Littering got worse in recent weeks to the point that it is incredibly upsetting to see. We see this and ask why?

One of the reasons for this can be found underneath the complex layers of human behaviour driven by invisible forces. When we look at the issue close up, we can see that as a result of the lockdown people feel so disconnected from public places that they don’t actually take ownership for clearing up their mess.

As awful as it is, we know from studies conducted that if people see others littering or litter is already present when they arrive somewhere (in many cases recently it was public parks and beaches but it is true to town centres, car parks etc) they are much more likely to litter themselves.

So if an individual sees that throwing away litter in a public place is common, then sadly the tendency is that the environmental morale of the individual decreases. In contrast, if an individual believes others to be compliant, then the environmental morale increases.In order to change it, a critical mass of cooperative individuals are required to induce change.

As we have all been asked to be compliant by the government to a previously unseen extent, sadly it is no surprise that some people exhibit their non-compliant behaviour at the first opportunity they can - on return to public places. This could be a subconscious way to break out of the ‘forced- upon’ compliance they had to adhere to. According to studies, on the other hand, societies with many non-compliant individuals, will exhibit weaker social norms.

So if we want to change this on a larger scale, policies should take into account such findings and adjust accordingly to restore the normality of moral behaviour and encourage people to clean up their litter or take it home with them. There are two main ways of doing this: people are motivated to move away from pain - so in some cases fines can be enforced but also some people are motivated by moving towards something better and a bigger cause - keeping ‘our parks’ and beaches clean and beautiful.

Read more: https://metro.co.uk/2020/07/01/psychologists-explain-why-people-are-littering-now-lockdown-lifting-12918790/?ito=cbshare

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