Behavioral science research provides models for understanding how psychological and social factors relate to pro-environmental behaviors, such as recycling. However, previously published research only describes the relationship between these factors and self-reported measures of recycling ability, otherwise known as perceived skill (PS). Uncertainty remains as to how various factors correlate with actual skill (AS). This study provides empirical evidence to describe how a set of psychological, social, and behavioral factors relate to perceived recycling skills and actual recycling skills, as well as the relationship between PS and AS.
“Recycling skill” is defined as the ability to correctly place different types of waste into the proper receptacle based on local municipal rules. The authors based their hypotheses on a previously established model that connects PS to five factors: attitudes, social norms, perceived control, household recycling behavior, and a psychological trait known as Need-for-Cognitive-Closure (NFCC). NFCC measures a person's desire for concrete answers; individuals with high NFCC are more averse to uncertainty. The authors hypothesized that high NFCC may cause individuals to over-estimate their recycling skill, making PS higher than AS.
The study took place in Italian cities with existing municipal recycling services. The researchers recruited a convenience sample of participants in public spaces and provided a written questionnaire to 281 adults. The questionnaire used previously established methods to quantify each of the five factors in the model, as well as PS. After completing the questionnaire, each participant then performed a simulated recycling task in which they were asked to sort pictures of various waste items into the proper bin. This simulation task provided a measure of AS. The authors used statistical analyses to measure the relationship of each of the five factors to both PS and AS.
Perceived skill correlated significantly with each of the factors. AS, on the other hand, correlated only with attitudes, social norms, and household recycling. Since NFCC correlated positively with PS but not with AS, the results support the authors' hypothesis that high NFCC could cause individuals to overestimate their recycling skill. PS showed a slight positive correlation with AS, but the relationship was very slight, leading the authors to conclude that PS is not an accurate substitute for AS.
The authors acknowledge that the approach of their study is limited; for one, their model only predicted a slight amount of the variance in AS, which indicates that further study is needed to identify other factors that predict AS. Additionally, the use of a representative rather than a convenience sample would improve the generalizability of the results.
The authors of this study conclude that PS and AS share some determining factors, but there are also additional unknown factors that influence AS. Therefore, the two measures are not interchangeable. They recommend that future research should focus on developing a model to understand the factors that influence AS in order to develop more effective methods for changing recycling behavior.
The Bottom Line
Behavioral science research provides models to understand the psychological factors that influence recycling behavior. However, previous research uses mostly self-reported measures of recycling behavior, otherwise known as perceived skill. The authors of this study used a previously established model to determine how psychological factors influence perceived and actual recycling skill. The results indicate that certain psychological factors may cause individuals to overestimate their actual skill, and the authors conclude that perceived skill is not an accurate measure of actual skill. They recommend that future research should focus on factors that influence actual recycling skill, to help develop more effective tactics for improving individuals' recycling behavior.