IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/recore/v106y2016icp90-97.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Using individual householder survey responses to predict household environmental outcomes: The cases of recycling and water conservation

Author

Listed:
  • Fielding, Kelly S.
  • van Kasteren, Yasmin
  • Louis, Winnifred
  • McKenna, Bernard
  • Russell, Sally
  • Spinks, Anneliese

Abstract

Although individuals’ self-reports of behaviour are often used as a proxy for household environmental outcomes, little is known about how accurate they are or what factors might moderate accuracy. The current research investigated this question in relation to household recycling and water use. Results of Study 1 showed a significant, albeit weak, relationship between self-reported household recycling and objective measure of recycling that was not moderated by the number of people in the household. There was some evidence though that the relationship between self-reported and objective household recycling was stronger when respondents perceived more supportive community norms for recycling. The results of Study 2 supported Study 1 in showing a significant but weak relationship between self-reported water conservation behaviour and objective household water use that was again not moderated by the number of people in the house. Similar to Study 1, Study 2 showed that there was a stronger relationship between self-reported and objective behaviour when respondents had more favourable attitudes, more supportive subjective norms, and greater self-efficacy in relation to water conservation. Taken together the research suggests that psychological variables that orient householders to environmental behaviour are more important influences on aligning self-reported behaviour with objective outcomes than knowledge about the behaviour of others in the household.

Suggested Citation

  • Fielding, Kelly S. & van Kasteren, Yasmin & Louis, Winnifred & McKenna, Bernard & Russell, Sally & Spinks, Anneliese, 2016. "Using individual householder survey responses to predict household environmental outcomes: The cases of recycling and water conservation," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 90-97.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:recore:v:106:y:2016:i:c:p:90-97
    DOI: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2015.11.009
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S092134491530135X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.resconrec.2015.11.009?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Barr, Stewart & Gilg, Andrew W & Ford, Nicholas, 2005. "The household energy gap: examining the divide between habitual- and purchase-related conservation behaviours," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(11), pages 1425-1444, July.
    2. Heather E. Campbell & Ryan M. Johnson & Elizabeth Hunt Larson, 2004. "Prices, Devices, People, or Rules: The Relative Effectiveness of Policy Instruments in Water Conservation1," Review of Policy Research, Policy Studies Organization, vol. 21(5), pages 637-662, September.
    3. Wan, Calvin & Shen, Geoffrey Qiping & Yu, Ann, 2014. "The role of perceived effectiveness of policy measures in predicting recycling behaviour in Hong Kong," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 141-151.
    4. Halvorsen, Bente, 2012. "Effects of norms and policy incentives on household recycling: An international comparison," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 18-26.
    5. Hornik, Jacob & Cherian, Joseph & Madansky, Michelle & Narayana, Chem, 1995. "Determinants of recycling behavior: A synthesis of research results," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 105-127.
    6. Ajzen, Icek, 1991. "The theory of planned behavior," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 179-211, December.
    7. Robinson, Guy M. & Read, Adam D., 2005. "Recycling behaviour in a London Borough: Results from large-scale household surveys," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 70-83.
    8. Saphores, Jean-Daniel M. & Nixon, Hilary, 2014. "How effective are current household recycling policies? Results from a national survey of U.S. households," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 1-10.
    9. Hage, Olle & Söderholm, Patrik & Berglund, Christer, 2009. "Norms and economic motivation in household recycling: Empirical evidence from Sweden," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 53(3), pages 155-165.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Inga-Lill Söderberg & Misse Wester & Agnieszka Zalejska Jonsson, 2022. "Exploring Factors Promoting Recycling Behavior in Student Housing," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-16, April.
    2. Klaiman, Kimberly & Ortega, David L. & Garnache, Cloé, 2016. "Consumer preferences and demand for packaging material and recyclability," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 1-8.
    3. Felix Ostertag, 2023. "Integrating OCBE Literature and Norm Activation Theory: A Moderated Mediation on Proenvironmental Behavior of Employees," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-27, May.
    4. Sabrina McCormick & Annette Aldous & Laurilee Yarbrough, 2023. "Climate action in the United States," PLOS Climate, Public Library of Science, vol. 2(9), pages 1-13, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Martinho, Graça & Pires, Ana & Portela, Gonçalo & Fonseca, Miguel, 2015. "Factors affecting consumers’ choices concerning sustainable packaging during product purchase and recycling," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 58-68.
    2. Moh, YiingChiee & -->Abd Manaf, Latifah, 2017. "Solid waste management transformation and future challenges of source separation and recycling practice in Malaysia," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 1-14.
    3. Struk, Michal, 2017. "Distance and incentives matter: The separation of recyclable municipal waste," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 155-162.
    4. Hansmann, Ralf & Bernasconi, Petra & Smieszek, Timo & Loukopoulos, Peter & Scholz, Roland W., 2006. "Justifications and self-organization as determinants of recycling behavior: The case of used batteries," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 47(2), pages 133-159.
    5. Prestin, Abby & Pearce, Katy E., 2010. "We care a lot: Formative research for a social marketing campaign to promote school-based recycling," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 54(11), pages 1017-1026.
    6. Arbués, Fernando & Villanúa, Inmaculada, 2016. "Determinants of behavior toward selective collection of batteries in Spain. A bivariate probit model," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 1-8.
    7. Saphores, Jean-Daniel M. & Ogunseitan, Oladele A. & Shapiro, Andrew A., 2012. "Willingness to engage in a pro-environmental behavior: An analysis of e-waste recycling based on a national survey of U.S. households," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 49-63.
    8. Campbell, Benjamin & Khachatryan, Hayk & Behe, Bridget & Hall, Charles & Dennis, Jennifer, 2016. "Crunch the can or throw the bottle? Effect of “bottle deposit laws” and municipal recycling programs," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 98-109.
    9. Wenchun Ran & Ling Zhang, 2023. "Bridging the intention-behavior gap in mobile phone recycling in China: the effect of consumers’ price sensitivity and proactive personality," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(1), pages 938-959, January.
    10. Ossama Ahmed Labib & Latifah Manaf & Amir Hamzah Sharaai & Siti Sarah Mohamad Zaid, 2021. "Understanding the Effect of Internal and External Factors on Households’ Willingness to Sort Waste in Dammam City, Saudi Arabia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(18), pages 1-18, September.
    11. López-Mosquera, Natalia & Lera-López, Fernando & Sánchez, Mercedes, 2015. "Key factors to explain recycling, car use and environmentally responsible purchase behaviors: A comparative perspective," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 29-39.
    12. Nieves García-de-Frutos & José Manuel Ortega-Egea & Javier Martínez-del-Río, 2018. "Anti-consumption for Environmental Sustainability: Conceptualization, Review, and Multilevel Research Directions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 148(2), pages 411-435, March.
    13. Wang, Chao & Zhan, Jinyan & Wang, Huihui & Yang, Zheng & Chu, Xi & Liu, Wei & Teng, Yanmin & Liu, Huizi & Wang, Yifan, 2022. "Multi-group analysis on the mechanism of residents' low-carbon behaviors in Beijing, China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).
    14. Maria Carmela Aprile & Damiano Fiorillo, 2016. "Water Conservation Behavior and Environmental Concerns," Discussion Papers 6_2016, CRISEI, University of Naples "Parthenope", Italy.
    15. Pothitou, Mary & Hanna, Richard F. & Chalvatzis, Konstantinos J., 2016. "Environmental knowledge, pro-environmental behaviour and energy savings in households: An empirical study," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 1217-1229.
    16. Tian Kang, 2022. "Construction and Empirical Analysis of Citizens' Water Literacy Evaluation Index System: A Structural Equation Model," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 36(4), pages 1393-1411, March.
    17. Chao Zuo & Xuqiang Yan & Ziyi Chen & Wenbo Wei & Meina Gao & Yuting Ling & Fenping Zhu & Bei Liu & Hongwei Zhou & Dong Xu & Mengjun Zhang, 2025. "Factors influencing residents’ inclination towards engaging in the recycling of electric vehicle batteries," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-11, December.
    18. Liying Wang & Junya Wang & Pengxia Shen & Shangqing Liu & Shuwei Zhang, 2023. "Low-Carbon Travel Behavior in Daily Residence and Tourism Destination: Based on TPB-ABC Integrated Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-18, September.
    19. Mahardika, Harryadin & Thomas, Dominic & Ewing, Michael Thomas & Japutra, Arnold, 2020. "Comparing the temporal stability of behavioural expectation and behavioural intention in the prediction of consumers pro-environmental behaviour," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    20. Mantzari, Eleni & Reynolds, James P. & Jebb, Susan A. & Hollands, Gareth J. & Pilling, Mark A. & Marteau, Theresa M., 2022. "Public support for policies to improve population and planetary health: A population-based online experiment assessing impact of communicating evidence of multiple versus single benefits," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 296(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:recore:v:106:y:2016:i:c:p:90-97. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Kai Meng (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/resources-conservation-and-recycling .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.