Lewis and Clark College

Wang (2006):
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This study was done to examine recycling commitment. Two different experiments were done. The first study asked people in a retirement home to sign a group commitment to recycle paper. The second study was performed at a college dormitory. It focused on individual commitment, group commitment, and token reinforcements.

 

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​Results:



• People in the retirement home (group commitment) recycled 47% more and sustained these recycling behaviors after the study was over.

• All three of the approaches done at the university (group commitment, individual commitment, and token reinforcement) prompted students to recycle three to five times more paper than the control group did.
• When the treatments were removed, the only individuals that sustained their behavior were the students that were a part of the individual commitment.

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Source: Wang, T. H., & Katzev, R. D. (2006). Group commitment and resource conservation: Two field experiments on promoting Recycling1. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 20(4), 265-275.