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The impact of metering in a natural resource crisis: a social dilemma analysis

The impact of metering in a natural resource crisis: a social dilemma analysis
The impact of metering in a natural resource crisis: a social dilemma analysis
A field study and scenario study were conducted to investigate the impact of a structural solution in the management of a natural resource dilemma: the effects of individual metering in a water shortage. It was predicted that metering would be beneficial in promoting conservation, in particular, when people experienced a shortage. Consistent with expectations, the results of both studies revealed that conservation efforts were greater among metered (vs. unmetered) participants when they perceived the water shortage as severe. Additional analyses suggested that the positive effect of metering could be partially explained by a greater concern with the collective costs of overconsumption during the drought. Our findings suggest that structural solutions, such as metering, may produce concomitant effects that extend beyond the outcome structure of the social dilemma.
0146-1672
735-750
Van Vugt, Mark
1ec60aab-4333-4015-9c48-2937effd4d5d
Samuelson, Charles D.
27dd0cd6-101e-42d6-a5d8-0802ad3db6eb
Van Vugt, Mark
1ec60aab-4333-4015-9c48-2937effd4d5d
Samuelson, Charles D.
27dd0cd6-101e-42d6-a5d8-0802ad3db6eb

Van Vugt, Mark and Samuelson, Charles D. (1999) The impact of metering in a natural resource crisis: a social dilemma analysis. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 25 (6), 735-750.

Record type: Article

Abstract

A field study and scenario study were conducted to investigate the impact of a structural solution in the management of a natural resource dilemma: the effects of individual metering in a water shortage. It was predicted that metering would be beneficial in promoting conservation, in particular, when people experienced a shortage. Consistent with expectations, the results of both studies revealed that conservation efforts were greater among metered (vs. unmetered) participants when they perceived the water shortage as severe. Additional analyses suggested that the positive effect of metering could be partially explained by a greater concern with the collective costs of overconsumption during the drought. Our findings suggest that structural solutions, such as metering, may produce concomitant effects that extend beyond the outcome structure of the social dilemma.

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Published date: 1999

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 18508
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/18508
ISSN: 0146-1672
PURE UUID: dd45a3c4-fe54-4199-8d25-83139fd1f1e0

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Date deposited: 12 Dec 2005
Last modified: 11 Dec 2021 14:19

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Contributors

Author: Mark Van Vugt
Author: Charles D. Samuelson

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