Publications (FIS)

Inducing perspective-taking for prosocial behaviour in natural resource management

authored by: Juan Felipe Ortiz-Riomalo, Ann Kathrin Koessler, Stefanie Engel
Abstract: Natural resource management often involves social dilemmas which other-regarding preferences and pro-social behaviour can help overcome. Interventions that induce resource users to consider a perspective broader than their own may help promote pro-social behaviour. Such interventions are often applied in participatory resource management approaches. To the best of our knowledge, nonetheless, no previous study has isolated and assessed the effect of inducing perspective-taking on natural resource users’ prosocial behaviour. In this study, we do so in the context of watershed management. We conducted a lab-in-the-field experiment with downstream farmers in a Peruvian watershed. In the experiment, participants were induced to imagine the perspective of upstream farmers before deciding on a donation that can help the latter improve their well-being without compromising the water supply downstream. We find that inducing perspective-taking increases unilateral prosocial behaviour. This effect cannot fully be explained by the additional information on the social and ecological characteristics of the watershed received during the perspective-taking experience. Rather the effect of the perspective-taking intervention is likely to work by inducing other-regarding preferences. Our results contribute to the study of pro-social behaviour in natural resource management and the ways in which it could be induced by interventions targeting other-regarding preferences.
External Organisation(s): Osnabrück University
Type: Article
Journal: Journal of Environmental Economics and Management
Volume: 110
ISSN: 0095-0696
Publication date: 10.2021
Publication status: Published
Peer reviewed: Yes
ASJC Scopus subject areas: Economics and Econometrics, Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law
Sustainable Development Goals: SDG 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation
Electronic version(s): http://hdl.handle.net/10419/228966 (Access: Open)
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeem.2021.102513 (Access: Open)

BibTeX

@article{8cd523518b8249e2a0e0fe9859fcbb2a,
title = "Inducing perspective-taking for prosocial behaviour in natural resource management",
abstract = "Natural resource management often involves social dilemmas which other-regarding preferences and pro-social behaviour can help overcome. Interventions that induce resource users to consider a perspective broader than their own may help promote pro-social behaviour. Such interventions are often applied in participatory resource management approaches. To the best of our knowledge, nonetheless, no previous study has isolated and assessed the effect of inducing perspective-taking on natural resource users{\textquoteright} prosocial behaviour. In this study, we do so in the context of watershed management. We conducted a lab-in-the-field experiment with downstream farmers in a Peruvian watershed. In the experiment, participants were induced to imagine the perspective of upstream farmers before deciding on a donation that can help the latter improve their well-being without compromising the water supply downstream. We find that inducing perspective-taking increases unilateral prosocial behaviour. This effect cannot fully be explained by the additional information on the social and ecological characteristics of the watershed received during the perspective-taking experience. Rather the effect of the perspective-taking intervention is likely to work by inducing other-regarding preferences. Our results contribute to the study of pro-social behaviour in natural resource management and the ways in which it could be induced by interventions targeting other-regarding preferences.",
keywords = "Environmental policy, Framed field experiment, Natural resource management, Other-regarding preferences, Perspective-taking, Prosocial behaviour, Social dilemmas",
author = "Ortiz-Riomalo, {Juan Felipe} and Koessler, {Ann Kathrin} and Stefanie Engel",
note = "Funding information: This work was supported by the Alexander von Humboldt-Foundation within the framework of the Alexander von Humboldt-Professorship endowed by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. Complementary funding was provided by the Ministry for Science and Culture of Lower Saxony (Germany).",
year = "2021",
month = oct,
doi = "10.1016/j.jeem.2021.102513",
language = "English",
volume = "110",
journal = "Journal of Environmental Economics and Management",
issn = "0095-0696",
publisher = "Academic Press Inc.",
}