Referent group specificity: Optimizing normative feedback to increase residential recycling

Abstract

Research has shown that messages containing descriptive normative feedback can induce behavior change in the direction of the norm. However, the literature is mixed regarding the relative influence of more specific referent groups. This study compared the effectiveness of social normative feedback at increasing waste diversion, across four referent groups varying in their degree of specificity. A sample of 1,560 single-family households in California was randomly assigned to one of six possible conditions: specific normative feedback about their immediate neighbors, exemplary normative feedback about the best recyclers in their city, generic normative feedback about the other residents in their neighborhood, normative feedback about a statewide waste diversion target, information-only, or no-contact control. Households in the feedback conditions received a mailed personalized Home Waste and Recycling report comparing their diversion rate to an assigned referent group. Results showed that the normative feedback increased diversion rates compared to the control condition, but results did not show significant differences between the treatments. Additionally, negative reports were more impactful than positive reports. Findings are discussed within the framework of the Focus Theory of Normative Conduct, and the implications for large-scale applications.

What Are the Most Effective Neighborhood Ranges for Social Comparison to Improve Water Use Efficiency?

“…The analysis revealed that in line with previous studies, the same spatial-physical setting encouraged pro-environmental behavior, that is, water-saving behavior (Goldstein et al, 2008;Fornara et al, 2011;Schultz et al, 2019;Mertens and Schultz, 2021), but it was limited to low consumers, not all users. The differences in geographic proximity did not affect water use behavior, and this result is consistent with the findings of Mertens and Schultz (2021)'s waste recycling study.…”

“…A study on tax payment patterns indicated that social comparison had a greater effect when it was related to the behavior of a geographically closer community than that of a more distant one (Hallsworth et al, 2017). Contrastingly, studies on household recycling reported different results; that is, the effect of a city-level comparison was lower than that of a country-level comparison (Czajkowskia et al, 2019), and there was no difference between specific normative feedback about immediate neighbors (i.e., five closest neighbors) and generic normative feedback about other residents in their neighborhood (i.e., other similar households) (Mertens and Schultz, 2021). Another study on energy conservation programs using a normative feedback approach in the home energy reports indicated that increasing the level of proximity of the comparison from neighborhood to street level in-creased electricity savings; however, further increasing the comparison level to next-door neighbor leads to a drop in energy saving (Shen et al, 2016).…”

“…It has been pointed out that the local norm, that is, what people sharing the same spatial-physical setting are doing, rather than subjective norm, that is, what people with whom you have a psychological connection are doing, influences proenvironmental behavior (Fornara et al, 2011). However, few studies have directly tested the relative influence of different geographic proximities that vary in their level of specificity (Mertens and Schultz, 2021). A study on tax payment patterns indicated that social comparison had a greater effect when it was related to the behavior of a geographically closer community than that of a more distant one (Hallsworth et al, 2017).…”

Game Analysis and Strategy Suggestions on Waste Sorting Management with Third-Party Supervision

“…information provision is considered to be a widely used tool for encouraging pro-environmental behavior and particularly waste sorting among households [7][8][9]. Social norms and rules can affect the consciousness, behavior and effect of waste sorting, and disobedience to social norms can lead to penalties or social sanctions [10,11]. The most prominent financial tool to promote waste sorting is monetary incentives which can be presented as rewards and penalties affecting an individual's behavior [12].…”

Organisational Climate and Pro-environmental Behaviours at Work: The Mediating Role of Personal Norms

“…More specifically, the findings indicate that, in smaller organisations, workers tend to perceive others as acting more often in environmentally friendly ways. This pattern could be related to norm specificity's effect (Mertens and Schultz, 2021). That is, proximal groups in terms of spatial proximity or shared attributes may be more important than distal, more generic groups to individuals assessing a given norm (Goldstein et al, 2008).…”