| 1. |
- Lindahl, Therese, et al.
(författare)
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What factors influence the choice between fish and meat among grocery shoppers? : Insights from an unsuccessful nudge intervention
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Food production is the human activity with the greatest impact on the earth systems and accounts for about a quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions. Reducing consumption of certain meat (e.g., beef, pork and lamb) and replacing it with proteins with less environmental impact has been highlighted as one of the greatest leverage points to achieve a more sustainable food system. In this study, we evaluate a nudge intervention at a medium-sized grocery store designed to reduce purchases of meat in favor of fish with a lower environmental impact. We also measure other relevant internal and external factors influencing this choice; such as values, attitudes, habits, demographics and price. To explore how the nudge influenced shopping decisions we designed a field experiment in the store, and measured the effect by collecting data on sales of fish (85 215 items sold over 143 days). To further evaluate the nudge and to explore how the other factors influence the choice of protein we collected data from a selected sample of customers (N=200). The results showed no evidence for the effectiveness of the nudge intervention, instead, we found that values, habits, attitudes and price all significantly influenced this protein choice. Our results highlight the complexity of shopping decisions and how nudge interventions are not always easy to implement. We discuss the implications of these findings, possible improvements to the nudge and how interventions that aim to steer similar shopping decisions might need to account for habit-breaking to be effective.
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| 2. |
- Linder, Noah, et al.
(författare)
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Internal and External Factors' Influence on Recycling : Insights From a Laboratory Experiment With Observed Behavior
- 2021
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Psychology. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 1664-1078. ; 12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Internal psychological factors, such as intentions and personal norms, are central predictors of pro-environmental behavior in many theoretical models, whereas the influence from external factors such as the physical environment is seldom considered. Even rarer is studying how internal factors interact with the physical context in which decisions take place. In the current study, we addressed the relative influence and interaction of psychological and environmental factors on pro-environmental behavior. A laboratory experiment presented participants (N = 399) with a choice to dispatch a used plastic cup in a recycling or general waste bin after participating in a staged yogurt taste test. Results showed how the spatial positioning of bins explained more than half of the variance in recycling behavior whilst self-reported recycling intentions were not related to which bin they used. Rinsing cups (to reduce contamination) before recycling, on the other hand, was related to both behavioral intention and external factors. These results show that even seemingly small differences in a choice context can influence how well internal psychological factors predict behavior and how aspects of the physical environment can assist the alignment of behavior and intentions, as well as steering behavior regardless of motivation.
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| 3. |
- Linder, Noah
(författare)
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Make It Easier : A psychological perspective on sustainable behavior change
- 2022
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Human behavior is the cause of most environmental challenges we face today, and widespread behavioral change is urgently needed across actors and scales. Even though the public perception of the current ecological crisis has changed drastically in recent decades, a corresponding shift in behavior is lacking — unfortunately, mere belief in climate change is a poor predictor of taking action. In light of this knowledge-action gap, this thesis looks at behavior change from a psychological perspective and aims to explore how insights from the behavioral sciences can help understand and promote sustainable behavior change. This thesis mainly focuses on developing and testing interventions to promote pro-environmental behaviors. It studies the effectiveness of information-based nudges, manipulation of the physical environment, and the interaction between internal motivation to act and the immediate decision context. The thesis also explores the automatic and habitual aspects of behavior change. To this end, five studies were conducted. Four empirical studies in which interventions to promote pro-environmental behaviors were designed and implemented in different natural contexts. All interventions were evaluated using observed behavior and a mix of experimental designs, from lab experiments to natural field experiments. A fifth argument-driven conceptual paper was also written. Overall, the result from the studies highlights the potential (and complexity) of applying behavioral insights in intervention design: they indicate that the effect can be long-lasting and that relatively small changes in spatial layouts can produce significant behavior change. The results especially showcase the importance of the immediate decision context, and that if conditions are right, manipulating the physical environment can be a powerful, and potentially underutilized, tool to steer behavior. Notably, findings from a lab experiment showed that even when there are strong self-reported intentions to act, convenience to act sustainably might not be enough to spark change, as long as the alternative routine choice was equally convenient. Not until the more sustainable option was made to be the easier choice did significant change occur. The results also showcase the important role habit plays in our day-to-day actions and decisions, how habits can act as strong barriers to change, and that they link behavior to the physical environment. These insights complement the currently dominant narrative focused on intrinsic and rational motivation for acting sustainably and paves the way for a research agenda focused on exploring the manipulation of the physical environment and “habit architecture” as a way to spark sustainable behavior change.
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| 4. |
- Linder, Noah, et al.
(författare)
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Managing waste behavior by manipulating the normative appeal of trash bins: Lessons from an urban field experiment
- 2023
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Ingår i: Resources, Conservation and Recycling Advances. - : Elsevier Inc.. - 2667-3789. ; 19
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Littering is a problem in many human societies. In this study, 9 individual street bins were manipulated on a central street in the city of Gävle, Sweden. The aim was to explore if changing the appearance of the bins, thereby manipulating the different types of social norms they signal, can increase the amount of trash they collect and mitigate littering. A field experiment tested the effectiveness of two alternatives to the conventional grey street bin; one bin foliated with pictures drawn by school children containing a normative anti-littering message (explicit norm), and one bright orange salient bin (implicit norm). Observed behavioral data was collected, and both the weight and volume of trash in the bins were measured each day for a period of one month. The results showed a tendency for the salient orange bin to increase trash collection compared to other bins; an effect most tangible towards the end of the weeks. The biggest effect was, however, that the explicitly normative bin reduced trash collection overall. These results provide lessons on how the appearance of bins can influence trash collection, potentially resulting in both desirable and undesirable outcomes.
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| 5. |
- Linder, Noah, et al.
(författare)
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Pro-environmental habits : An underexplored research agenda in sustainability science
- 2022
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Ingår i: Ambio. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0044-7447 .- 1654-7209. ; 51:3, s. 546-556
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Habits are the fundamental basis for many of our daily actions and can be powerful barriers to behavioural change. Still, habits are not included in most narratives, theories, and interventions applied to sustainable behaviour. One reason societies struggle to reach policy goals and people fail to change towards more pro-environmental lifestyles might be that many behaviours are now bound by strong habits that override knowledge and intentions to act. In this perspective article, we provide three arguments for why pro-environmental habits are a needed research agenda in sustainability science: (1) habit theory highlights how behaviour is heavily reliant on automatic processes, (2) the environmental context sets boundary conditions for behaviour, shape habits, and cues action responses, and (3) our habits and past behaviour shape our values and self-identity. These arguments highlight the transformative potential of looking at sustainable behaviours through a habit lens. We believe a research agenda on pro-environmental habits could generate a more holistic understanding of sustainable behaviours and complement today's dominating approaches which emphasize reasoned decisions and intrinsic motivations such as values, norms, and intentions to understand and predict pro-environmental behaviour. We highlight evident knowledge gaps and practical benefits of considering habit theory to promote pro-environmental behaviours, and how habit architecture could be utilized as a strong leverage point when designing, modifying, and building urban environments.
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| 6. |
- Linder, Noah, et al.
(författare)
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Using Behavioural Insights to Promote Food Waste Recycling in Urban Households-Evidence From a Longitudinal Field Experiment.
- 2018
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Psychology. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 1664-1078. ; 9:MAR
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Promoting pro-environmental behaviour amongst urban dwellers is one of today's greatest sustainability challenges. The aim of this study is to test whether an information intervention, designed based on theories from environmental psychology and behavioural economics, can be effective in promoting recycling of food waste in an urban area. To this end we developed and evaluated an information leaflet, mainly guided by insights from nudging and community-based social marketing. The effect of the intervention was estimated through a natural field experiment in Hökarängen, a suburb of Stockholm city, Sweden, and was evaluated using a difference-in-difference analysis. The results indicate a statistically significant increase in food waste recycled compared to a control group in the research area. The data analysed was on the weight of food waste collected from sorting stations in the research area, and the collection period stretched for almost 2 years, allowing us to study the short- and long term effects of the intervention. Although the immediate positive effect of the leaflet seems to have attenuated over time, results show that there was a significant difference between the control and the treatment group, even 8 months after the leaflet was distributed. Insights from this study can be used to guide development of similar pro-environmental behaviour interventions for other urban areas in Sweden and abroad, improving chances of reaching environmental policy goals.
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| 7. |
- Raymond, Christopher. M., et al.
(författare)
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Engaging with the pragmatics of relational thinking, leverage points and transformations –Reply to West et al.
- 2021
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Ingår i: Ecosystems and People. - : Taylor & Francis. - 2639-5908 .- 2639-5916. ; 17:1, s. 1-5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We reply to ‘A relational turn for sustainability science?’ by West et al. We commend West et al. for their salient comments about the relational turn. Yet the article leaves us wondering about the methodological challenges and pragmatics of relational thinking. The authors omitted important tensions in relational thinking discussion about how to assess dynamic socio-ecological systems, and how to lever change for sustainability. Whilst relational thinking is helpful, researchers inevitably need to make strategic choices about where to divide system components if the goal is to systematically assess relations and to promote transformations toward sustainability. Where and how to ‘apply the knife’ inevitably is informed by one’s ontological starting point (view of reality) and personal epistemological beliefs. We outline three questions to be answered in order to more firmly establish relational thinking in sustainability science: If systems and processes are continually unfolding, how do we identify where to lever change for sustainability? In relational thinking, can we explain human action outside of the shared ‘activity of experiencing’? If society and ecology is co-constituted, how can relational approaches be used to understand unfolding and cascading effects in complex systems? We conclude with future directions for a solutions-oriented sustainability science agenda.
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| 8. |
- Rosenthal, Sonny, et al.
(författare)
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Effects of bin proximity and informational prompts on recycling and contamination
- 2021
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Ingår i: Resources, Conservation and Recycling. - : Elsevier. - 0921-3449 .- 1879-0658. ; 168
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This between-subjects experiment manipulated the proximity of a waste bin relative to a recycling bin and the presence of information about why and how to rinse recyclables. After completing a yogurt taste test, 272 undergraduate students disposed of their plastic tasting cups in either a waste bin or a recycling bin. Binary logistic regression showed use of the recycling bin roughly tripled when the waste bin was made less convenient by moving it away from the tasting area (p <. 001, Nagelkerke R2 = 0.54). Univariate ANOVA showed the contamination level of recycled items was lower when an informational prompt indicated how clean recyclables need to be (p <. 001, η2p = 0.08), but not when it indicated why rinsing is important. These findings showcase how manipulating the physical environment can be a powerful tool to steer behavior and how tailored information can complement physical changes to promote proenvironmental actions.
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| 9. |
- Samuelsson, Karl, Postdoktor, et al.
(författare)
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Diverse experiences by active travel for carbon neutrality: A longitudinal study of residential context, daily travel and experience types
- 2024
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Ingår i: Geography and Sustainability. - : Elsevier. - 2666-6839. ; 5:3, s. 459-469
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Two key goals for sustainable spatial planning are to promote low-carbon travel in daily life and to enhance human wellbeing through diverse human-environment interactions. Yet, the integration of these goals has been underexplored. This study investigates the potential for experiential diversity via active travel in different residential contexts within the Gävle city-region, Sweden. Over 15 months, we collected spatiotemporal data from 165 participants, analyzing 4,362 reported experiences and 13,192 GPS-derived travel trajectories. Our analysis uncovered a significant spatial discrepancy: while the travelled distances to locations of positive experiences typically ranged from 1.5 km to 5 km, active travel predominated only within 1.5 km. This discrepancy persisted across urban, suburban, and peripheral contexts. Although residents in different contexts reported the same types of experiences, urban dwellers travelled about 50 % farther for nature experiences compared with other positive experiences, whereas peripheral dwellers travelled twice the distance for urbanicity experiences compared with other positive experiences. Consequently, urban residents mostly relied on active travel for urbanicity experiences and motorised travel for nature experiences, with the reverse trend observed among peripheral dwellers. These results illustrate the importance of spatial scale for promoting diverse positive experiences via active travel, regardless of residential context. Effective planning strategies may include enhancing environmental diversity near homes and developing infrastructure that favours active over motorised travel for short to moderate distances.
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| 10. |
- Samuelsson, Karl, Postdoktor, et al.
(författare)
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Diverse experiences by active travel: Longitudinal study reveals a persistent discrepancy across residential contexts
- 2023
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- To inform spatial planning promoting low-carbon travel and well-being, we investigate the potential for experiential diversity by active travel across different residential contexts. We use spatiotemporal tracking and experience data from the Gävle city-region, Sweden, generated by 165 participants over the course of 15 months. Findings reveal a discrepancy between typical travel distances to locations of positive experiences (1.5–5 km) and the distances at which active travel dominates (up to 1.5 km). This discrepancy largely persists across urban, suburban, and peripheral contexts, with urban dwellers travelling further for nature experiences, whereas peripheral dwellers travel further for urbanicity experiences. These results illustrate the importance of spatial scale for promoting diverse positive experiences by active travel, regardless of residential context. Planning strategies include enhancing environmental diversity close to people’s homes and providing infrastructure that promotes switching from motorised to active travel for trips of a few kilometres.
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