An US study that tested first-person communication on biscuit packaging demonstrated better recycling behaviour
What unsustainable behavior needs to change:
Recycling is a vital pillar in the circular economy: it minimises waste and prolongs material life cycles. Yet as it stands, current recycling rates fall alarmingly short of targets. Despite the fact that numerous brands provide recycling avenues, consumers frequently underutilize them; thereby squandering resources. This stems from inadequate motivation, fueled by the belief that individual efforts lack impact.
The Green Nudge:
In an US study involving 188 participants, researchers Alisa Y. Wu, Maayan S. Malter, and Gita Venkataramani Johar explored the efficacy of anthropomorphism. This concept proposes that imparting human-like qualities to non-human objects fosters emotional bonds and heightened responsibility. This underscores how anthropomorphizing non-human objects could trigger a sense of responsibility towards recycling, and thus motivate individuals to actively engage in responsible waste management.
Participants were enlisted to sample a bakery’s newly developed biscuit, accompanied by an explanation of the inspiration behind the recipe.
To investigate the impact of anthropomorphism, half of the participants received a text where the biscuit was anthropomorphized using first-person singular („I“), while the other half received a non-humanized text referring to the biscuit as „It“. Following the tasting and text reading, participants were tasked with discarding waste – the biscuit’s wrapping paper and accompanying note – using adjacent regular and recycling bins. The study’s focus rested on quantifying the recycling behaviour and comparing how many individuals in each group disposed of the materials in recycle versus regular bins.
The result: the participants who received the anthropomorphic text (first-person singular) recycled the paper significantly more often: 96.8% of them recycled the paper compared to 89.4% in the control group.
Are you aware of any other nudges that help to get insights on energy consumption? Feel free to comment or get in touch: hello@green-nudges.com
Today’s nudge has been dug out from 3 members of the research team from the Institute for Marketing and Customer Insight at the University of St. Gallen: (1) Prof. Dr. Johanna Gollnhofer is Executive Director and Associate Professor of Marketing at U of St.Gallen. Her research and teaching focuses on marketing, consumption and sustainability. (2) Janina Kauz is a doctoral candidate and research associate. In her research, she investigates the inheritance of brand relationships. (3) Julia Gisler is a doctoral candidate and research associate. In her research, she focuses on sustainable consumption practices and sustainable branding.
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