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Non-monetary reinforcement effects on pro-environmental behavior

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  • Lange, Florian
  • Dewitte, Siegfried

Abstract

While non-monetary reinforcement is often discussed as a promising intervention technique, systematic research on its effectiveness for the promotion of pro-environmental behavior has been scarce. This lack of research is likely due to the difficulty of studying non-monetary reinforcement within existing study designs. Here, we examined the effects of non-monetary reinforcement using a recently developed and validated pro-environmental behavior task. In two preregistered studies (total N = 997), participants could repeatedly choose to exert actual effort in exchange for donations to an environmental organization. Their choices were either followed by potentially reinforcing stimuli (e.g., words of praise superimposed on positively valenced pictures) or not. When accompanied by cheerful animal pictures, these stimuli significantly promoted pro-environmental effort expenditure in Study 2, but not in Study 1. Longer-term effects and spillover to non-reinforced behavior were also examined, but not conclusively supported. These findings illustrate the potential of the presented experimental approach for studying the effectiveness of non-monetary reinforcement in societally relevant domains.

Suggested Citation

  • Lange, Florian & Dewitte, Siegfried, 2023. "Non-monetary reinforcement effects on pro-environmental behavior," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joepsy:v:97:y:2023:i:c:s0167487023000296
    DOI: 10.1016/j.joep.2023.102628
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Lange, Florian & Dewitte, Siegfried, 2020. "Positive affect and pro-environmental behavior: A preregistered experiment," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    2. repec:elg:eechap:15612_4 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Gwozdz, W. & Reisch, L. & Eiben, G. & Hunsberger, M. & Konstabel, K. & Kovacs, E. & Luszczki, E. & Mazur, A. & Mendl, E. & Saamel, M. & Wolters, M., 2020. "The effect of smileys as motivational incentives on children’s fruit and vegetable choice, consumption and waste: A field experiment in schools in five European countries," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    4. Kanay, Ayşegül & Hilton, Denis & Charalambides, Laetitia & Corrégé, Jean-Baptiste & Inaudi, Eva & Waroquier, Laurent & Cezera, Stéphane, 2021. "Making the carbon basket count: Goal setting promotes sustainable consumption in a simulated online supermarket," TSE Working Papers 21-1191, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).
    5. Momsen, Katharina & Ohndorf, Markus, 2022. "Information avoidance, selective exposure, and fake (?) news: Theory and experimental evidence on green consumption," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    6. Florian Lange & Laurens De Weerdt & Laurent Verlinden, 2021. "Reducing Plastic Bag Use Through Prosocial Incentives," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-9, February.
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