Abstract
Clear and memorable environmental messaging has been scarce. Recycling contamination is an urgent environmental concern because the public is confused about which items can and cannot be recycled. Environmental campaigns utilizing message framing, a method used to emphasize either the benefits of performing or loss of avoiding an action, may help combat this problem. We conducted an online study (n = 1199) and randomly assigned participants to view positively or negatively framed (do vs. do not) messages. Results revealed that participants who viewed negative messages with do not descriptors increased recycling intention, mediated by increased recycling contamination knowledge and recycling efficacy (95% CI: 0.03, 0.08). The findings suggest that recycling instructions may be more effective when messages are framed negatively using inhibitive descriptors. Results of this study can inform development of environmental campaigns to improve sustainable lifestyles.
Highlights
IntroductionResults revealed that participants who viewed negative messages with do not descriptors increased recycling intention, mediated by increased recycling contamination knowledge and recycling efficacy (95% CI: 0.03, 0.08)
Individuals had greater willingness to participate in recycling after viewing positively written instructions, which promoted them to recycle certain materials, compared to instructions discouraging them from recycling, b = −0.20, SE = 0.06, p = 0.002, 95% CI [−0.32, −0.07]
Results indicate that individuals who viewed negatively written instructions inhibiting them from recycling certain items remembered information from the instructions better in comparison to those who viewed positively written instructions that encouraged recycling, b = 0.50, SE = 0.06, p < 0.001, 95% CI [0.39, 0.61]
Summary
Results revealed that participants who viewed negative messages with do not descriptors increased recycling intention, mediated by increased recycling contamination knowledge and recycling efficacy (95% CI: 0.03, 0.08). Polls show that many people want to recycle; approximately half of American adults recycle whenever possible, and more than 60 percent of adults who self-identify as environmentally conscious reported that they are bothered when other people do not recycle [6]. This environmental consciousness and preference for recycling stands in contrast to the high contamination rate.
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