Using self-affirmation to encourage recycle and reuse behaviors in New York State

The United States produces an exorbitant amount of waste. Recycle and reuse are two ways to manage the waste problem. Since even non-political environmental issues are often polarized in the United States, we attempt to affirm group identity by highlighting the moral values that appeal to conservatives and liberals to examine downstream effects on message derogation and behavioral intention. Specifically, we explore how message derogation is associated with risk perception, self-efficacy, and behavioral willingness to recycle and reuse, as moderated by political ideology. Our findings indicate that linking environmental behaviors to specific moral values may not be the best way to encourage citizens to recycle and reuse. In particular, conservatives tend to view a persuasive message about plastic waste as overblown and manipulative, thus highlighting the need to strategically design environmental communication targeting conservatives. Moreover, to combat message derogation, effective ways to elevate risk perceptions and enhance self-efficacy are needed.