Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Material Values, Goals, and Water Use: Results from a Campus Residence Hall Survey

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
The Contribution of Social Sciences to Sustainable Development at Universities

Part of the book series: World Sustainability Series ((WSUSE))

  • 757 Accesses

Abstract

The social sciences, psychology in particular, offer a growing body of research to address sustainability issues. We specifically turn to the psychological literature on values and goals to predict eco-friendly behavior. Material values, such as the desire to gain happiness from purchasing products, predict consumption behavior (Richins and Dawsons in J Consum Res 19(3):303–316, 1992). We test whether material values predict water use, and whether the relationship will be mediated through the competing goals to conserve resources and maintain personal comfort. Specifically, we hypothesize that people will use more natural resources when the goal for personal comfort outweighs the goal to conserve resources (Gaspar in Sustainability 5(7):2960–2975, 2013). 269 residence hall students completed an online survey that included the Material Values Scale, a conservation goal item, and a personal comfort goal item. Students also reported water use, including shower time and dish washing habits. As predicted, material values, the conservation goal, and the comfort goal independently predicted water use. However, only the personal comfort goal explained the relation between material values and water use. To increase the likelihood of behavior change, campus water conservation campaigns should try to activate the goal to conserve resources, like reminding students to shorten showers, while dissuading material values, possibly by emphasizing the value of experience over consumption.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Allcott H, Mullainathan S (2010) Behavior and energy policy. Science 327(5970):1204–1205

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Attari SZ (2014) Perceptions of water use. Proc Natl Acad Sci 111(14):5129–5134

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bamberg S, Moser G (2007) Twenty years after Hines, Hungerford and Tomera: a new meta-analysis of psychosocial determinants of pro-environmental behavior. J Environ Psychol 27(1):14–25

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bliuc AM, McGarty C, Thomas EF, Lala G, Berndsen M, Misajon R (2015) Public division about climate change rooted in conflicting socio-political identities. Nat Clim Change 5:226–229

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bloodhart B, Swim JK, Zawadzk MJ (2013) Spreading the eco-message: using proactive coping to aid eco-rep behavior change programming. Sustainability 5(4):1661–1679

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Campbell-Arvai V, Arvai J, Kalof L (2014) Motivating sustainable food choices: the role of nudges, value orientation, and information provision. Environ Behav 46(4):453–475

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chaplin G, Wyton P (2014) Student engagement with sustainability: understanding the value–action gap. Int J Sustain High Educ 15(4):404–417

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cialdini RB, Trost MR (1998) Social influence: social norms, conformity, and compliance. In: Gilbert D, Fiske S, Lindzey G (eds) The handbook of social psychology. McGraw-Hill, New York, pp 151–192

    Google Scholar 

  • Cialdini RB, Reno RR, Kallgren CA (1990) A focus theory of normative conduct: recycling the concept of norms to reduce littering in public places. J Pers Soc Psychol 58:1015–1026

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cialdini RB, Kallgren CA, Reno RR (1991) A focus theory of normative conduct: a theoretical refinement and reevaluation of the role of norms in human behavior. Adv Exp Soc Psychol 24(1):201–234

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Collins RL (1996) For better or worse: the impact of upward social comparison on self-evaluations. Psychol Bull 119(1):51–69

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cortese AD, Hattan AS (2010) Research and solutions: education for sustainability as the mission of higher education. Sustain: J Record 3(1):48–52

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dijksterhuis A, Aarts H (2010) Goals, attention, and (un)consciousness. Annu Rev Psychol 61(2):467–490

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dunlap RE (2002) Environmental sociology. In: Bechtel RB, Churchman A (eds) Handbook of environmental psychology. Wiley, New York, pp 160–171

    Google Scholar 

  • Erickson C, Skoglund C (2008) Eco-reps programs: conducting peer outreach in residence halls. Sustain: J Record 1(1):57–72

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ferguson MA, Branscombe NR, ReynoldsK J (2011) The effect of intergroup comparison on willingness to perform sustainable behavior. J Environ Psychol 31(4):275–281

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Froehlich J, Findlater L, Landay J (2010) The design of eco-feedback technology. In: Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on human factors in computing systems, New York, NY, pp 1999–2008

    Google Scholar 

  • Gaspar R (2013) Understanding the reasons for behavioral failure: a process view of psychosocial barriers and constraints to pro-ecological behavior. Sustainability 5(7):2960–2975

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gaspar R, Palma-Oliveira JM, Corral-Verdugo V (2010) Why do people fail to act? Situational barriers and constraints on ecological behavior. In: Corral-Verdugo V, García-Cadena CH, Frías-Armenta M (eds) Psychological approaches to sustainability: current trends in research, theory and practice. Nova Science Publishers, New York, pp 269–294

    Google Scholar 

  • Gaspar R, Palma-Oliveira JM, Wyer N, Corral-Verdugo V (2011) Cognitive and context “tuning”: tools to break anti-ecological habits. Int J Hispanic Psychol 4(1):69–91

    Google Scholar 

  • Gifford R (2001) The dragons of inaction: psychological barriers that limit climate change mitigation and adaptation. Am Psychol 66(4):290–302

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gifford R, Kormos C, McIntyre A (2011) Behavioral dimensions of climate change: drivers, responses, barriers, and interventions. Wiley Interdisc Rev: Clim Change 2(6):801–827

    Google Scholar 

  • Gleick PH (1996) Basic water requirements for human activities: meeting basic needs. Water Int 21(2):83–92

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hardin G (1968) The tragedy of the commons. Science 162(3859):1243–1248

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hayes AF (2013) Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: a regression-based approach. The Guilford Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Hogg MA, Abrams D (1988) Comments on the motivational status of self-esteem in social identity and intergroup discrimination. Eur J Soc Psychol 18(4):317–334

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Horhota M, Asman J, Stratton JP, Halfacre AC (2014) Identifying behavioral barriers to campus sustainability. Int J Sustain High Educ 15(3):343–358

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kallgren CA, Raymond RR, Cialdini RB (2000) Focus theory of normative conduct: when norms do and do not affect behavior. Pers Soc Psychol Bull 26(8):1002–1012

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karp DG (1996) Values and their effect on pro-environmental behavior. Environ Behav 28(1):111–133

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kenny JF, Barber NL, Hutson SS, Linsey KS, Lovelace JK, Maupin MA (2009) Estimated use of water in the United States in 2005. U.S. geological survey circular, available at: http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/1344/pdf/c1344.pdf. Accessed 10 Mar 2015

  • Kollmuss A, Agyeman J (2002) Mind the gap: why do people act environmentally and what are the barriers to pro-environmental behavior? Environ Educ Res 8(3):239–260

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krosnick JA, Alwin DF (1989) Aging and susceptibility to attitude change. J Pers Soc Psychol 57(3):416–425

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mok H (2015) Gauchos power down, come up big for conservation. The UC Santa Barbara Current, available at: http://www.news.ucsb.edu/2015/015243/gauchos-power-down-come-big-conservation. Accessed 24 Mar 2015

  • Oskamp S, Schultz PW (2005) Attitudes and opinions. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah

    Google Scholar 

  • Parce TE, Younos T, Grossman LS, Geller ES (2013) A study of environmentally relevant behavior in university residence halls. Int J Sustain High Educ 14(4):466–481

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Petersen JE, Shunturov V, Janda K, Platt G, Weinberger K (2007) Dormitory residents reduce electricity consumption when exposed to real-time visual feedback and incentives. Int J Sustain High Educ 8(1):16–33

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Richins ML (2004) The material values scale: measurement properties and development of a short form. J Consum Res 31(1):209–219

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Richins ML, Dawsons S (1992) A consumer values orientation for materialism and its measurement: scale development and validation. J Consum Res 19(3):303–316

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rokeach M (1971) Long-range experimental modification of values, attitudes, and behavior. Am Psychol 26(5):453–459

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rokeach M (1973) The nature of human values. Free Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Ryan RM, Deci EL (2000) Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. Am Psychol 55(1):68–78

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Savageau AE (2013) Let’s get personal: making sustainability tangible to students. Int J Sustain High Educ 14(1):15–24

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schultz PW, Gouveia VV, Cameron LD, Tankha G, Schmuck P, Franek M (2005) Values and their relationship to environmental concern and conservation behavior. J Cross Cult Psychol 36(4):457–475

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz SH (1992) Universals in the content and structure of values: theoretical advances and empirical tests in 20 countries. Adv Exp Soc Psychol 25(1):1–65

    Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz SH (1994) Are there universal aspects in the structure and contents of human values? J Soc Issues 50(4):19–45

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz SH (1996) Value priorities and behavior: applying a theory of integrated value systems. In: Seligman C, Olson JM, Zanna MP (eds) Thepsychology of values: the Ontario symposium, vol 8. Lawrence Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ, pp 1–24

    Google Scholar 

  • Shriberg M (2000) Sustainability management in campus housing. Int J Sustain High Educ 1(2):137–153

    Google Scholar 

  • Steg L, Vlek C (2008) Encouraging pro-environmental behavior: an integrative review and research agenda. J Environ Psychol 29(3):309–317

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stern PC (2000) Psychology, sustainability, and the science of human-environment interactions. Am Psychol 55(2):523–530

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Stern PC, Dietz T, Kalof L (1993) Value orientations, gender, and environmental concern. Environ Behav 25(5):322–348

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thaler RH, Sunstein CR (2008) Nudge: improving decisions about health, wealth, and happiness. Yale University Press, New Haven, CT

    Google Scholar 

  • Too L, Bajracharya B (2015) Sustainable campus: engaging the community in sustainability. Int J Sustain High Educ 16(1):57–71

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • UNEP, UN-Water, UN-Habitat (2010) Water quality facts and statistics, available at: http://www.unwater.org/wwd10/downloads/WWD2010_Facts_web.pdf. Accessed 10 Mar 2015

  • van der Linden S (2014) On the relationship between personal experience, affect and risk perception: the case of climate change. Eur J Soc Psychol 44:430–440

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Watson L, Johnson C, Hegtvedt KA, Parris CL (2015) Living green: examining sustainable dorms and identities. Int J Sustain High Educ 16(3), (online first edition)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We thank Loyola University Chicago’s The Green Initiative Fund (TGIF) and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s Illinois Sustainable Technology Center for funding our research. We also thank the psychology research assistants in the Social Justice and Intergroup Relations lab, the Institute for Environmental Sustainability water interns, and the Loyola University Chicago Residence Life staff for their help with advertising the study and ensuring students were compensated for their participation. A special thanks to Sr. Jean Dolores-Schmidt, BVM, for helping with materials for our project.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Loyola University Chicago, 1032 West Sheridan Road, Chicago, IL, 60660, USA

    Kala J. Melchiori & Robyn K. Mallett

  2. Institute for Environmental Sustainability, Loyola University Chicago, 1032 West Sheridan Road, Chicago, IL, 60660, USA

    Aaron N. Durnbaugh & Hanh D. Pham

Authors
  1. Kala J. Melchiori
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Robyn K. Mallett
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Aaron N. Durnbaugh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Hanh D. Pham
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kala J. Melchiori .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Environmental Science, HAW Hamburg and Manchester Metropolitan University, Hamburg, Germany

    Walter Leal Filho

  2. School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

    Michaela Zint

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Melchiori, K.J., Mallett, R.K., Durnbaugh, A.N., Pham, H.D. (2016). Material Values, Goals, and Water Use: Results from a Campus Residence Hall Survey. In: Leal Filho, W., Zint, M. (eds) The Contribution of Social Sciences to Sustainable Development at Universities. World Sustainability Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-26866-8_17

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation