I Am Better Than Others: Waste Management Policies and Self-Enhancement Bias

Abstract

Waste source separation has been a social dilemma globally with a low participation rate. This research attempted to solve this dilemma by exploring the effect of mandatory (versus voluntary) policies on waste separation from the perspective of the self-versus based on deterrence theory and self-enhancement motivation. Hypothetical scenarios were used to demonstrate the effectiveness of mandatory policies and self-enhancement bias for residents (n = 589) and adolescents (n = 121). Study 2 was performed to replicate the findings of Study 1 with a no-implementation policy condition, and Study 3 extended the findings to adolescents. We found robust self-enhancement bias, where participants perceived themselves to be better than others in both willingness to perform and attitudes toward waste separation behavior. Specifically, participants tended to perceive themselves to perform waste separation well when policy compliance was voluntary, but they tended to perceive others to perform well when policy compliance was mandatory with supervision. These findings highlight the impact of mandatory policy with supervision and self-enhancement bias in waste management. The present studies provide substantial evidence and implications for the necessity of supervision in mandatory policy implementation.

Down the Vertical Refuse Chutes in Singapore High-rise Living

“…The important role of mandatory policies with supervision to policy implementation in waste separation has been highlighted by others. 111 In the early decades of Singapore's household waste management, the focus was on the endprocessing of waste to ensure that residential waste was collected and transported to the appropriate facilities, initially landfill and later with technology availability, waste-to-energy incineration plants. Source separation was progressively promoted in recent decades with the implementation of Singapore's environmental sustainability blueprint, and recycling infrastructure expanded to facilitate both residents and waste collectors.…”

Antecedents of Compliance Intention and Its Impact on Waste Separation Behavior: Based on Rational Choice Theory and Deterrence Theory

“…The theory assumes that individuals calculate the disutility of sanctions and try to minimize it by considering perceived deterrent severity and certainty [11,49]. Perceived deterrent severity (DS) refers to the deterrence's harshness or the price to be paid for the crime [4,38].…”

“…While the literature on waste separation behavior abounds, nearly all concerns the intention to comply with the waste separation policy [4,11]. In improving waste separation policy, understanding of the fundamental effects of mandatory policy on waste separation behavior is commonly underestimated.…”

Theoretical study of the dilemma in the consumption of green products

“…Dalam perspektif konsumen, norma global ramah lingkungan dipahami sebagai partisipasi untuk turut memberi perhatian terhadap masalah lingkungan dengan melakukan konsumsi ramah lingkungan (green consumption) melalui konsumsi produk-produk hijau (green product consumption). Namun demikian, terjadi dilema dalam konsumsi produk-produk hijau (Gupta & Ogden, 2009;Stuppy et al, 2020;Zhao et al, 2021;Walters & Hershfield, 2020;Spandagos et al, 2021;Sun et al, 2022). Lingkungan sosial yang menyuarakan kampanye hijau (green campaign) memberi tekanan sosial (social pressure) bagi konsumen untuk melakukan konsumsi produk-produk hijau.…”