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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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2018-01-01
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Series: | Buildings |
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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. |
first_indexed | 2024-12-10T19:14:42Z |
format | Article |
id | doaj.art-c5ad54a99f3e45d6a5e26871d64d5df8 |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 2075-5309 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-12-10T19:14:42Z |
publishDate | 2018-01-01 |
publisher | MDPI AG |
record_format | Article |
series | Buildings |
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 AT patriksorqvist arementalbiasesresponsiblefortheperceivedcomfortadvantageingreenbuildings |