Implicit reminders of reputation and nature reduce littering more than explicit information on injunctive norms and monetary costs

K. Gangl; A. Walter; P. A.M. Van Lange

doi:10.1016/j.jenvp.2022.101914

Implicit reminders of reputation and nature reduce littering more than explicit information on injunctive norms and monetary costs

K. Gangl^*
, A. Walter
, P. A.M. Van Lange

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

The present research addresses tools that could help reduce littering in society. Four interventions were tested which, based on different processes, should reduce littering: monetary information, the depicted injunctive norm, watching eyes and a nature picture. To test these interventions, a randomized controlled trial (RCT) involving 440 community building's waste disposal areas (N = 71,155) was conducted in Vienna. Littering was assessed before the intervention, 24–48 h after, and again seven weeks after the intervention. Results show that the financial intervention (monetary information) hardly had any effect on littering whereas the norm-based intervention (depicted injunctive norm) led to more littering compared to the control and in particular, the nature picture. In contrast, the reputation-based intervention (watching eyes) and ecology-based intervention (nature picture) reduced littering over time by 4.7%. Thus, interventions based on implicit and soft appeals to reputation and ecology are more effective in fostering clean environments than classical interventions applying explicit information on finances and norms.

Original language	English
Article number	101914
Pages (from-to)	1-9
Number of pages	9
Journal	Journal of Environmental Psychology
Volume	84
Early online date	17 Nov 2022
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2022.101914
Publication status	Published - Dec 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
We gratefully acknowledge the collaboration with the Vienna's social housing company (Wiener Wohnen) who, in large parts, financed this project. We also thank Kerstin Grosch for her support in setting up the experiment, Kira Abstiens and Yasemin Inan for excellent research assistance and Michael Keinprecht and Patricia Stehl for assistance with formatting.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Authors

Funding

We gratefully acknowledge the collaboration with the Vienna's social housing company (Wiener Wohnen) who, in large parts, financed this project. We also thank Kerstin Grosch for her support in setting up the experiment, Kira Abstiens and Yasemin Inan for excellent research assistance and Michael Keinprecht and Patricia Stehl for assistance with formatting.

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production

Keywords

Behaviour change
Explicit processes
Field experiment
Implicit processes
Intervention
Littering

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10.1016/j.jenvp.2022.101914

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Cite this

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title = "Implicit reminders of reputation and nature reduce littering more than explicit information on injunctive norms and monetary costs",

abstract = "The present research addresses tools that could help reduce littering in society. Four interventions were tested which, based on different processes, should reduce littering: monetary information, the depicted injunctive norm, watching eyes and a nature picture. To test these interventions, a randomized controlled trial (RCT) involving 440 community building's waste disposal areas (N = 71,155) was conducted in Vienna. Littering was assessed before the intervention, 24–48 h after, and again seven weeks after the intervention. Results show that the financial intervention (monetary information) hardly had any effect on littering whereas the norm-based intervention (depicted injunctive norm) led to more littering compared to the control and in particular, the nature picture. In contrast, the reputation-based intervention (watching eyes) and ecology-based intervention (nature picture) reduced littering over time by 4.7\%. Thus, interventions based on implicit and soft appeals to reputation and ecology are more effective in fostering clean environments than classical interventions applying explicit information on finances and norms.",

keywords = "Behaviour change, Explicit processes, Field experiment, Implicit processes, Intervention, Littering",

author = "K. Gangl and A. Walter and \{Van Lange\}, \{P. A.M.\}",

note = "Funding Information: We gratefully acknowledge the collaboration with the Vienna's social housing company (Wiener Wohnen) who, in large parts, financed this project. We also thank Kerstin Grosch for her support in setting up the experiment, Kira Abstiens and Yasemin Inan for excellent research assistance and Michael Keinprecht and Patricia Stehl for assistance with formatting. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022 The Authors",

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AU - Van Lange, P. A.M.

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AB - The present research addresses tools that could help reduce littering in society. Four interventions were tested which, based on different processes, should reduce littering: monetary information, the depicted injunctive norm, watching eyes and a nature picture. To test these interventions, a randomized controlled trial (RCT) involving 440 community building's waste disposal areas (N = 71,155) was conducted in Vienna. Littering was assessed before the intervention, 24–48 h after, and again seven weeks after the intervention. Results show that the financial intervention (monetary information) hardly had any effect on littering whereas the norm-based intervention (depicted injunctive norm) led to more littering compared to the control and in particular, the nature picture. In contrast, the reputation-based intervention (watching eyes) and ecology-based intervention (nature picture) reduced littering over time by 4.7%. Thus, interventions based on implicit and soft appeals to reputation and ecology are more effective in fostering clean environments than classical interventions applying explicit information on finances and norms.

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KW - Field experiment

KW - Implicit processes

KW - Intervention

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Implicit reminders of reputation and nature reduce littering more than explicit information on injunctive norms and monetary costs

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

UN SDGs

Keywords

Access to Document

Persistent URL (handle)

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