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Cooperation and Competition Impact Environmental Action: An Experimental Study in Social Dilemmas

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  • Daniel Curtin

    (Department of Psychology, Seton Hall University, South Orange, NJ 07079, USA)

  • Fanli Jia

    (Department of Psychology, Seton Hall University, South Orange, NJ 07079, USA)

Abstract

Previous research about social dilemmas has identified cooperation as a possible underlying facilitator of proenvironmental behavior. However, there has been no discussion about how manipulating cooperation and competition could influence environmental action experimentally. The current study filled this gap in previous literature by manipulating cooperation and competition in a group of 155 participants and comparing their respective environmental actions. Participants were randomly placed into one of three conditions and primed by writing a short passage regarding a significant personal experience where they acted cooperatively, competitively, or neutrally. It was found that those in the cooperative priming group scored significantly higher on environmental participatory action than people in the competitive priming group. However, no difference was found on environmental leadership action. The results indicated that participatory environmental actions are relatively easier to change, as the threshold for interest in them is much lower than leadership environmental actions.

Suggested Citation

  • Daniel Curtin & Fanli Jia, 2020. "Cooperation and Competition Impact Environmental Action: An Experimental Study in Social Dilemmas," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-13, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:3:p:1249-:d:318518
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    Cited by:

    1. Aloysius Suratin & Suyud Warno Utomo & Dwi Nowo Martono & Kosuke Mizuno, 2023. "Indonesia’s Renewable Natural Resource Management in the Low-Carbon Transition: A Conundrum in Changing Trajectories," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-17, July.
    2. Fanli Jia & Kendall Soucie & Kyle Matsuba & Michael W. Pratt, 2021. "Meaning in Life Mediates the Association between Environmental Engagement and Loneliness," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(6), pages 1-12, March.
    3. Daniel Curtin & Fanli Jia, 2022. "Revisiting Social Value Orientations and Environmental Attitude–Identity–Intention in Decomposed Games," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(12), pages 1-9, June.
    4. Jatta Pitkänen & Hanna Lehtimäki & Ari Jokinen, 2023. "Sustainability Project Champions as Environmental Leaders in a City Organization: Driving the Urban Circular Economy," South Asian Journal of Business and Management Cases, , vol. 12(1), pages 52-64, April.
    5. Öykü Hazal Aral & Jordi López-Sintas, 2020. "A Comprehensive Model to Explain Europeans’ Environmental Behaviors," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-27, May.

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