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Environmental cues on sorting behaviour

University of British Columbia. Campus and Community Planning

This report outlines the research experiment conducted by three psychology students from the University of British Columbia and their findings on environmental cues and the effects they pose towards sorting behaviours. The study was sanctioned by the Zero Waste Project at UBC and was designed to answer the following questions—How is sorting behaviour impacted by having stand-alone garbage cans inside, or just outside, large auditoriums? And is there a benefit to having a poster where the garbage was asking people to recycle? The research was conducted using a 2 x 2 between-subjects factorial design, participants were randomly assigned to one of four conditions; each consisting of a different combination of environmental cues. Sorting behaviour was operationalized by the participants disposal of the experiment’s designated material, as collected in the Sort it Out bin. The research findings indicate certain benefits to having environmentally prompting cues in place of garbage cans in auditoriums, as supported by the data collected on sorting behaviours of the participants. Further studies need be conducted before determining conclusive results; until then the Zero Waste Project will continue to promote environmentally sustainable initiatives to reach UBC’s greener goals. Disclaimer: “UBC SEEDS provides students with the opportunity to share the findings of their studies, as well as their opinions, conclusions and recommendations with the UBC community. The reader should bear in mind that this is a student project/report and is not an official document of UBC. Furthermore readers should bear in mind that these reports may not reflect the current status of activities at UBC. We urge you to contact the research persons mentioned in a report or the SEEDS Coordinator about the current status of the subject matter of a project/report.”

Text

University of British Columbia. PSYC 321; UBC Social Ecological Economic Development Studies (SEEDS) Student Report

Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library

10.14288/1.0224089

Arts, Faculty of; Psychology, Department of

Unreviewed

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ca/