Investigating the Role of Goals and Motivation on Waste Separation Behavior Through the Lens of the Theory of Reasoned Goal Pursuit

A. Concari*, G. Kok, P. Martens, N. Brink

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Nowadays the prediction and change of waste-related behaviors represent a key topic for scholars and policy makers. The theoretical mainstays applied to waste separation behavior, such as the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), the Norm Activation Model and the Value Belief Norm, do not include the construct of goal in their formulation. Other goal-focused theories, such as the Goal Systems Theory (GST), lack applications on separation behavior. Recently, Ajzen and Kruglanski (2019) have proposed the Theory of Reasoned Goal Pursuit (TRGP) which combines TPB and GST. Considering TRGP has the potential to offer further insights on human behavior and, to our knowledge, there is no application of TRGP to recycling behavior yet, this paper analyses waste separation behavior of households in Maastricht and Zwolle (The Netherlands) under the lens of TRGP. Although waste separation behavior represents a kind of habitual behavior, this paper highlights the influence of goals and motivation on intention to separate waste. Furthermore, it offers some indications to promote behavior change and some suggestions for future research directions.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1019-1031
Number of pages13
JournalEnvironmental Management
Volume72
Issue number5
Early online date1 May 2023
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2023

Keywords

  • Waste separation behavior
  • Recycling
  • Theory of planned behavior
  • Theory of reasoned goal pursuit
  • Goal systems theory
  • Pro-environmental behavior
  • PLANNED BEHAVIOR
  • ENVIRONMENTAL BEHAVIOR
  • DETERMINANTS
  • EMOTIONS
  • NORMS
  • PREDICTION
  • VOLITIONS
  • MODELS
  • WELL

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