Ascription of responsibility, recycling behaviours and trust

: a moderation analysis

Abstract

This dissertation arose out of a curiosity in the relationship between trust in institutions and recycling behaviours, and how the concept of ascription of responsibility affects this relationship. From the literature on recycling behaviours and trust, there is an element of duty and responsibility attached to why individuals engage in recycling. As such, the main hypothesis focused on the relationship between institutional trust and recycling behaviours, and if this relation was moderated by ascription of responsibility, but it has not been testedas a moderator. A survey was constructed and distributed using Qualtrics software, combining the three variables discussed above, and the results were analysed using moderation analysis in R programming language. The main hypothesis results proved not statistically significant, and some correlates were analysed. The inability to prove the main hypothesis was in contrast with the literature, which perhaps could be explained better if the entire ascription of responsibility scale was used instead of the two factors chosen. A study using an updated form of the ascription of responsibility questionnaire that incorporates a measure on altruism, as well as integrating a game theory element to theresearch would be recommended for future research.

Date of Award	29 Sept 2022
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Ian James Scott (Supervisor)