scholarly journals Promoting Recycling: Private Values, Social Norms, and Economic Incentives

2011 ◽  
Vol 101 (3) ◽  
pp. 65-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Kip Viscusi ◽  
Joel Huber ◽  
Jason Bell
Keyword(s):  
Social Norms ◽  
Representative Sample ◽  
Economic Incentives ◽  
Independent Effect ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Personal Norms ◽  
Private Values ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Recycling Behavior

Evidence from a nationally representative sample of households illuminates the determinants of recycling behavior for plastic water bottles. Private values of the environment are influential in promoting recycling, as are personal norms for pro-environmental behavior. However, social norms with respect to the assessment of the household's recycling behaviors by others have little independent effect. Particularly influential are policies that create economic incentives to promote recycling either through state recycling laws that reduce the time and inconvenience costs of recycling or through bottle deposits. Effective policies can have a discontinuous effect at the individual level, transforming non-recyclers into avid recyclers.

Personality change and environmental concerns

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher James Hopwood ◽  
Ted Schwaba ◽  
Wiebke Bleidorn
Keyword(s):  
Personality Traits ◽  
Personality Change ◽  
Environmental Concerns ◽  
Big Five Personality ◽  
German Population ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Sustainable Behavior ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Over Time

Personal concerns about climate change and the environment are a powerful motivator of sustainable behavior. People’s level of concern varies as a function of a variety of social and individual factors. Using data from 58,748 participants from a nationally representative German sample, we tested preregistered hypotheses about factors that impact concerns about the environment over time. We found that environmental concerns increased modestly from 2009-2017 in the German population. However, individuals in middle adulthood tended to be more concerned and showed more consistent increases in concern over time than younger or older people. Consistent with previous research, Big Five personality traits were correlated with environmental concerns. We present novel evidence that increases in concern were related to increases in the personality traits neuroticism and openness to experience. Indeed, changes in openness explained roughly 50% of the variance in changes in environmental concerns. These findings highlight the importance of understanding the individual level factors associated with changes in environmental concerns over time, towards the promotion of more sustainable behavior at the individual level.

scholarly journals Women in Blue: Structural and Individual Determinants of Sex Segregation in Blue-Collar Occupations

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 410-438 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margarita Torre
Keyword(s):  
Social Reproduction ◽  
Blue Collar ◽  
Gender Composition ◽  
Vocational Education And Training ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Parental Background ◽  
Individual Determinants ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
The Individual ◽  
And Training

The number of women occupying male-dominated blue-collar jobs continues to be very low. This study examines segregation in the blue-collar trades, taking into consideration both structural and individual factors. Using nationally representative data for 25 countries, the study shows that segregation in the blue-collar sector does not vary with the strength of vocational education and training programs. At the individual level, findings reveal higher degrees of social reproduction among working-class families, but parental background alone does not fully account for the gender composition of the sector in which children end up working. Overall, the findings point to the existence of a socializing mechanism that entrenches horizontal segregation in the blue-collar sector. The study indicates that to reduce segregation in the blue-collar fields, policies must address this prior mechanism, both at the structural and individual level.

scholarly journals Public support for the right to euthanasia: Impact of traditional religiosity and autonomy values across 37 nations

2018 ◽  
Vol 59 (4) ◽  
pp. 301-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maksim Rudnev ◽  
Aleksandra Savelkaeva
Keyword(s):  
Public Support ◽  
Independent Effect ◽  
World Values Survey ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Country Level ◽  
A Value ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Right ◽  
Moral Attitudes

This article takes a postmodernization perspective on support for the right to euthanasia by treating it as an expression of a process of value change, as a preference for quality over quantity of life. Using the data from the fifth wave of the World Values Survey, this study attempts to answer the question of whether the mass support for the right to euthanasia is an expression of autonomy values rather than just a function of a low religiosity. Multilevel regressions demonstrate that both traditional religiosity and autonomy values have a high impact at the individual level, while at the country level only the effects of traditional religiosity are significant. Autonomy values have stronger association with attitudes to euthanasia in countries with higher levels of postmaterialism. Multilevel path analysis demonstrates that the effect of religiosity is partially and weakly mediated by the values of autonomy at both levels. Although religiosity was found to have a much stronger impact, the independent effect of autonomy values suggests that mass support for the right to euthanasia is a value-driven preference for quality over quantity of life. We conclude by suggesting that the fall in traditional religiosity might emphasize the role of values in moral attitudes regulation.

The Normative Body and the Embodiment of Norms

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maren Wehrle
Keyword(s):  
Social Norms ◽  
Habit Formation ◽  
The Other ◽  
Feminist Philosophy ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Habitual Body

AbstractPhenomenologically speaking, one can consider the experiencing body as normative insofar as it generates norms through repeated actions and interactions, crystallizing into habits. On the other hand according to Foucauldian approaches, the subjective body does not generate norms but is itself produced by norms: Dominant social norms are incorporated via repeated practices of discipline. How is the individual level of habit formation in phenomenology related to this embodiment of supra-individual norms? In what sense can we differentiate between a habit formation that results in a skill and one that disciplines a body? To address these questions the paper will analyze examples of the embodiment of norms in Foucault and feminist philosophy and show how they rely on the phenomenological concept of the actual and habitual body.

scholarly journals Cultural tightness-looseness: Its nature and missiological applications

2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 410-421
Author(s):  
David R. Dunaetz
Keyword(s):  
Social Norms ◽  
Geographical Distribution ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Organizational Level ◽  
Host Culture ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Missionary Work ◽  
Societal Level ◽  
The Individual

The focus of much missionary work concerns sharing the gospel with others so that they may put their faith in Jesus Christ. However, members of some cultures are much more resistant to this than are members of other cultures. The concept of cultural tightness-looseness helps explain why some cultures are more closed to the gospel than are others. Tight cultures, in contrast to loose cultures, have strong social norms, violations of which are met with intense sanctions. Numerous recent studies reveal the antecedents, consequences, and the geographical distribution of cultural tightness-looseness. There are important missiological implications at the societal level, the individual level, and the organizational level when missionaries work in host cultures which are tighter than their home cultures. Understanding these implications can help the missionary better love and respond to the needs of members of their host culture.

scholarly journals Twitter-Derived Social Neighborhood Characteristics and Individual-Level Cardiometabolic Outcomes: Cross-Sectional Study in a Nationally Representative Sample (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dina Huang ◽  
Yuru Huang ◽  
Sahil Khanna ◽  
Pallavi Dwivedi ◽  
Natalie Slopen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Representative Sample ◽  
Public Health Research ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Neighborhood Environment ◽  
Neighborhood Characteristics ◽  
Lower Prevalence ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Nationally Representative

BACKGROUND Social media platforms such as Twitter can serve as a potential data source for public health research to characterize the social neighborhood environment. Few studies have linked Twitter-derived characteristics to individual-level health outcomes. OBJECTIVE This study aims to assess the association between Twitter-derived social neighborhood characteristics, including happiness, food, and physical activity mentions, with individual cardiometabolic outcomes using a nationally representative sample. METHODS We collected a random 1% of the geotagged tweets from April 2015 to March 2016 using Twitter’s Streaming Application Interface (API). Twitter-derived zip code characteristics on happiness, food, and physical activity were merged to individual outcomes from restricted-use National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) with residential zip codes. Separate regression analyses were performed for each of the neighborhood characteristics using NHANES 2011-2016 and 2007-2016. RESULTS Individuals living in the zip codes with the two highest tertiles of happy tweets reported BMI of 0.65 (95% CI –1.10 to –0.20) and 0.85 kg/m<sup>2</sup> (95% CI –1.48 to –0.21) lower than those living in zip codes with the lowest frequency of happy tweets. Happy tweets were also associated with a 6%-8% lower prevalence of hypertension. A higher prevalence of healthy food tweets was linked with an 11% (95% CI 2% to 21%) lower prevalence of obesity. Those living in areas with the highest and medium tertiles of physical activity tweets were associated with a lower prevalence of hypertension by 10% (95% CI 4% to 15%) and 8% (95% CI 2% to 14%), respectively. CONCLUSIONS Twitter-derived social neighborhood characteristics were associated with individual-level obesity and hypertension in a nationally representative sample of US adults. Twitter data could be used for capturing neighborhood sociocultural influences on chronic conditions and may be used as a platform for chronic outcomes prevention.

scholarly journals Cultural tightness-looseness: Its nature and missiological applications

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Robert Dunaetz
Keyword(s):  
Social Norms ◽  
Geographical Distribution ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Organizational Level ◽  
Host Culture ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Missionary Work ◽  
Societal Level ◽  
The Individual

The focus of much missionary work concerns sharing the gospel with others so that they may put their faith in Jesus Christ. However, members of some cultures are much more resistant to this than are members of other cultures. The concept of cultural tightness-looseness helps explain why some cultures are more closed to the gospel than are others. Tight cultures, in contrast to loose cultures, have strong social norms, violations of which are met with intense sanctions. Numerous recent studies reveal the antecedents, consequences, and the geographical distribution of cultural tightness-looseness. There are important missiological implications at the societal level, the individual level, and the organizational level when missionaries work in host cultures which are tighter than their home cultures. Understanding these implications can help the missionary better love and respond to the needs of members of their host culture.

scholarly journals The Normative Underpinnings of Population-Level Alcohol Use: An Individual-Level Simulation Model

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 224-234
Author(s):  
Charlotte Probst ◽  
Tuong Manh Vu ◽  
Joshua M. Epstein ◽  
Alexandra E. Nielsen ◽  
Charlotte Buckley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alcohol Use ◽  
Social Norms ◽  
Drinking Behavior ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Drinking Patterns ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Behavioral Rules ◽  
Level Model ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Impact

Background. By defining what is “normal,” appropriate, expected, and unacceptable, social norms shape human behavior. However, the individual-level mechanisms through which social norms impact population-level trends in health-relevant behaviors are not well understood. Aims. To test the ability of social norms mechanisms to predict changes in population-level drinking patterns. Method. An individual-level model was developed to simulate dynamic normative mechanisms and behavioral rules underlying drinking behavior over time. The model encompassed descriptive and injunctive drinking norms and their impact on frequency and quantity of alcohol use. A microsynthesis initialized in 1979 was used as a demographically representative synthetic U.S. population. Three experiments were performed in order to test the modelled normative mechanisms. Results. Overall, the experiments showed limited influence of normative interventions on population-level alcohol use. An increase in the desire to drink led to the most meaningful changes in the population’s drinking behavior. The findings of the experiments underline the importance of autonomy, that is, the degree to which an individual is susceptible to normative influence. Conclusion. The model was able to predict theoretically plausible changes in drinking patterns at the population level through the impact of social mechanisms. Future applications of the model could be used to plan norms interventions pertaining to alcohol use as well as other health behaviors.

scholarly journals Involvement in Physical Fights among School Attending Adolescents: A Nationally Representative Sample from Kuwait

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 29
Author(s):  
Masood Ali Shaikh ◽  
Anne P. Abio ◽  
Adebola A. Adedimeji ◽  
Michael Lowery Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Interpersonal Violence ◽  
Representative Sample ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
Total Sample ◽  
Recall Period ◽  
Important Public Health Problem ◽  
Fighting Behavior ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
The Individual

Background: Interpersonal violence in school settings is an important public health problem worldwide. This study investigated the individual and social correlates for being involved in a physical fight amongst a nationally representative sample of school-attending adolescents in Kuwait. Methods: We carried out bivariate and multivariate analyses to determine the strength and direction of associations with adolescent involvement in problematic fighting behavior within a 12-month recall period. Results: Within a total sample of 3637, n = 877 (25.2%) of school-attending adolescents reported being involved in two or more physical fights during the recall period. The multivariate analysis indicated that being male (OR = 2.71; CI = 1.88–3.90), a victim of bullying (OR = 2.77; CI = 2.14–3.58), truancy (OR = 2.52; CI = 1.91–3.32), planning a suicide (OR = 2.04; CI = 1.49–2.78) and food deprivation (OR = 1.91; CI = 1.37–2.65) were associated with an increased risk of involvement in physical fighting. Peer support in the form of having close friends (OR = 0.85; CI = 0.76–0.96) was found to be associated with a reduced involvement in fighting behavior. Conclusion: The results, when taken together, suggest that supportive school environments may represent important settings for violence mitigation and prevention strategies.

Origins of values differences: A multi-level test of economic, climatic and parasite stress explanations in the value domain

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald Fischer
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Differences ◽  
National Level ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Cross Cultural Differences ◽  
National Wealth ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Self Transcendence ◽  
The Individual

What variables explain cross-cultural differences in values? In this study, plausible origins of cultural differences in self-rated values are investigated in two independent samples with multi-level modeling to test the robustness and replicability of effects. Differences in wealth and the interaction between wealth by climate showed strongest correlations with value ratings in nationally representative data (Ns = 71,916 &amp; 74,042). The effects of wealth on openness values were convergent across levels (higher wealth is associated with more openness values), but operated in opposing directions for self-transcendence values (national wealth is associated with self-transcendent values, individual wealth is associated with self-enhancing values). Extending climate-economic theory of culture to the individual level, higher education as a cognitive resource of individuals buffered climatic demands in relation to openness to change values. Therefore, education may act as an important individual level that can explain and unpackage previously reported nation-level results. Parasite stress at the national level did not significantly predict values, after controlling for other variables.

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