Weinberg, Emily Olga Greta (2023) Motivating at-home composting through bottom-up initiatives: a case study in Kathmandu. Master thesis, Psychology.
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Abstract
The capital of Nepal, Kathmandu, struggles with inefficient waste management. While a large share of waste is compostable, all waste is transported to the landfill, dumped in natural landscapes, or burned; threatening public health and polluting nature. However, practicing at-home composting would substantially reduce waste. Local bottom-up initiatives (i.e., initiatives started by members of civil society) in Kathmandu try to motivate fellow citizens to start composting by organizing composting workshops. Drawing on social identity theory, I empirically tested how a Kathmandu-based bottom-up initiative can motivate other individuals to start composting by perceiving composting norms as being prevalent and identifying with a shared group membership (i.e., Kathmandu citizen). Collective efficacy was included as a covariate. Further, I tested whether communicating that the initiative was started by ordinary members of the city (i.e., inclusive identity) versus young members of the city (i.e., exclusive identity) shapes composting motivations. Data was collected from 250 participants from Kathmandu in a paper-based experimental questionnaire. The results revealed that stating that the initiative started by young members resulted in enhanced awareness that the waste problem could be managed by composting for all participants; and greater perceived composting norms for younger participants. Importantly, older participants were significantly less likely to perceive composting norms after reading that young people started the initiative. In turn, participants with stronger composting norms and collective efficacy were more interested in joining composting workshops and the initiative itself. Kathmandu citizen identification was not associated with the other variables. These findings have implications for the techniques that bottom-up initiatives may use to successfully promote themselves, with a particular emphasis on engaging different age groups and solving waste management concerns in different countries. Furthermore, limitations and future research directions are discussed.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Master) |
|---|---|
| Supervisor name: | Perlaviciute, G. |
| Degree programme: | Psychology |
| Differentiation route: | Environmental Psychology (EP) [Master Psychology] |
| Date Deposited: | 10 Jul 2023 14:26 |
| Last Modified: | 10 Jul 2023 14:26 |
| URI: | http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/2298 |
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