Anne Marike Lokhorst | Wageningen University (original) (raw)
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Papers by Anne Marike Lokhorst
Climate change is seen as one of the biggest threats facing our world today, and most people agre... more Climate change is seen as one of the biggest threats facing our world today, and most people agree that changes are needed to avoid disaster. While technical solutions and environmental policies are definitely promising, they can only be successful when accompanied by changes in human behavior (Stern & Oskamp, 1987). This chapter addresses such behavioral changes. More specifically, it focuses on social-scientific interventions aimed at changing climate related behaviors.
Today more and more initiatives can be found involving farmers who organize themselves in interac... more Today more and more initiatives can be found involving farmers who organize themselves in interaction with other actors in the countryside, sharing similar problems or similar ideals, and explicitly avoiding the involvement of governments. The reason is that they no longer want to be confronted with policies that have been designed without their involvement and thus do not fit neither daily farming practices nor their identity as a farmer.
Abstract Until now the main instrument to counteract the loss of biodiversity and landscape quali... more Abstract Until now the main instrument to counteract the loss of biodiversity and landscape quality in the European countryside has been agri-environment schemes (AES), which offer short-term payments for performing prescribed environmental management behaviors. In our opinion this approach is, in its current set-up, not a sustainable way of enhancing biodiversity and landscape quality. Here we will argue that conservation in agricultural areas is also a social challenge.
The making of commitments is often used as an intervention aimed at increasing pro-environmental ... more The making of commitments is often used as an intervention aimed at increasing pro-environmental behavior. Research shows that when people commit to changing their environmental behaviors, they tend to adhere to their commitments. In this dissertation it is investigated whether commitment making is effective in improving agricultural nature conservation and with that, environmental quality of farm lands.
Aspects of Applied …, Jan 1, 2010
… and Behavior, Jan 1, 2011
… Journal of Social …, Jan 1, 2011
Abstract People often mimic each other's behaviors. As a con... more Abstract People often mimic each other's behaviors. As a consequence, they share each other's emotional and cognitive states, which facilitates liking. Mimicry, however, does not always affect liking. In two studies, we investigate whether the mimicry–liking link is influenced by people's social value orientations. More specifically, we examine whether prosocials and proselfs are differently affected when being mimicked or not. Prosocials and proselfs indicated their liking for the interaction partner after being or not being mimicked ...
Human Ecology, Jan 1, 2010
By adopting nature conservation practices, farmers can enhance the environmental quality and biod... more By adopting nature conservation practices, farmers can enhance the environmental quality and biodiversity of their land. In this exploratory study, a behavioral intervention that focused on improving Dutch farmers’ nature conservation practices was developed and tested. This intervention was based on insights derived from social psychology and combined tailored information and public commitment. Participating farmers were divided in three groups: one group received tailored information only, one group received both tailored information and a public commitment manipulation, and one group served as a control. A questionnaire measuring relevant aspects of conservation was completed before and after the intervention. Results show that tailored information combined with public commitment making resulted in a stronger desire to engage in conservation, an increase in surface area of non-subsidized natural habitat, and an increase in time farmers spent on conservation. The intervention affected both subsidized and non-subsidized conservation, but the effects were stronger for non-subsidized conservation.
Journal of Environmental Psychology, Jan 1, 2009
Research shows that public commitment making helps promote pro-environmental behavior. However, n... more Research shows that public commitment making helps promote pro-environmental behavior. However, not everyone may be willing to make such commitments. Therefore, it is important to investigate the conditions under which commitment making is likely to occur. We expected dispositional trust and situational expectations to determine the willingness to install a system of public commitments. Two studies are presented which show that group members low in dispositional trust (low trusters) are likely to choose for a public commitment system when their situational expectations concerning other group members' contributions are high, while those high in dispositional trust (high trusters) are likely to choose for a public commitment system when their situational expectations concerning other group members' contributions are low. It appears that for both low and high trusters the choice for a system of public commitments is instigated by a motivation to further the collective outcomes.
Climate change is seen as one of the biggest threats facing our world today, and most people agre... more Climate change is seen as one of the biggest threats facing our world today, and most people agree that changes are needed to avoid disaster. While technical solutions and environmental policies are definitely promising, they can only be successful when accompanied by changes in human behavior (Stern & Oskamp, 1987). This chapter addresses such behavioral changes. More specifically, it focuses on social-scientific interventions aimed at changing climate related behaviors.
Today more and more initiatives can be found involving farmers who organize themselves in interac... more Today more and more initiatives can be found involving farmers who organize themselves in interaction with other actors in the countryside, sharing similar problems or similar ideals, and explicitly avoiding the involvement of governments. The reason is that they no longer want to be confronted with policies that have been designed without their involvement and thus do not fit neither daily farming practices nor their identity as a farmer.
Abstract Until now the main instrument to counteract the loss of biodiversity and landscape quali... more Abstract Until now the main instrument to counteract the loss of biodiversity and landscape quality in the European countryside has been agri-environment schemes (AES), which offer short-term payments for performing prescribed environmental management behaviors. In our opinion this approach is, in its current set-up, not a sustainable way of enhancing biodiversity and landscape quality. Here we will argue that conservation in agricultural areas is also a social challenge.
The making of commitments is often used as an intervention aimed at increasing pro-environmental ... more The making of commitments is often used as an intervention aimed at increasing pro-environmental behavior. Research shows that when people commit to changing their environmental behaviors, they tend to adhere to their commitments. In this dissertation it is investigated whether commitment making is effective in improving agricultural nature conservation and with that, environmental quality of farm lands.
Aspects of Applied …, Jan 1, 2010
… and Behavior, Jan 1, 2011
… Journal of Social …, Jan 1, 2011
Abstract People often mimic each other's behaviors. As a con... more Abstract People often mimic each other's behaviors. As a consequence, they share each other's emotional and cognitive states, which facilitates liking. Mimicry, however, does not always affect liking. In two studies, we investigate whether the mimicry–liking link is influenced by people's social value orientations. More specifically, we examine whether prosocials and proselfs are differently affected when being mimicked or not. Prosocials and proselfs indicated their liking for the interaction partner after being or not being mimicked ...
Human Ecology, Jan 1, 2010
By adopting nature conservation practices, farmers can enhance the environmental quality and biod... more By adopting nature conservation practices, farmers can enhance the environmental quality and biodiversity of their land. In this exploratory study, a behavioral intervention that focused on improving Dutch farmers’ nature conservation practices was developed and tested. This intervention was based on insights derived from social psychology and combined tailored information and public commitment. Participating farmers were divided in three groups: one group received tailored information only, one group received both tailored information and a public commitment manipulation, and one group served as a control. A questionnaire measuring relevant aspects of conservation was completed before and after the intervention. Results show that tailored information combined with public commitment making resulted in a stronger desire to engage in conservation, an increase in surface area of non-subsidized natural habitat, and an increase in time farmers spent on conservation. The intervention affected both subsidized and non-subsidized conservation, but the effects were stronger for non-subsidized conservation.
Journal of Environmental Psychology, Jan 1, 2009
Research shows that public commitment making helps promote pro-environmental behavior. However, n... more Research shows that public commitment making helps promote pro-environmental behavior. However, not everyone may be willing to make such commitments. Therefore, it is important to investigate the conditions under which commitment making is likely to occur. We expected dispositional trust and situational expectations to determine the willingness to install a system of public commitments. Two studies are presented which show that group members low in dispositional trust (low trusters) are likely to choose for a public commitment system when their situational expectations concerning other group members' contributions are high, while those high in dispositional trust (high trusters) are likely to choose for a public commitment system when their situational expectations concerning other group members' contributions are low. It appears that for both low and high trusters the choice for a system of public commitments is instigated by a motivation to further the collective outcomes.