Social Norms and the Tragedy of the Commons: Evidence from Everyday Water Conservation

Authors

Ryan Hill, Brigham Young University
Dr. Josh Gubler, Brigham Young University

Keywords

social norms, water conservation, common-pool resources, public water source

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Political Science

Abstract

This experiment tested how social norms affect individual incentives to conserve common-pool resources. We have tested this question with a simple field experiment on BYU campus. We observed individuals using public water sources after being treated with different inducements to conserve water. We are interested to see if individuals change their behavior in response to reminders of social norms immediately before making a decision to conserve scarce water. If there is an effect, does it vary based on the wording and nature of the reminder?

Recommended Citation

Hill, Ryan and Gubler, Dr. Josh (2013) "Social Norms and the Tragedy of the Commons: Evidence from Everyday Water Conservation," Journal of Undergraduate Research: Vol. 2013: Iss. 1, Article 410.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jur/vol2013/iss1/410