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The Impact of Mirrors on Sustainable Waste Behavior

University of British Columbia. Campus and Community Planning

Prior research has shown that “self-focus [can] bring about self-evaluation and thus make meeting a goal more important” to an individual (Paul, 2012, p. 192). In this regard, self-focus and self-evaluation may be involved in the presence of mirrors. This research explored whether the presence of a mirror impacts sustainable waste behaviour of participants at the University of British Columbia. The Forestry Building and the Life Sciences Building were the two locations in this study. Within each building, there was a mirrored station, which was the experimental condition, and a non-mirrored station, which was the control condition. The researchers weighed each bin and noted the number of contaminants - operationalized as incorrectly disposed rubbish - within each container, resulting in a ratio of contaminants per kilogram. An independent samples t -test was used on the ratio of contaminants per kilogram in garbage, organics, paper, and recycling, all of which were statistically insignificant. Secondly, we used an independent samples t-test on the weight and number of contaminants in each bin; all contamination rates were statistically insignificant. Limitations to our research follow, as well as implications and recommendations for future studies in regards to sustainable waste behaviour. 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

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

Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library

10.14288/1.0343071

Arts, Faculty of; Psychology, Department of

Unreviewed

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/