PRO-ENVIRONMENTAL BEHAVIOR AND NATURE EXPOSURE: AN EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION

The aim of this article is to analyze whether pro-environmental behaviors can be reinforced by simply putting people in a context that recalls nature. To do so, we carried out a laboratory experiment in which we created nature versus urban decision-making frameworks (via video viewing), and we observed two types of behavior: a monetary donation to an environmental non-governmental organization NGO) (eco-giving) and a recycling effort through a green deed (eco-action). We show that participants placed in a context of nature are more motivated to give, give on average more and recycle more compared to participants who have been put in an urban context. The results also highlight that there is no link between donation behavior and the recycling decision. Our work provides new avenues for designing policies to preserve the environment.