Influence of Appeal Type and Message Framing on Residents’ Intent to Engage in Pro-Environmental Behavior

Jia Wang, Yangli Gu, Haohang Xin and Xiaomei Wang ()
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Jia Wang: School of Media Studies and Humanities, Zhejiang University City College, Hangzhou 310015, China
Yangli Gu: School of Media Studies and Humanities, Zhejiang University City College, Hangzhou 310015, China
Haohang Xin: School of Media Studies and Humanities, Zhejiang University City College, Hangzhou 310015, China
Xiaomei Wang: School of Media Studies and Humanities, Zhejiang University City College, Hangzhou 310015, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 23, 1-27

Abstract: In this intervention study, we examined the effects and psychological processes of different types of messaging intended to promote waste-separation behavior on the intent of residents to separate household waste and to engage in other pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs). Based on three studies (one survey with 76 residents and two experiments with 446 residents) in China, our results revealed that environmental appeals increased residents’ intent to separate waste and engage in other PEBs, whereas monetary incentives had no effect. Although the main effects of the framing of messages on the intent to separate waste and other PEBs were not significant, we found an interactive effect of appeal type and message framing. When matched with loss framing, an environmental appeal indirectly generated a stronger positive impact by stimulating an individual’s environmental risk perception. When monetary incentives matched with loss framing, individual pro-environmental identity weakened, thereby inhibiting the positive impact on intent to separate waste. With this study, we provide important theoretical support for the selection and optimization of waste-separation intervention strategies and guidance for persuading residents to engage in more PEBs.

Keywords: message framing; appeal type; waste separation; proenvironmental identity; environmental risk perception; proenvironmental behavior (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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