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Haga, A. (2024). Morally "loaded" labels in the built environment influence perceptions and social judgement. Frontiers in Psychology, 15, Article ID 1294220.
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Morally "loaded" labels in the built environment influence perceptions and social judgement
2024 (English)In: Frontiers in Psychology, E-ISSN 1664-1078, Vol. 15, article id 1294220Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Products and artifacts with morally loaded labels (e.g., environmentally friendly) appear to change people’s perceptions and behavior. Previous studies have shown that desktop lamps labeled “environmentally friendly” can enhance perceived color discrimination and certain reading activities, compared to a physically identical lamp labeled “conventional”. This phenomenon might arise because people may behave in line with moral principles. The generalizability and robustness of this label effect was explored in the present study, by asking participants to make trait judgments of photographed faces. In an experimental design, participants judged photos enlightened by a desktop lamp that was either labeled environmentally friendly or not labeled at all. The results revealed that participants assigned more positive traits to the photographed persons when the lamp was labeled “environmentally friendly”, at least those with high altruistic values. The pattern was reversed for people with low altruistic values. Moreover, participants rated the light from the lamp labeled “environmentally friendly” as more comfortable and claimed that the light increased (perceived) visibility. In conclusion, the source (an environmentally friendly or a conventional lamp) from which the light originates changes the evaluation of the light itself and judgments of other individuals. The paper discusses theoretical explanations of the label effects as well as its implications for pro-environmental interventions. 

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Frontiers, 2024
Keywords
eco-label; environment; moral; perception; social judgement; spillover
National Category
Psychology (excluding Applied Psychology)
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:hig:diva-43927 (URN)10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1294220 (DOI)001371401000001 ()39554702 (PubMedID)2-s2.0-85209370644 (Scopus ID)
Available from: 2024-03-18 Created: 2024-03-18 Last updated: 2024-12-20Bibliographically approved
Cronhjort, M., Nobuoka, J., Ängskog, P., Haga, A. & Mårtensson, G. (2022). Efforts to improve attractiveness of lower level engineering education (concept). In: SEFI 2022 - 50th Annual Conference of the European Society for Engineering Education, Proceedings: . Paper presented at 50th Annual Conference of the European Society for Engineering Education, SEFI 2022, 19-22 September 2022, Barcelona (pp. 1104-1112).
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Efforts to improve attractiveness of lower level engineering education (concept)
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2022 (English)In: SEFI 2022 - 50th Annual Conference of the European Society for Engineering Education, Proceedings, 2022, p. 1104-1112Conference paper, Published paper (Refereed)
Abstract [en]

There are nine study programmes awarding the degree bachelor in engineering (högskoleingenjör) at the University of Gävle. Some of these have only a few applicants, even though the graduates are appreciated by a relatively large regional primary and secondary sector industry. A major revision of the programmes is planned. One objective is to increase the attractiveness of the programmes. In the revised programmes, students are proposed to study most courses together during the first year of study, even if they belong to different engineering specializations. This is intended to improve the study environment. Students in programmes with low numbers of applicants will become part of a richer and livelier student collective. However, the attractiveness could further be problematized by asking to whom higher education is attractive. A special focus will be on increasing the admission of students from groups in society that have been underrepresented in higher education. More specifically this may be linked to individual factors such as the educational level of parents, family income, immigrational background and geography. There may also be societal explanations in traditions of gendered professions. Engineering programmes, and especially some of the specializations at the university, are dominated by male students. This study focuses on how universities can take action to further increase the attractiveness of the engineering programmes, with a special regard to groups that are known to be underrepresented among the students.

Keywords
Bachelor in engineering; broadening participation; gender
National Category
Other Engineering and Technologies Educational Sciences
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:hig:diva-41076 (URN)10.5821/conference-9788412322262.1444 (DOI)2-s2.0-85147534327 (Scopus ID)
Conference
50th Annual Conference of the European Society for Engineering Education, SEFI 2022, 19-22 September 2022, Barcelona
Available from: 2023-02-13 Created: 2023-02-13 Last updated: 2023-02-13Bibliographically approved
Sörqvist, P., MacCutcheon, D., Holmgren, M., Haga, A. & Västfjäll, D. (2022). Moral spillover in carbon offset judgments. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, Article ID 957252.
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Moral spillover in carbon offset judgments
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2022 (English)In: Frontiers in Psychology, E-ISSN 1664-1078, Vol. 13, article id 957252Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Moral spillover occurs when a morally loaded behavior becomes associated with another source. In the current paper, we addressed whether the moral motive behind causing CO2 emissions spills over on to how much people think is needed to compensate for the emissions. Reforestation (planting trees) is a common carbon-offset technique. With this in mind, participants estimated the number of trees needed to compensate for the carbon emissions from vehicles that were traveling with various moral motives. Two experiments revealed that people think larger carbon offsets are needed to compensate for the emissions when the emissions are caused by traveling for immoral reasons, in comparison with when caused by traveling for moral reasons. Hence, moral motives influence people’s judgments of carbon-offset requirements even though these motives have no bearing on what is compensated for. Moreover, the effect was insensitive to individual differences in carbon literacy and gender and to the unit (kilograms or tons) in which the CO2 emissions were expressed to the participants. The findings stress the role of emotion in how people perceive carbon offsetting.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Frontiers, 2022
Keywords
carbon offsets; compensation estimates; emotion; moral motives; moral spillover
National Category
Psychology (excluding Applied Psychology)
Research subject
Sustainable Urban Development
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:hig:diva-39960 (URN)10.3389/fpsyg.2022.957252 (DOI)000876461700001 ()36312167 (PubMedID)2-s2.0-85140800600 (Scopus ID)
Available from: 2022-09-21 Created: 2022-09-21 Last updated: 2022-11-17Bibliographically approved
MacCutcheon, D., Holmgren, M. & Haga, A. (2020). Assuming the best: Individual differences in compensatory “green” beliefs predict susceptibility to the negative footprint illusion. Sustainability, 12(8), Article ID 3414.
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Assuming the best: Individual differences in compensatory “green” beliefs predict susceptibility to the negative footprint illusion
2020 (English)In: Sustainability, E-ISSN 2071-1050, Vol. 12, no 8, article id 3414Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Recent years have seen a marked increase in carbon emissions despite pledges made by the international community at the Paris Accord in 2015 to reduce fossil fuel production and consumption. Rebound effects could contribute to this phenomenon as, in which attempts to curb carbon emissions might have inadvertently led to an upswing in fossil fuel usage. The present study hypothesizes that rebound effects are driven by a misapplication of compensatory balancing heuristics, with the unintended outcome of producing inaccurate estimates of the environmental impact of “green” or environmentally friendly labelled products or behaviors. The present study therefore aims to investigate the relationship between participants’ degree of compensatory thinking (e.g., “Recycling compensates for driving a car”) and their susceptibility to the Negative Footprint Illusion, a widely replicated phenomenon demonstrating that the presence of “green” products biases carbon footprint estimations. One hundred and twelve participants were asked to complete a 15-item Compensatory Green Beliefs scale and to estimate the total carbon footprint of a set of 15 conventional houses, followed by a set that included 15 “green” houses in addition to 15 conventional houses. Results indicated that participants, on average, believed that the "green" houses were carbon neutral, and that susceptibility to the Negative Footprint Illusion was predicted by performance on the Compensatory Green Beliefs scale. This is the first study confirming that individual differences in cognitive processes (i.e., Compensatory Green Beliefs) are indeed related to inaccurate estimates of “green” products, providing a foundation for further investigation of the influence of “green” and compensatory beliefs on carbon footprint estimates.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
MDPI, 2020
Keywords
Negative Footprint Illusion, Compensatory Green Beliefs, climate change, judgment
National Category
Environmental Sciences
Research subject
Sustainable Urban Development
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:hig:diva-32364 (URN)10.3390/su12083414 (DOI)000535598700347 ()2-s2.0-85084834307 (Scopus ID)
Available from: 2020-06-02 Created: 2020-06-02 Last updated: 2024-08-29Bibliographically approved
Colding, J., Giusti, M., Haga, A., Wallhagen, M. & Barthel, S. (2020). Enabling relationships with nature in cities. Sustainability, 12, Article ID 4394.
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Enabling relationships with nature in cities
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2020 (English)In: Sustainability, E-ISSN 2071-1050, Vol. 12, article id 4394Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Limited exposure to direct nature experiences is a worrying sign of urbanization, particularly for children. Experiencing nature during childhood shapes aspects of a personal relationship with nature, crucial for sustainable decision-making processes in adulthood. Scholars often stress the need to ‘reconnect’ urban dwellers with nature; however, few elaborate on how this can be achieved. Here, we argue that nature reconnection requires urban ecosystems, with a capacity to enable environmental learning in the cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains, i.e., learning that occurs in the head, heart and hands of individuals. Drawing on environmental psychology, urban ecology, institutional analysis and urban planning, we present a theoretical framework for Human–Nature Connection (HNC), discuss the importance of nurturing HNC for children, elaborate on the role of property-rights and the importance of creating collective action arenas in cities for the promotion of urban resilience building. As values and environmental preconceptions underly environmental behavior, there are limits to achieving HNC in cities, as presumptive sentiments toward nature not always are positive. We end by discussing the role of new digital technologies in relation to HNC, and conclude by summarizing the major points brought forward herein, offering policy recommendations for HNC as a resilience strategy that can be adopted in cities throughout the world.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
MDPI, 2020
Keywords
Human-Nature Connection; Cognitive; affective and psychomotor environmental learning; Resilience building; Sense of place; Immersive technologies; Property rights; Urban Green Commons
National Category
Environmental Sciences
Research subject
Sustainable Urban Development
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:hig:diva-32340 (URN)10.3390/su12114394 (DOI)000543391800057 ()2-s2.0-85085951680 (Scopus ID)
Projects
Urban Studio
Funder
Swedish Research Council Formas, 2017-00937
Available from: 2020-05-28 Created: 2020-05-28 Last updated: 2022-02-10Bibliographically approved
Haga, A. (2018). Eco-label effects in the built environment: does labeling a light source environmentally friendly influence performance and judgement?. SAGE Open, 8(2)
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Eco-label effects in the built environment: does labeling a light source environmentally friendly influence performance and judgement?
2018 (English)In: SAGE Open, E-ISSN 2158-2440, Vol. 8, no 2Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
SAGE Open, 2018
Keywords
Eco-label effect, environmentally friendly, lamp, label, environmental concern
National Category
Psychology (excluding Applied Psychology)
Research subject
Sustainable Urban Development
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:hig:diva-25701 (URN)10.1177/2158244018766977 (DOI)000429934800001 ()2-s2.0-85049881525 (Scopus ID)
Available from: 2017-11-30 Created: 2017-11-30 Last updated: 2024-02-12Bibliographically approved
Haga, A. (2018). Morally “loaded” labels influence product perception and social judgement.
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Morally “loaded” labels influence product perception and social judgement
2018 (English)Manuscript (preprint) (Other academic)
National Category
Psychology (excluding Applied Psychology)
Research subject
Sustainable Urban Development
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:hig:diva-25997 (URN)
Available from: 2018-01-12 Created: 2018-01-12 Last updated: 2022-09-21Bibliographically approved
Haga, A. (2018). Psychological consequences of moral labelling in the built environment. (Doctoral dissertation). Gävle: Gävle University Press
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Psychological consequences of moral labelling in the built environment
2018 (English)Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

Climate change is strongly linked to human behavior and technologies, and many of the barriers to sustainable behavior are rather psychological than technological. More sustainable technologies and food products have been introduced to combat climate change, most often labeled with morally loaded labels such as “organic” or “environmentally friendly”. The purpose of this thesis was, first, to gain knowledge into the psychological consequences of the introduction of eco-friendly technologies in the built environment, specifically how labeling these products “eco-friendly” influences perception and performance; secondly, to identify underlying psychological mechanisms and limits of this eco-label effect. Study 1 showed that participants generally prefer the taste of consumables labeled eco-friendly compared to conventional labeled alternatives, but the study also found that the label-effect is limited to certain products and certain judgmental dimensions. Results in this study also showed that people believe that eco-labeled products have positive effects on mental abilities. In Study 2 and 3, the focus was to study the effects of eco-labeling in the built environment on performance in cognitively demanding tasks, such as color discrimination and proofreading. At this point, the eco-label effect had been shown across a wide range of products like food, water, and office technologies, and been generalized to a wide range of judgmental dimensions and behaviors (i.e. taste, nutrition health benefits, comfortableness, and mental performance). In Study 4, results showed that eco-labeling can have effects also on behavior that arguably have very little to do with the labeling itself, by showing that social perception of photographed persons can also depend on the labeling of desktop lamps. A consistent finding across the studies was also that individual differences in environmental concern modulated the magnitude of the effect. The magnitude was larger in people with higher concern for the environment.

Abstract [sv]

Klimatförändringen har en stark koppling till mänskligt beteenden och teknologiska lösningar. En stor del av det som hindrar den hållbar utveckling är mer psykologiska än tekniska till sin natur. Många hållbara tekniska lösningar och livsmedelsprodukter har införts för att bekämpa klimatförändringar, ofta märkta med moraliskt laddade etiketter som "ekologiska" eller "miljövänliga". Syftet med den här avhandlingen var att bringa mer kunskap om de psykologiska konsekvenserna av införandet av miljövänliga teknologiska lösningar i den byggda miljön, mer specifikt, hur perception och prestation påverkas av att märka dessa produkter som miljövänliga. Ytterligare var syftet att identifiera underliggande psykologiska mekanismer och begränsningar gällande eco-label effekten. Studie 1 visar att deltagare oftast föredrar smaken av produkter som är märkta miljövänliga jämfört med konventionellt märkta alternativ, men studien har också fastställt att eco-label effekten är begränsad till vissa produkter och bedömningsdimensioner. Resultatet i Studie 1 visade också att människor tror att miljömärkta produkter har positiva effekter på mentala förmågor. I Studie 2 och 3 var fokus på att studera effekterna av miljömärkning i den byggda miljön på prestationer i kognitiva uppgifter, såsom färgdiskriminering och korrekturläsning. Effekten av miljömärkning har visats gälla för ett brett spektrum av produkter som mat, vatten och kontorsmaterial och kan generaliseras till ett brett spektrum av bedömningsdimensioner och beteenden (dvs. smak, hälsofördelar, bekvämlighet och mentala prestationer). I Studie 4 framgår det också att miljömärkning kan ha effekt på beteende som har mycket lite att göra med miljömärkningen i sig, genom att visa att sociala bedömningar av fotograferade personer också kan bero på etikettering av skrivbordslampor. Konsekvent över studierna var också att individuella skillnader i miljöoro modulerade effektens storlek. Effekten var störst för de med störst oro för miljön.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Gävle: Gävle University Press, 2018. p. 32
Series
Studies in the Research Profile Built Environment. Doctoral thesis ; 5
Keywords
Eco-label effect, performance, perception, judgment, moral labels, social judgement, lamp, label, miljöetiketteringseffekt, prestation, perception, bedömning, moraliska etiketter, sociala bedömningar, lampor, etikett
National Category
Psychology (excluding Applied Psychology)
Research subject
Sustainable Urban Development
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:hig:diva-25978 (URN)978-91-88145-19-2 (ISBN)978-91-88145-20-8 (ISBN)
Public defence
2018-03-07, Lilla Jadwigasalen 12:108, Kungsbäcksvägen 47, Gävle, 13:15 (Swedish)
Opponent
Supervisors
Available from: 2018-02-13 Created: 2018-02-09 Last updated: 2024-08-29Bibliographically approved
Sörqvist, P., Marsh, J. E., Holmgren, M., Hulme, R., Haga, A. & Seager, P. B. (2016). Effects of labeling a product eco-friendly and genetically modified: A cross-cultural comparison for estimates of taste, willingness to pay and health consequences. Food Quality and Preference, 50, 65-70
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Effects of labeling a product eco-friendly and genetically modified: A cross-cultural comparison for estimates of taste, willingness to pay and health consequences
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2016 (English)In: Food Quality and Preference, ISSN 0950-3293, E-ISSN 1873-6343, Vol. 50, p. 65-70Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

As the demand for eco-friendly food—produced without pesticides and environmentally harmful chemicals—increases, the need to develop genetically modified (GM) organisms that are more resistant to parasites and other environmental crop threats may increase. Because of this, products labeled both “eco-friendly” and “genetically modified” could become commonly available on the market. In this paper, we explore—in a Swedish and a UK sample—the consequences of combining eco-labeling and GM-labeling to judgments of taste, health consequences and willingness to pay for raisins. Participants tasted and evaluated four categories of raisins (eco-labeled and GM-labeled; eco-labeled; GM-labeled; and neither eco-labeled nor GM-labeled). The results suggest that there is a cost associated with adding a GM-label to an eco-labeled product: The GM-label removes the psychological benefits of the eco-label. This negative effect of the GM-label was larger among Swedish participants in comparison with UK participants, because the magnitude of the positive effect of the eco-label was larger in the Swedish sample and, hence, the negative effects of the GM-label became more pronounced. The pattern was somewhat different depending on judgmental dimension. The cost associated with adding a GM-label was larger in estimates of taste and health than in estimates of willingness to pay, at least for the Swedish sample. The roles of individual differences in attitudes, environmental concern and socially desirable responding in relation to the label effects are discussed.

Keywords
Genetically modified, Environment, Eco-label effect, GM-label effect, Cross-culture comparison
National Category
Psychology (excluding Applied Psychology)
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:hig:diva-21081 (URN)10.1016/j.foodqual.2016.01.007 (DOI)000372767300008 ()2-s2.0-84956518198 (Scopus ID)
Available from: 2016-01-20 Created: 2016-01-20 Last updated: 2024-05-21Bibliographically approved
Haga, A., Halin, N., Holmgren, M. & Sörqvist, P. (2016). Psychological restoration can depend on stimulus-source attribution: a challenge for the evolutionary account?. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, Article ID 1831.
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Psychological restoration can depend on stimulus-source attribution: a challenge for the evolutionary account?
2016 (English)In: Frontiers in Psychology, E-ISSN 1664-1078, Vol. 7, article id 1831Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Visiting or viewing nature environments can have restorative psychological effects, while exposure to the built environment typically has less positive effects. A classic view is that this difference in restorative potential of nature and built environments depends on differences in the intrinsic characteristics of the stimuli. In addition, an evolutionary account is often assumed whereby restoration is believed to be a hardwired response to nature’s stimulus-features. Here, we propose the novel hypothesis that the restorative effects of a stimulus do not entirely depend on the stimulus-features per se, but also on the meaning that people assign to the stimulus. Participants conducted cognitively demanding tests prior to and after a brief pause. During the pause, the participants were exposed to an ambiguous sound consisting of pink noise with white noise interspersed. Participants in the “nature sound-source condition” were told that the sound originated from a nature scene with a waterfall; participants in the “industrial sound-source condition” were told that the sound originated from an industrial environment with machinery; and participants in the “control condition” were told nothing about the sound origin. Self-reported mental exhaustion showed that participants in the nature sound-source condition were more psychologically restored after the pause than participants in the industrial sound-source condition. One potential interpretation of the results is that restoration from nature experiences depends on learned, positive associations with nature; not only on hardwired responses shaped by evolution.

Keywords
restorative environments, Nature environment, built environment, Evolutionary account, stimulus-source attribution, Psychological restoration
National Category
Psychology (excluding Applied Psychology)
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:hig:diva-22690 (URN)10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01831 (DOI)000388330700001 ()7933011 (PubMedID)2-s2.0-85006508591 (Scopus ID)
Available from: 2016-11-03 Created: 2016-11-03 Last updated: 2025-06-10Bibliographically approved
Organisations
Identifiers
ORCID iD: ORCID iD iconorcid.org/0000-0002-1664-5650

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