Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/154088
Title: Internal and external factors' influence on recycling: insights from a laboratory experiment with observed behavior
Authors: Linder, Noah
Rosenthal, Sonny
Sörqvist, Patrik
Barthel, Stephan
Keywords: Social sciences::Communication
Issue Date: 2021
Source: Linder, N., Rosenthal, S., Sörqvist, P. & Barthel, S. (2021). Internal and external factors' influence on recycling: insights from a laboratory experiment with observed behavior. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 699410-. https://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.699410
Journal: Frontiers in Psychology 
Abstract: Internal psychological factors, such as intentions and personal norms, are central predictors of pro-environmental behavior in many theoretical models, whereas the influence from external factors such as the physical environment is seldom considered. Even rarer is studying how internal factors interact with the physical context in which decisions take place. In the current study, we addressed the relative influence and interaction of psychological and environmental factors on pro-environmental behavior. A laboratory experiment presented participants (N = 399) with a choice to dispatch a used plastic cup in a recycling or general waste bin after participating in a staged "yogurt taste test." Results showed how the spatial positioning of bins explained more than half of the variance in recycling behavior whilst self-reported recycling intentions were not related to which bin they used. Rinsing cups (to reduce contamination) before recycling, on the other hand, was related to both behavioral intention and external factors. These results show that even seemingly small differences in a choice context can influence how well internal psychological factors predict behavior and how aspects of the physical environment can assist the alignment of behavior and intentions, as well as steering behavior regardless of motivation.
URI: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/154088
ISSN: 1664-1078
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.699410
Schools: Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information 
Rights: © 2021 Linder, Rosenthal, Sörqvist and Barthel. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Fulltext Permission: open
Fulltext Availability: With Fulltext
Appears in Collections:WKWSCI Journal Articles

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