Group norms, physical distance, and ecological efficiency in common pool resource management

Abstract

Earlier research has repeatedly shown that people tend to follow group norms when using common pool resources. The present commons dilemma study seeks to extend these findings with two inherently relevant concepts: First, the ecological efficiency of the group norm, and second, the physical distance between the actors involved. Physical distance was manipulated by administering a web-based commons dilemma task to participants in the laboratory versus participants in the Internet. Ecological efficiency was manipulated by giving participants feedback about an overusing or a conserving group norm while the pool was either big or small. Conformity effects were strongest when the perceived group norm was ecologically efficient and participants were physically closer. Moreover, the effect of physical distance was mediated by the importance a person attached to the group's behavior. When physically farther apart, individuals attached less importance to the group's behavior and, as a consequence, showed less conformity. The results are discussed in the light of previous commons dilemma research and social psychological theories, and consequences for natural resource management are reflected. Some common pool resources and the environmental problems associated with them are rooted on a local level (e.g., residential waste disposal or fresh water use), but others have a rather global dimension (e.g., air pollution or the greenhouse effect). Although local problems may often affect us more than global ones, both types of environmental problems are an integral part of our everyday life and local action is often relevant for global resources as

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“…Further, as such behaviours require collective cooperation among citizens and authorities, social distance may move from recycling being the domain of a distant other to one of having personal responsibility. In highlighting the relevance of local action for global problems, this has rooted environmental problems at both a local (e.g., household waste) and global level (e.g., climate change) (Brucks, Reips, & Ryf, 2007). This is not without its challenges for individuals as many environmental problems are complex at a global level and uncertainties can exist as to the effectiveness of behaviour at a local level (Moser & Dilling, 2004).…”

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