqvist Stephan Barthel Stephan Barthel |
| author_facet | Noah Linder Sonny Rosenthal Patrik Sörqvist Stephan Barthel Stephan Barthel |
| author_sort | Noah Linder |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Internal psychological factors, such as intentions and personal norms, are central predictors of pro-environmental behavior in many theoretical models, whereas the influence from external factors such as the physical environment is seldom considered. Even rarer is studying how internal factors interact with the physical context in which decisions take place. In the current study, we addressed the relative influence and interaction of psychological and environmental factors on pro-environmental behavior. A laboratory experiment presented participants (N = 399) with a choice to dispatch a used plastic cup in a recycling or general waste bin after participating in a staged “yogurt taste test.” Results showed how the spatial positioning of bins explained more than half of the variance in recycling behavior whilst self-reported recycling intentions were not related to which bin they used. Rinsing cups (to reduce contamination) before recycling, on the other hand, was related to both behavioral intention and external factors. These results show that even seemingly small differences in a choice context can influence how well internal psychological factors predict behavior and how aspects of the physical environment can assist the alignment of behavior and intentions, as well as steering behavior regardless of motivation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-20T01:42:29Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1798d195eea84ab5b99ea23002fbf578 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-20T01:42:29Z |
| publishDate | 2021-07-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-1798d195eea84ab5b99ea23002fbf5782022-12-21T19:57:51ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782021-07-011210.3389/fpsyg.2021.699410699410Internal and External Factors’ Influence on Recycling: Insights From a Laboratory Experiment With Observed BehaviorNoah Linder0Sonny Rosenthal1Patrik Sörqvist2Stephan Barthel3Stephan Barthel4Department of Building Engineering, Energy Systems and Sustainability Science, University of Gävle, Gävle, SwedenWee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, SingaporeDepartment of Building Engineering, Energy Systems and Sustainability Science, University of Gävle, Gävle, SwedenDepartment of Building Engineering, Energy Systems and Sustainability Science, University of Gävle, Gävle, SwedenStockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm, SwedenInternal psychological factors, such as intentions and personal norms, are central predictors of pro-environmental behavior in many theoretical models, whereas the influence from external factors such as the physical environment is seldom considered. Even rarer is studying how internal factors interact with the physical context in which decisions take place. In the current study, we addressed the relative influence and interaction of psychological and environmental factors on pro-environmental behavior. A laboratory experiment presented participants (N = 399) with a choice to dispatch a used plastic cup in a recycling or general waste bin after participating in a staged “yogurt taste test.” Results showed how the spatial positioning of bins explained more than half of the variance in recycling behavior whilst self-reported recycling intentions were not related to which bin they used. Rinsing cups (to reduce contamination) before recycling, on the other hand, was related to both behavioral intention and external factors. These results show that even seemingly small differences in a choice context can influence how well internal psychological factors predict behavior and how aspects of the physical environment can assist the alignment of behavior and intentions, as well as steering behavior regardless of motivation.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.699410/fullenvironmentbehaviorphysical contextintentionnorms and attitudes |
| spellingShingle | Noah Linder Sonny Rosenthal Patrik Sörqvist Stephan Barthel Stephan Barthel Internal and External Factors’ Influence on Recycling: Insights From a Laboratory Experiment With Observed Behavior Frontiers in Psychology environment behavior physical context intention norms and attitudes |
| title | Internal and External Factors’ Influence on Recycling: Insights From a Laboratory Experiment With Observed Behavior |
| title_full | Internal and External Factors’ Influence on Recycling: Insights From a Laboratory Experiment With Observed Behavior |
| title_fullStr | Internal and External Factors’ Influence on Recycling: Insights From a Laboratory Experiment With Observed Behavior |
| title_full_unstemmed | Internal and External Factors’ Influence on Recycling: Insights From a Laboratory Experiment With Observed Behavior |
| title_short | Internal and External Factors’ Influence on Recycling: Insights From a Laboratory Experiment With Observed Behavior |
| title_sort | internal and external factors influence on recycling insights from a laboratory experiment with observed behavior |
| topic | environment behavior physical context intention norms and attitudes |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.699410/full |
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