Green visuals, greener actions: Increasing recycling behavior through nature imagery and the recycling logo

IF 6.1 1区心理学 Q1 ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES Journal of Environmental Psychology Pub Date : 2025-03-05 DOI:10.1016/j.jenvp.2025.102563

Constantinos Hadjichristidis , Ksenia Dorofeeva , Nicolao Bonini

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Abstract

Three experimental studies (N = 454) examined the effect of green imagery on recycling behavior. All studies included a treatment group, where participants viewed either pictures of pristine nature or the recycling logo, and a control group, where participants viewed pictures of geometric shapes. Later, we unobtrusively observed how participants disposed of a napkin and a plastic plate or cup that accompanied some treats they received for participating. The experimental setup offered participants a choice between an easy but environmentally harmful option (throwing both items in a nearby garbage bin) and a more effortful but eco-friendlier option (disposing each item in the appropriate but more distant recycling bin). Nature imagery significantly increased recycling behavior compared to the control group, while the recycling logo had an even stronger effect, with nearly all participants recycling. These insights can be converted into actionable strategies to boost recycling behavior.

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来源期刊

Journal of Environmental Psychology Multiple-

CiteScore

10.60

自引率

8.70%

发文量

140

审稿时长

62 days

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