TY - JOUR

T1 - Inducing perspective-taking for prosocial behaviour in natural resource management

AU - Ortiz-Riomalo, Juan Felipe

AU - Koessler, Ann Kathrin

AU - Engel, Stefanie

N1 - 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).

PY - 2021/10

Y1 - 2021/10

N2 - 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.

AB - 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.

KW - Environmental policy

KW - Framed field experiment

KW - Natural resource management

KW - Other-regarding preferences

KW - Perspective-taking

KW - Prosocial behaviour

KW - Social dilemmas

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85116744002&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.jeem.2021.102513

DO - 10.1016/j.jeem.2021.102513

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85116744002

VL - 110

JO - Journal of Environmental Economics and Management

JF - Journal of Environmental Economics and Management

SN - 0095-0696

M1 - 102513

ER -