社会规范策略对居民垃圾分类的助推效应:一个田野实验

Effects of Social Norm Nudges on Household Waste Separation:A Field Experiment

当前我国政府正全力推行生活垃圾源头分类,政策手段主要依赖宣传劝导与经济激励。鲜有文献检视行为助推政策对我国居民垃圾分类的影响。基于浙江省Q市近3600户家庭的田野实验数据,系统评估社会规范策略对垃圾分类行为的效果。该策略利用个体从众心理,旨在通过披露社群中大多数成员对目标行为的遵从与认可,促使受众改善行为。研究发现,社会规范策略显著提高了家庭垃圾分类参与水平,且策略效果在环保偏好或社会资本较弱的人群中更强。该策略不仅具有即时效应,在干预停止后仍发挥持续影响。进一步的成本效益分析表明,社会规范策略相比传统政策手段具有明显的成本优势。研究结果确证了社会规范策略的高效性,深化了对行为助推政策作用机理与适用条件的认识。

Chinese governments are vigorously promoting household waste separation,but rely mainly on awareness campaigns and economic incentives.Relatively few studies have examined the effects of nudge strategies on household waste separation.Using data from a large-scale field experiment in Q City of Zhejiang Province,China,this study evaluates the effects of social norm nudges on residents’ waste sorting behavior.Such strategies are typically designed to compare an individual’s behavioral level with that of other social members( e.g.,neighbors) and reveal the social approval of the target behavior.The results show that social norm strategies increased household participation in waste sorting,with greater influence among people with weak pro-environmental preferences or social capital.They also produced long-lasting effects after they were discontinued.Further evidence suggests that social norm nudges were more cost-effective compared with traditional policy strategies.These findings demonstrate the high efficiency of social norm strategies and contribute to a nuanced understanding of the mechanisms underlying nudge policies.