Psychological and social factors associated with wastewater reuse emotional discomfort

Wester, Julia; Timpano, Kiara R.; Çek, Demet; Lieberman, Debra; Fieldstone, Shaina C.; Broad, Kenneth

doi:10.1016/j.jenvp.2015.01.003

Cited by 91 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…Similar to several other studies that found significant relationship between higher levels of education and reclaimed water acceptance (Wester et al, 2015;Rock et al, 2012;Po et al, 2005), our results suggest that more-educated participants showed a stronger tendency than lesseducated participants to prefer rain water, while this relationship was statistically insignificant for other reclaimed irrigation water sources.…”

Section: Data Analysis and Resultssupporting

confidence: 90%

Reclaimed water and food production: Cautionary tales from consumer research

Savchenko

Kecinski

et al. 2019

Environmental Research

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Reclaimed water has been identified as a viable and cost-effective solution to water shortages impacting agricultural production. However, lack of consumer acceptance for foods irrigated with reclaimed water remains one of the greatest hurdles for widespread farm-level adoption. Using survey data from 540 adults in the mid-Atlantic region of the U.S., this paper examines consumer preferences for six sources of reclaimed irrigation water and identifies statistically significant relationships between consumers' demographic characteristics and their preferences for each type of reclaimed water. Key findings suggest that consumers prefer rain water to all other sources of reclaimed water. Women are less likely than men to prefer reclaimed irrigation water sources and are particularly concerned about the use of black and brackish water. Consumers who had heard about reclaimed water before are more likely to accept its use. Drawing on evidence from survey and experimental research, this paper also identifies disgust, neophobia and health concerns as the key issues that lead consumers to accept or reject foods produced with reclaimed water. Finally, we identify avenues for future research into public acceptance of reclaimed water based on our analysis and evidence from prior research.

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Section: Data Analysis and Resultssupporting

confidence: 90%

Reclaimed water and food production: Cautionary tales from consumer research

Savchenko

Kecinski

et al. 2019

Environmental Research

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“…The perceived religious purity of the practice of recycling water may also be important in some communities [Alhumoud and Madzikanda, 2010;Wilson and Pfaff, 2008]. Prior experience may also be important; a reported tendency to drink tap water has been associated with less emotional distress at the idea of drinking recycled water [Wester et al, 2015].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The psychology of recycled water: Factors predicting disgust and willingness to use

Wester

Timpano

Çek

et al. 2016

Water Resources Research

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Water recycling is increasingly recognized as a critical strategy to maintain sustainable water supplies. Yet public acceptance of water recycling often lags behind. It is unclear the degree to which individuals are aware of the role of disgust in their decisions about recycled water, how important anticipated disgust is to willingness to use when controlling for other factors, and what the most effective method of presenting information about water recycling would be to decrease disgust reactions and increase willingness to use. We used a two‐pronged approach, combining a survey with open‐ended and psychometric measures with an experimental manipulation, in a U.S., web‐based sample (N = 428). Only 2% of participants self‐identified disgust as important to their decisions about recycled water. When measured directly using a Likert scale, however, anticipated disgust was the strongest predictor of willingness to use recycled water when controlling for individual differences that have been shown to impact willingness to use, including a subscale of individual pathogen disgust sensitivity. Finally, participants were exposed to an educational brochure about water reuse framed either affectively or cognitively or were shown a simple, neutral definition. Exposure to either the affectively or cognitively framed brochures lowered anticipated disgust, but did not significantly affect willingness to use recycled water compared to the neutral condition.

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“…According to psychological research, certain socio-demographic groups are more prone to reject water reuse. Gender (female), education (low levels) and sensitivity to pathogens have been found to be related to discomfort and disgust for treated wastewater (Wester et al, 2015). This segment of the population, on the other hand, has been identified with strong risk aversion attitudes which may have an economic and social component.…”

Section: Contributions With a Predominantly Social And Psychological mentioning

confidence: 99%

Water reuse: A review of recent international contributions and an agenda for future research

Saurı́¹,

Arahuetes

2019

dag

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Wastewater treatment and the generation of recycled water for eventual reuse are raising important expectations worldwide as a resource of interest to solve future water needs. In this review, we first acknowledge the important technical advances made in relation to wastewater treatment although we also point out some of the current challenges faced by wastewater treatment technology, most especially new families of pollutants linked to pharmaceuticals and home consumer products. Most of the review highlights the main points of research on the perception of recycled water and the determinants of its public acceptance in the social and psychological literature with an emphasis on the so-called 'yuck factor'. The review also identifies several areas for future research relating recycled water with social territorial and environmental issues. Keywords: recycled water; social perception and acceptance; yuck factor; territorial and environmental dimensions * The authors acknowledge the useful criticisms and suggestions made by our colleagues in the research project "Uso de recursos hídricos no convencionales y adaptación a las sequías en el litoral mediterráneo: realidades y propuestas para una planificación resiliente del agua" funded by the Spanish CICYT under contract number CSO2015-65182-C2-1-P. Likewise, we would like to thank the editors and two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestions on a previous version of the manuscript. Water reuse: A review of recent international David Saurí; Ana Arahuetes contributions and an agenda for future research 400 Documents d'Anàlisi Geogràfica 2019, vol. 65/2 Water reuse: A review of recent international contributions and an agenda for future research David Saurí; Ana Arahuetes

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Psychological and social factors associated with wastewater reuse emotional discomfort

Cited by 91 publications

References 56 publications

Reclaimed water and food production: Cautionary tales from consumer research

Reclaimed water and food production: Cautionary tales from consumer research

The psychology of recycled water: Factors predicting disgust and willingness to use

Water reuse: A review of recent international contributions and an agenda for future research

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