From processing motivation to environmental behavioral intention

Plastic pollution is one of the major environmental problems globally. To better understand how to motivate recycle and reuse behaviors through Instagram posts about plastic waste, this study employs a survey experiment based on a sample of US adults (N = 1015). Results demonstrate that concerns about the environmental impact of plastic waste matter more than concerns about the health impact of plastic waste in influencing people's intention to recycle and reuse. Further, putting people in a mental state to care about knowing accurate facts about plastic waste leads them to read the Instagram posts more carefully, more so than priming them to care about their social image. These findings suggest that using accuracy cue leads to more careful reading of a persuasive message about plastic waste reduction, which increases risk perception and contributes to recycle and reuse intentions indirectly.