Sustainable behaviors

Data inizio
15 settembre 0014
Durata (mesi) 
36
Dipartimenti
Scienze Umane
Responsabili (o referenti locali)
Ceschi Andrea , Sartori Riccardo , Tommasi Francesco

Over the past decade, there has been a significant increase in the purchase of organic food in the context of sustainable consumption. As a result, research on this topic has increased, leading to discrepancies in methods and results. The current line of research examines studies that have adopted the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB; Ajzen, 1991) as a theoretical framework for understanding and predicting consumers’ motivations to purchase organic food.
A meta-analysis was conducted to assess the strength of the relationships between attitudes toward sustainable consumption, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and intentions, as well as between intentions and behaviors. The results confirmed the role of individual attitudes in shaping purchase intentions, followed by subjective norms and consumers’ perceived behavioral control. The relationship between intention and behavior shows a significant effect size, but few studies have focused on this relationship. In addition, the study suggests that the environment has a critical influence on people’s behavior. For example, individuals are less likely to recycle if they are placed in a dirty environment (Fiorillo, 2013), and garbage left on the street has been shown to be a disincentive to use proper recycling containers (Geller et al., 1977; Keizer et al., 2008; Krauss et al., 1996; Ramos & Torgler, 2012). It can be argued that recycling is conditionally cooperative and that people are less concerned about sustainability when they perceive environmental degradation (Gächter et al., 2012).
A similar dynamic occurs with direct observation of others’ behavior (Cialdini et al., 1990), resulting in demotivation to recycle. In this view, critical factors in promoting appropriate environmental behavior depend on sensitivity to social norms. Thus, we can say that psychological sciences can predict the behavior of individuals in certain situations, thanks to models that are scientifically validated. This makes it possible to use the knowledge gained from studies on the subject to predict behavior and act consciously in relation to the environment.
In this sense, this line of research aims to reformulate the most accredited predictive models of the behavior of individuals in the purchase of organic food and respect for the environment, allowing a simpler and more effective evaluation of the consequences of such behavior.

References
Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational behavior and human decision processes, 50(2), 179-211.
Cialdini, R. B., Reno, R. R., & Kallgren, C. A. (1990). A focus theory of normative conduct: Recycling the concept of norms to reduce littering in public places. Journal of personality and social psychology, 58(6), 1015.
Fiorillo, D. (2013). Household waste recycling: national survey evidence from Italy. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 56(8), 1125-1151.
Gächter, S., Nosenzo, D., & Sefton, M. (2012). The impact of social comparisons on reciprocity. The Scandinavian Journal of Economics, 114(4), 1346-1367.
Geller, E. S., Witmer, J. F., & Tuso, M. A. (1977). Environmental interventions for litter control. Journal of Applied Psychology, 62(3), 344.
Keizer, K., Lindenberg, S., & Steg, L. (2008). The spreading of disorder. science, 322(5908), 1681-1685.
Krauss, R. M., Freedman, J. L., & Whitcup, M. (1978). Field and laboratory studies of littering. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 14(1), 109-122.
Ramos, J., & Torgler, B. (2012). Are academics messy? Testing the broken windows theory with a field experiment in the work environment. Review of Law & Economics, 8(3), 563-577.

Partecipanti al progetto

Andrea Ceschi
Professore associato
Riccardo Sartori
Professore associato
Francesco Tommasi
Professore a contratto
Aree di ricerca coinvolte dal progetto
Formazione e organizzazioni
work and organizational psychology
Pubblicazioni
Titolo Autori Anno
Why donate and for what? The pseudoinefficacy bias in donating behavior Tommasi, Francesco; Morandini, Sofia; Meneghini, Anna Maria; Ceschi, Andrea; Sartori, Riccardo; Gostimir, Marija 2022
Testing a norm-based policy for waste management: An agent-based modeling simulation on nudging recycling behavior Ceschi, A; Sartori, R; Dickert, S; Scalco, A; Tur, Em; Tommasi, F; Delfini, K 2021
Theories for Computing Prosocial Behavior Costantini, Arianna; Scalco, Andrea; Sartori, Riccardo; Mas Tur, Elena; Ceschi, Andrea 2019
Predicting organic food consumption: A meta-analytic structural equation model based on the theory of planned behavior Scalco, Andrea; Noventa, Stefano; Sartori, Riccardo; Ceschi, Andrea 2017
The implementation of the theory of planned behavior in an agent-based model for waste recycling: A review and a proposal. Scalco, Andrea; Ceschi, Andrea; Shiboub, I; Sartori, Riccardo; Frayret, J-M; Dickert, Stephan 2017
A Simulation of Householders’ Recycling Attitudes Based on the Theory of Planned Behavior Ceschi, Andrea; Dorofeeva, Ksenia; Sartori, Riccardo; Dickert, Stephan; Scalco, Andrea 2015
Compassion and Prosocial Behavior. Is it Possible to Simulate them Virtually? Ceschi, Andrea; Scalco, Andrea; Dickert, Stephan; Sartori, Riccardo 2015
Cooperate or Defect? How an Agent Based Model Simulation on Helping Behavior Can Be an Educational Tool Ceschi, Andrea; Dorina, Hysenbelli; Sartori, Riccardo; Tacconi, Giuseppe 2014

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