121
4.5.2.1 Results
At baseline, none of the 284 respondents were composting. By follow-up, approximately 72% of respondents had begun composting.
Beginning to compost was associated with significantly more energy and water
management spillover behaviors at follow-up. This significant positive spillover
was observed for both water and all five energy management behaviors. Effect sizes
were small, ranging from r = 0.15 for using the heater (less) to r = 0.26 for letting
water run (less). None of the three food spillover behaviors differed significantly
among those who began composting vs. those who did not.
4.5.2.2 Discussion
This study found that beginning to manage household FEW behaviors by composting can spill over to other FEW behaviors. Furthermore, across all water and energy
behaviors, results showed positive, rather than negative, spillover.
Although effect sizes were small, the positive spillover effect was relatively
robust across types of behaviors, ranging from taking shorter showers to walking/
biking to conserve gasoline, to encouraging others to save energy. Importantly,
these represent different quite behaviors that occur in unique contexts, suggesting
spillover is not limited to a particular setting or FEW domain.
Surprisingly, no significant spillover was observed among any of the food waste
management behaviors. Ceiling effects may have contributed to these null results,
particularly given that these behaviors were quite prevalent among those who did
not begin composting (see Fig. 4.6). Alternatively, preventing food waste often
5.00
4.50
3.50
2.50
1.50
1.00
4.00
3.00
2.00
2.44
1.95
2.61
2.14
3.90
3.54
3.78
3.28
2.59
2.27
4.29
3.59
3.81
3.23
3.77 3.56
4.46 4.26
4.48 4.27
W
a l k e d
o r
b i k e d *
U
n p l u g g e d
d e v i c e s *
† L e f t l i g h t s
o n *
† U
s e d
h e a t e r *
† L e t w
a t e r
r u n * * *
P l a n
m
e a l s
U
s e
e x i s t i n g
f o o d
f i r s t
C
h e c k
f o o d
b e f o r e
s h o p p i n g +
T o o k
s h o r t e r
s h o w
e r s * * *
E n c o u r a g e d
o t h e r s *
Began composting
Did not begin composting
1=Strongly Disagree, 5=Strongly Agree
Frequency (1=Never, 5=Always)
Fig. 4.6 Mean scores on spillover behaviors among participants who did vs. did not begin composting
over the course of the study (N = 284).
†
Reverse scored item. Holm-Bonferroni-corrected p-values
from Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney tests:
+
p HB < 0.10, ∗p HB < 0.05, ∗∗p HB < 0.01, ∗∗∗p HB < 0.001
4 Human Behavior and Adaptation
4.5.2.1 Results
At baseline, none of the 284 respondents were composting. By follow-up, approximately 72% of respondents had begun composting.
Beginning to compost was associated with significantly more energy and water
management spillover behaviors at follow-up. This significant positive spillover
was observed for both water and all five energy management behaviors. Effect sizes
were small, ranging from r = 0.15 for using the heater (less) to r = 0.26 for letting
water run (less). None of the three food spillover behaviors differed significantly
among those who began composting vs. those who did not.
4.5.2.2 Discussion
This study found that beginning to manage household FEW behaviors by composting can spill over to other FEW behaviors. Furthermore, across all water and energy
behaviors, results showed positive, rather than negative, spillover.
Although effect sizes were small, the positive spillover effect was relatively
robust across types of behaviors, ranging from taking shorter showers to walking/
biking to conserve gasoline, to encouraging others to save energy. Importantly,
these represent different quite behaviors that occur in unique contexts, suggesting
spillover is not limited to a particular setting or FEW domain.
Surprisingly, no significant spillover was observed among any of the food waste
management behaviors. Ceiling effects may have contributed to these null results,
particularly given that these behaviors were quite prevalent among those who did
not begin composting (see Fig. 4.6). Alternatively, preventing food waste often
5.00
4.50
3.50
2.50
1.50
1.00
4.00
3.00
2.00
2.44
1.95
2.61
2.14
3.90
3.54
3.78
3.28
2.59
2.27
4.29
3.59
3.81
3.23
3.77 3.56
4.46 4.26
4.48 4.27
W
a l k e d
o r
b i k e d *
U
n p l u g g e d
d e v i c e s *
† L e f t l i g h t s
o n *
† U
s e d
h e a t e r *
† L e t w
a t e r
r u n * * *
P l a n
m
e a l s
U
s e
e x i s t i n g
f o o d
f i r s t
C
h e c k
f o o d
b e f o r e
s h o p p i n g +
T o o k
s h o r t e r
s h o w
e r s * * *
E n c o u r a g e d
o t h e r s *
Began composting
Did not begin composting
1=Strongly Disagree, 5=Strongly Agree
Frequency (1=Never, 5=Always)
Fig. 4.6 Mean scores on spillover behaviors among participants who did vs. did not begin composting
over the course of the study (N = 284).
†
Reverse scored item. Holm-Bonferroni-corrected p-values
from Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney tests:
+
p HB < 0.10, ∗p HB < 0.05, ∗∗p HB < 0.01, ∗∗∗p HB < 0.001
4 Human Behavior and Adaptation