| 其他摘要 | Despite the growing urgency of waste separation as an environmental concern, the rates of contamination from unsorted waste remain high without the monitoring from volunteers. However, residents do not always cooperate with volunteers. How can we facilitate collaboration between residents and volunteers? To address the dilemma of waste separation, the present study conducted three experiments and one qualitative interview based on the theories of competitive altruism and social influence to investigate the effects of familiarity and age on residents' cooperation, as well as the mediating roles of reputational concern and social distance.
Using scenarios, participants were asked to read the instructions (each representing one of the conditions), and then to predict the extent of probability that they would cooperate in each condition. Study 1 adopted a 3 (volunteer age group: primary children/younger/older) X 3 (volunteer familiarity: high/low/unfamiliar) within-subjects design to examine the differences in the cooperation of young people (M=20.16士1.01 years) with volunteers in different conditions. The results showed that: 1) participants cooperated more with the high familiar volunteers than with the low familiar or strange volunteers. The higher the familiarity, the greater the cooperative intention. 2) As age and familiarity interact to affect the cooperative intention, participants cooperated more with older volunteers in the low familiar or strange conditions.
To improve the ecological validity, Study 2 adopted a 2 (participant age group: younger/older; between-subjects variable) X 3 (volunteer age group: primary children/younger/older; within-subjects variable) X 3 (volunteer familiarity: high/low/unfamiliar; within-subjects variable) mixed design, and added two situations of "immediate" and "next time", to examine the age-related differences of the cooperation between younger people (M一40.63士7.60 years) and older people (M一68.90士4.97 years) with volunteers in different conditions. The results showed that: 1) In the“immediate" and "next time" situations, participants cooperated more with the high familiar volunteers than with the low familiar or strange volunteers. Study 2 replicated the results of Study 1 .2) In the "next time" situation, age and familiarity interact to affect the cooperative intention, participants cooperated more with older volunteers in the low familiar condition. 3) Older adults cooperated more with older volunteers while less with strangers than younger adults. 4) The probability of doing waste separation in the "next time" situation was significantly higher than that of the "immediate" situation, which indicated that residents develop the habit of waste separation gradually.
To examine the ecological validity of the results of Study 1 and Study 2, and to examine whether the influence of familiarity is objective in the practice of waste separation, we conducted qualitative research in the period from 2020 to 2021，and interviewed six experienced staff who participated in the practice of waste separation, one from the Shanghai Neighborhood Committee, and the other five from four environmental protection public welfare organizations. The results showed that: 1) The monitoring from volunteers was indispensable for residents to develop waste separation habit. The older volunteers, familiar with residents, with good communication skills and more influential power, would have significant effects on waste separation behaviors. 2) With the monitoring from volunteers, it probably took about three months for residents to form the habit of waste separation. The results of the qualitative research and the two experiment studies were mutually verified.
Study 3 replicated the results of Study 1 and Study 2 in participants (M=26.05士11.01 years), and examined the mediating role of reputational concern and social distance in familiarity and cooperation. Study 3 adopted a 2 (volunteer age group: younger/older) X 2 (volunteer familiarity: high/unfamiliar) within-subjects design. The results showed that: 1) Familiarity significantly promoted cooperation, which replicated the results of Study 1 and Study 2. 2) Age and familiarity interacted in the "next time" situation. 3) Social distance and reputational concern play a serial mediating role in the effect of familiarity on cooperation.
The present research demonstrates the effects of familiarity and age on residents' cooperation, as well as the mediating roles of reputational concern and social distance. The results indicate that helping residents to become familiar with volunteers in advance, or recruiting people who are familiar with residents as volunteers, will be helpful for waste separation. These strategies can promote the cooperative intention of residents, and help them form the habit of waste separation. Social distance and reputational concern play a serial mediating role in the effect of familiarity on cooperation. These findings provide suggestions and scientific support for the practice of waste separation and saving management costs. |
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