Validity and scope sensitivity of the Work for Environmental Protection Task

Abstract

Pro-environmental behaviors are defined by their consequences, but often studied using inconsequential procedures. The validity problems associated with self-report proxies and hypothetical scenarios can be addressed by studying consequential pro-environmental behavior in behavioral paradigms. Here, we examine the validity of a recently developed paradigm that involves repeated trade-offs between individual and environmental consequences. On the Work for Environmental Protection Task (WEPT) participants can make real voluntary efforts to produce actual donations to an environmental organization. Responding to the call for cross-culturally robust methods and insights, we administered the WEPT to residents of the UK, the US, and South Africa (total N = 1175). Preregistered analyses revealed WEPT efforts to be internally consistent, effectively deterred by behavioral costs, sensitive to the scope of environmental impact, and correlated to people's general pro-environmental propensity. These results suggest the WEPT to be suited for the experimental analysis of pro-environmental behavior in the investigated populations.