The Effects of Public Commitment and Group Feedback on Curbside Recycling. Special Issue: Litter Control and Recycling
DeLeon, I. G., & Fuqua, R. W. (1995). The effects of public commitment and group feedback on curbside recycling. Special Issue: Litter control and recycling. Environment and Behavior, 27, 2, 233-250.
Examined the effects of 3 community interventions that rely on socially mediated consequences, rather than financial incentives, to promote consumer recycling. 20 households in the commitment-only group (CO) group signed a letter making a public commitment to recycle and giving permission to publish their names in a local newspaper. 19 households in the feedback-only (FO) group received weekly feedback on pounds of recyclable paper generated by their group. A combined-intervention (CI) group of 19 households received a combination of the 2 previous interventions. Relative to baseline, the FO and CI groups increased the weight of recyclable paper by 25.47% and 40%, respectively. In contrast, neither the CO group nor a no-intervention control group of 18 households showed substantial changes over the same period.
