Environmental Concern Priming and Social Acceptance of Sustainable Technologies: The Case of Decentralized Wastewater Treatment Systems

Cristina Gómez-Román; José-Manuel Sabucedo; Mónica Alzate; Beatriz Medina

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.647406

Environmental Concern Priming and Social Acceptance of Sustainable Technologies: The Case of Decentralized Wastewater Treatment Systems

Front Psychol. 2021 Sep 16:12:647406. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.647406. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Cristina Gómez-Román¹, José-Manuel Sabucedo¹, Mónica Alzate², Beatriz Medina³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Social Psychology, Basic and Methodology, CRETUS Institute, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
² Department of Social Psychology, Basic and Methodology, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
³ Water, Environment and Business for Development (WE&B), Barcelona, Spain.

Abstract

According to a report by the World Economic Forum, the water crisis is the fourth most serious global risk to society. The apparent limitations of the hydraulic paradigm to solving this crisis are leading to a change in water management approaches. Recently, decentralized wastewater treatment systems have re-emerged as a partial solution to this problem. However, to implement these systems successfully, it is necessary not only to design this technology but also to have social support and willingness among citizens to use it. Previous studies have shown that these technologies are often perceived as being too costly, and people often do not consider the need for adopting them. However, it has also been pointed out that thinking about these technologies as a sustainable endeavor to reduce human impact on the environment can help to overcome the barriers to usage. Thus, we test whether priming environmental concerns before presenting information about decentralized wastewater treatment plants will increase acceptance of those technologies. In this study, we test whether priming environmental concerns can enhance the acceptance of decentralized wastewater treatment plants even when presenting disadvantages of the technology. In order to do so, we designed an experimental study with a sample of 287 people (85.7% women, M _age=20, 28). The experimental design was 2 (priming the environmental concern vs. no priming)×2 (type of information: only advantages vs. advantages and disadvantages). The results showed that those in the environmental concern priming condition had more positive attitudes and behavioral intentions toward decentralized wastewater treatment plants than those in the control condition group. Participants who received only advantages information had a more positive perception toward the decentralized wastewater systems than in the condition, where disadvantages were present, but in the priming condition this difference was not significant. This implies that priming environmental concern helps to overcome the possible disadvantages that act as barriers to acceptance.

Keywords: decentralized wastewater treatment plants; environmental concern priming; social acceptance; sustainable technologies; type of information; water problems.