Are Mental Biases Responsible for the Perceived Comfort Advantage in “Green” Buildings?

Previous research has shown that merely calling an indoor environment environmentally certified will make people favor that environment over a conventional alternative. In this paper we explore whether this effect depends on participants deliberately comparing the two environments, and whether diffe...

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Main Authors: Mattias Holmgren, Patrik Sörqvist
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2018-01-01
Series:Buildings
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/8/2/20
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author Mattias Holmgren
Patrik Sörqvist
author_facet Mattias Holmgren
Patrik Sörqvist
author_sort Mattias Holmgren
collection DOAJ
description Previous research has shown that merely calling an indoor environment environmentally certified will make people favor that environment over a conventional alternative. In this paper we explore whether this effect depends on participants deliberately comparing the two environments, and whether different reasons behind the certification influence the magnitude of the effect. In Experiment 1, participants in a between-subjects design assigned higher comfort ratings to an indoor environment that had been labeled “environmentally certified” in comparison with the exact same indoor environment that was unlabeled, suggesting that the effect arises even when participants do not compare the two environments when making their estimates. The results from Experiment 2 indicate that climate change mitigation (as the reason for the certification) is a slightly better trigger of the effect compared to climate change adaptation. The results suggest that studies on psychological effects of “green” buildings should experimentally control for the influence from participants’ judgmental biases.
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spelling doaj.art-c5ad54a99f3e45d6a5e26871d64d5df82022-12-22T01:36:37ZengMDPI AGBuildings2075-53092018-01-01822010.3390/buildings8020020buildings8020020Are Mental Biases Responsible for the Perceived Comfort Advantage in “Green” Buildings?Mattias Holmgren0Patrik Sörqvist1Department of Building, Energy and Environmental Engineering, University of Gävle, SE-801 76 Gävle, SwedenDepartment of Building, Energy and Environmental Engineering, University of Gävle, SE-801 76 Gävle, SwedenPrevious research has shown that merely calling an indoor environment environmentally certified will make people favor that environment over a conventional alternative. In this paper we explore whether this effect depends on participants deliberately comparing the two environments, and whether different reasons behind the certification influence the magnitude of the effect. In Experiment 1, participants in a between-subjects design assigned higher comfort ratings to an indoor environment that had been labeled “environmentally certified” in comparison with the exact same indoor environment that was unlabeled, suggesting that the effect arises even when participants do not compare the two environments when making their estimates. The results from Experiment 2 indicate that climate change mitigation (as the reason for the certification) is a slightly better trigger of the effect compared to climate change adaptation. The results suggest that studies on psychological effects of “green” buildings should experimentally control for the influence from participants’ judgmental biases.http://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/8/2/20eco-label effectbiascomfortenvironmental certification“green” buildings
spellingShingle Mattias Holmgren
Patrik Sörqvist
Are Mental Biases Responsible for the Perceived Comfort Advantage in “Green” Buildings?
Buildings
eco-label effect
bias
comfort
environmental certification
“green” buildings
title Are Mental Biases Responsible for the Perceived Comfort Advantage in “Green” Buildings?
title_full Are Mental Biases Responsible for the Perceived Comfort Advantage in “Green” Buildings?
title_fullStr Are Mental Biases Responsible for the Perceived Comfort Advantage in “Green” Buildings?
title_full_unstemmed Are Mental Biases Responsible for the Perceived Comfort Advantage in “Green” Buildings?
title_short Are Mental Biases Responsible for the Perceived Comfort Advantage in “Green” Buildings?
title_sort are mental biases responsible for the perceived comfort advantage in green buildings
topic eco-label effect
bias
comfort
environmental certification
“green” buildings
url http://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/8/2/20
work_keys_str_mv AT mattiasholmgren arementalbiasesresponsiblefortheperceivedcomfortadvantageingreenbuildings
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