Grant E. Donnelly, Samantha N. Mertens, Nicole Sintov
{"title":"Increasing recycling with charitable incentives","authors":"Grant E. Donnelly, Samantha N. Mertens, Nicole Sintov","doi":"10.1016/j.jenvp.2024.102444","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Many businesses have moved toward a circular economy, collecting their packaging material from customers to be reintroduced into their remanufacturing processes. For these programs to be successful, individuals must voluntarily, and often effortfully, dispose of their used materials in specific ways. The goal of the present research is to evaluate the effectiveness of charitable incentives in promoting effortful recycling. We explore whether the type of charitable recipient – human or non-human – differently promotes effortful recycling, and examine how people's environmental values may moderate these effects. Five studies (<em>N</em> = 3572) utilizing real disposal decisions and consequential disposal intentions demonstrate that when individuals are informed that by recycling an item a donation will be made to a non-profit organization, effortful recycling increases—an effect that is observed for both environmental and youth recipients (Studies 1–4b). However, an environmental charitable recipient was less motivating for people who had less concern for the environment (Studies 3 and 4b). We find that an environmental charitable recipient increases effortful recycling because of an enhanced perception of making an impact, while a youth charitable recipient increases effortful recycling through greater empathy (Studies 4a and 4b). We conclude that efforts to increase material recovery using charitable incentives can be effective, and should carefully consider the values of their intended audience along with charitable recipient type.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48439,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Psychology","volume":"99 ","pages":"Article 102444"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1000,"publicationDate":"2024-09-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Environmental Psychology","FirstCategoryId":"102","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272494424002172","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Many businesses have moved toward a circular economy, collecting their packaging material from customers to be reintroduced into their remanufacturing processes. For these programs to be successful, individuals must voluntarily, and often effortfully, dispose of their used materials in specific ways. The goal of the present research is to evaluate the effectiveness of charitable incentives in promoting effortful recycling. We explore whether the type of charitable recipient – human or non-human – differently promotes effortful recycling, and examine how people's environmental values may moderate these effects. Five studies (N = 3572) utilizing real disposal decisions and consequential disposal intentions demonstrate that when individuals are informed that by recycling an item a donation will be made to a non-profit organization, effortful recycling increases—an effect that is observed for both environmental and youth recipients (Studies 1–4b). However, an environmental charitable recipient was less motivating for people who had less concern for the environment (Studies 3 and 4b). We find that an environmental charitable recipient increases effortful recycling because of an enhanced perception of making an impact, while a youth charitable recipient increases effortful recycling through greater empathy (Studies 4a and 4b). We conclude that efforts to increase material recovery using charitable incentives can be effective, and should carefully consider the values of their intended audience along with charitable recipient type.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Environmental Psychology is the premier journal in the field, serving individuals in a wide range of disciplines who have an interest in the scientific study of the transactions and interrelationships between people and their surroundings (including built, social, natural and virtual environments, the use and abuse of nature and natural resources, and sustainability-related behavior). The journal publishes internationally contributed empirical studies and reviews of research on these topics that advance new insights. As an important forum for the field, the journal publishes some of the most influential papers in the discipline that reflect the scientific development of environmental psychology. Contributions on theoretical, methodological, and practical aspects of all human-environment interactions are welcome, along with innovative or interdisciplinary approaches that have a psychological emphasis. Research areas include: •Psychological and behavioral aspects of people and nature •Cognitive mapping, spatial cognition and wayfinding •Ecological consequences of human actions •Theories of place, place attachment, and place identity •Environmental risks and hazards: perception, behavior, and management •Perception and evaluation of buildings and natural landscapes •Effects of physical and natural settings on human cognition and health •Theories of proenvironmental behavior, norms, attitudes, and personality •Psychology of sustainability and climate change •Psychological aspects of resource management and crises •Social use of space: crowding, privacy, territoriality, personal space •Design of, and experiences related to, the physical aspects of workplaces, schools, residences, public buildings and public space