Water Use as a Commons Dilemma: The Effects of Education that Focuses on Long-Term Consequences and Individual Action

Thompson, S. C., & Stoutemyer, K. Water use as a commons dilemma: The effects of education that focuses on long-term consequences and individual action. Vol. 23. 1991. 314-333.

Randomly assigned 171 households to 1 of 4 groups: commons education, economic interest education, participation control, and no contact control. Water use was recorded for the 2-mo preintervention, intervention, and postintervention periods. Results support the hypothesis that educational messages highlighting long-term consequences and the effectiveness of individual action would increase water conservation, but only for the residents of a lower-middle to middle-class neighborhood. Residents of a wealthier section of the same city did not appear to be affected by the educational intervention.

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