The Effects of Matching Post-transgression Accounts to Targets' Preferences

<p>Previous research into accounts--the statements that people make to explain undesirable behavior--has looked at either the target's reactions to accounts or the transgressors' account strategies, but has not looked at these together. In four studies, participants were assigned to the role of a transgressor (the person providing a post-transgression account) or a target. Transgressors' use of accounts--excuses, justifications, and exceptions--and their post account expectations for how they and the target would react was measured. These transgressor ratings were then compared to the account preferences and reactions (evaluative and punitive) of the targets who actually read the accounts. Targets whose account preferences were matched were expected to react more positively and to inflict lesser penalties on transgressors than those whose preferences were not matched. Results showed that transgressors were fairly inaccurate in their estimations of target reactions, and did not tend to match the account preferences of their targets. However, some evidence emerged to suggest that targets did generally react positively when their account preferences were matched. Furthermore, the domain of the transgression (whether it was a moral, environmental, religious, or interpersonal transgression) affected the strength and direction of these effects.</p>Dissertatio

From plastic bottle recycling to policy support: An experimental test of pro-environmental spillover

Little research has investigated the extent to which performance of one pro-environmental behavior (PEB) spills over to increase or decrease support for pro-environmental policies or the mechanisms underlying spillover effects. In this study, 283 U.S. university students were randomly assigned via situational manipulations to either recycle a water bottle, throw the bottle in the trash, or a control condition. All participants then completed surveys assessing environmental identity, guilt, and environmental worry, as well as support for a pro-environmental campus green fund. Results showed evidence for negative spillover among Democrats only, which was mediated by environmental identity: Democrats who recycled the water bottle had lower environmental identities and were less supportive of the green fund than those in the control condition. Neither Republicans nor Independents displayed spillover. The results have implications for those interested in increasing small, easy PEBs in hopes of gaining future support for environmental policies

Positive and negative spillover of pro-environmental behavior: An integrative review and theoretical framework

A recent surge of research has investigated the potential of pro-environmental behavior interventions to affect other pro-environmental behaviors not initially targeted by the intervention. The evidence evaluating these spillover effects has been mixed, with some studies finding evidence for positive spillover (i.e., one pro-environmental behavior increases the likelihood of performing additional pro-environmental behaviors) and others finding negative spillover (i.e., one pro-environmental behavior decreases the likelihood of additional pro-environmental behaviors). Different academic disciplines have investigated this question, employing different methodologies and arriving at divergent findings. This paper provides a unifying theoretical framework and uses the framework to review the existing research on pro-environmental behavior spillover. Our framework identifies different decision modes as competing mechanisms that drive adoption of initial pro-environmental behaviors, with different consequences for subsequent pro-environmental behaviors, leading to positive, negative, or no spillover. Attribution of the initial pro-environmental behavior to either an external motivator (e.g., a price signal) or internal motivator (e.g., self-identity) also matters. In addition, the characteristics of and similarity between initial and subsequent pro-environmental behaviors can be expected to moderate predicted spillover effects. We explore the implications of our model for policymakers and practitioners, and suggest key areas where future research on the topic would be most beneficial