Effects of Goal Setting and Commitment on Increasing Metal Recycling

Conducted a field experiment, in which 120 college students were asked to conserve energy by collecting aluminum cans for recycling. Half of the Ss were provided with an explicit goal, whereas half were not. In addition, half of the Ss consented to having their names associated with the project, whereas half remained anonymous. Ss collected cans for 2 wks, and the result of their collection efforts revealed a reliable effect only for the manipulation of standard: Ss who received an explicit standard collected more cans than those without a standard. (6 ref)