Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
6.8
3.3
Journals
Sustainability
Special Issues
Promoting Pro-Sociality in the Real World: Theory and Experiments
sustainability-logo
Submit to Sustainability Review for Sustainability Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

► Journal Menu

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser
share announcement

Promoting Pro-Sociality in the Real World: Theory and Experiments

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2020) | Viewed by 13679

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Valerio Capraro

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Economics, Middlesex University, London, UK, London NW4 4BT, UK
Interests: cooperation; altruism; honesty; morality; gender differences; experimental economics; experimental psychology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Our time is unique, as we are arguably richer, safer, and healthier than ever before, but we are simultaneously facing some of the most dangerous challenges of our evolution, such as the depletion of natural resources, climate change, and the spread of misinformation. Although different in many details, these issues share one common property: they require people to come together and deviate from their individual interest for the greater good. Understanding when, why, and how people renounce part of their self-interest to act pro-socially—helping other people or society as a whole—is therefore amongst the most important aims of contemporary scientific research. In this Special Issue, we aim to gather together experts on pro-sociality from all over the world, with the goal of sharing ideas on how to promote the greater good. We will consider every kind of paper for publication, be they experimental, theoretical, or a combination of these, as long as they contribute to our understanding of human pro-sociality and explore ways to make the world a better place.

Dr. Valerio Capraro
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • pro-sociality
  • morality
  • cooperation
  • altruism
  • honesty
  • trust
  • trustworthiness

Published Papers (2 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

16 pages, 1575 KiB  
Article
Social Preferences and Environmental Behavior: A Comparison of Self-Reported and Observed Behaviors
by Zachary Oliphant, Chae M. Jaynes and Richard K. Moule Jr.
Sustainability 2020, 12(15), 6023; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12156023 - 27 Jul 2020
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3960
Abstract
Faced with the depletion of natural resources and climate change, individuals making the choice to behave in a more environmentally conscious way is increasingly necessary. Rational choice theory suggests that individuals will only behave in pro-environmental ways if they perceive those actions to [...] Read more.
Faced with the depletion of natural resources and climate change, individuals making the choice to behave in a more environmentally conscious way is increasingly necessary. Rational choice theory suggests that individuals will only behave in pro-environmental ways if they perceive those actions to align with their own self-interests. Others, however, have highlighted instances where individuals act pro-socially or altruistically, deviating from their own self-interests for the benefit of others. The present study examines whether individuals’ social preferences are associated with engagement in pro-environmental behaviors. Specifically, drawing on a methodology from behavioral economics, we use dictator and ultimatum game behavior to measure social preferences, and we then evaluate whether heterogeneity in social preferences is associated with self-reported pro-environmental behaviors and observed recycling behavior. The results indicate that individual differences in social preferences have a modest association with self-reported pro-environmental behaviors but no association with observed recycling behavior. Self-reported pro-environmental behavior was not associated with observed recycling behavior. We also find that recycling bin proximity to classroom doors increased participation in recycling. This finding demonstrates that individuals are receptive to the proximate opportunity to recycle. This suggests increasing the ease with which people can engage in pro-environmental behaviors, such as recycling, will promote participation in these practices. Overall, our research indicates that social preferences do not seem to drive individuals to act in environmentally friendly ways. This work also provides new opportunities for future research to integrate economic games into the study of pro-environmental behaviors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Promoting Pro-Sociality in the Real World: Theory and Experiments)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure A1

Review

Jump to: Research

22 pages, 658 KiB  
Review
The Silent Killer: Consequences of Climate Change and How to Survive Past the Year 2050
by Anna Laura Huckelba and Paul A. M. Van Lange
Sustainability 2020, 12(9), 3757; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12093757 - 6 May 2020
Cited by 21 | Viewed by 9319
Abstract
There is strong scientific consensus that the climate is drastically changing due to increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and that these changes are largely due to human behavior. Scientific estimates posit that by 2050, we will begin to experience some [...] Read more.
There is strong scientific consensus that the climate is drastically changing due to increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and that these changes are largely due to human behavior. Scientific estimates posit that by 2050, we will begin to experience some of the most damaging consequences of climate change, which will only worsen as the world becomes more populated and resources become scarcer. Considerable progress has been made to explore technological solutions, yet useful insights from a psychological perspective are still lacking. Understanding whether and how individuals and groups cope with environmental dilemmas is the first step to combatting climate change. The key challenge is how can we reduce a tendency to inaction and to understand the psychological obstacles for behavioral change that reduce climate change. We provide a social dilemma analysis of climate change, emphasizing three important ingredients: people need to recognize their own impact on the climate, there is conflict between self-interest and collective interests, and there is a temporal dilemma involving a conflict between short-term and longer-term interest. Acknowledging these features, we provide a comprehensive overview of psychological mechanisms that support inaction, and close by discussing potential solutions. In particular, we offer recommendations at the level of individuals, communities, and governments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Promoting Pro-Sociality in the Real World: Theory and Experiments)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-2
Back to TopTop