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First published June 1999

The Impact of Personal Metering in the Management of a Natural Resource Crisis: A Social Dilemma Analysis

Mark van Vugt and Charles D. SamuelsonView all authors and affiliations
Volume 25, Issue 6
https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167299025006008

Abstract

A field study and scenario study were conducted to investigate the impact of a structural solution in the management of a natural resource dilemma: the effects of individual metering in a water shortage. It was predicted that metering would be beneficial in promoting conservation, in particular, when people experienced a shortage. Consistent with expectations, the results of both studies revealed that conservation efforts were greater among metered (vs. unmetered) participants when they perceived the water shortage as severe. Additional analyses suggested that the positive effect of metering could be partially explained by a greater concern with the collective costs of overconsumption during the drought. Our findings suggest that structural solutions, such as metering, may produce concomitant effects that extend beyond the outcome structure of the social dilemma.

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1.
1. Although the survey did not reveal any great differences in demographic make-up between the samples, it should be said that the unmetered sample was drawn from a relatively more urbanized area. We are not sure what the implication of this difference is for our predictions. It must be noted, however, that our primary interest was not to compare the water use levels between the communities as such but whether there were differences in how these communities responded in the face of a shortage. There are no strong reasons to assume that urbanization would influence such reactions (Schroeder, Penner, Dovidio, & Piliavin, 1995).
2.
2. The expression “splash out” is a phrase commonly used in the United Kingdom to indicate excessive consumptive behavior.
3.
3. A number of “not applicable” responses were obtained on the following items: “I only used the dishwasher when I had a full load” (N = 56); “I stopped taking baths and had showers instead” (N = 58); and “I washed my car less than usual” (N = 69).
4.
4. Interaction effects calculated with uncentered scores can produce considerable multicollinearity, which may lead to problems in the estimation of regression coefficients (Aiken & West, 1991).
5.
5. Note that the population sizes in both these areas remained fairly stable from 1994 to 1995. Thus, any growth in water use could not be attributed to an increase in the number of users.
6.
6. Because the primary goal of Study 1 was to firmly establish a link between metering and conservation, we did not explore possible psychological processes that might account for the predicted effect of metering (e.g., concern with collective or personal costs; Hypotheses 3a and 3b). Moreover, such concerns are likely to be related to frequent exposure to a water meter and thus would be difficult to investigate within the context of a scenario study.

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Volume 25, Issue 6
Pages: 735 - 750
Article first published: June 1999
Issue published: June 1999

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Mark van Vugt
University of Southampton, [email protected]
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Charles D. Samuelson
Texas A&M University
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