www.alleghenyfront.org
Open in
urlscan Pro
104.196.169.206
Public Scan
Submitted URL: https://www.alleghenyfront.org/the-psychology-of-littering/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CThe%20presence%20of%20existing%20litter
Effective URL: https://www.alleghenyfront.org/the-psychology-of-littering/
Submission: On July 01 via api from US — Scanned from DE
Effective URL: https://www.alleghenyfront.org/the-psychology-of-littering/
Submission: On July 01 via api from US — Scanned from DE
Form analysis 6 forms found in the DOM
POST https://www.alleghenyfront.org/wp-login.php?template=default
<form class="lwa-form cb-form cb-form-active clearfix" action="https://www.alleghenyfront.org/wp-login.php?template=default" method="post">
<div class="cb-form-body">
<input class="cb-form-input cb-form-input-username" type="text" name="log" placeholder="Username">
<input class="cb-form-input" type="password" name="pwd" placeholder="Password">
<div class="sgr-main">
<div style="width: 304px; height: 78px;">
<div><iframe title="reCAPTCHA" width="304" height="78" role="presentation" name="a-alo272rkydsb" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"
sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-top-navigation allow-modals allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-storage-access-by-user-activation"
src="https://www.recaptcha.net/recaptcha/api2/anchor?ar=1&k=6Lf0UogUAAAAAEYpBKax9sccqU9rtaTmnMYbBULc&co=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYWxsZWdoZW55ZnJvbnQub3JnOjQ0Mw..&hl=en&v=rKbTvxTxwcw5VqzrtN-ICwWt&size=normal&cb=afauce8z6y4y"></iframe>
</div><textarea id="g-recaptcha-response" name="g-recaptcha-response" class="g-recaptcha-response"
style="width: 250px; height: 40px; border: 1px solid rgb(193, 193, 193); margin: 10px 25px; padding: 0px; resize: none; display: none;"></textarea>
</div>
</div>
<div style="margin: 5px 0 20px;">
<p style="font-size: 14px;"> Prove your humanity </p>
<br>
<label for="jetpack_protect_answer" style="vertical-align:super;"> 7 + 3 = </label>
<input type="number" id="jetpack_protect_answer" name="jetpack_protect_num" value="" size="2" style="width:50px;height:25px;vertical-align:middle;font-size:13px;" class="input">
<input type="hidden" name="jetpack_protect_answer" value="ad17fd1c7f1629e65c4ef24f05b10d3097a5874b">
</div>
<span class="lwa-status cb-ta-center"></span>
<div class="cb-submit cb-ta-center">
<input type="submit" name="wp-submit" class="lwa_wp-submit cb-submit-form" value="Log In" tabindex="100">
<input type="hidden" name="lwa_profile_link" value="1">
<input type="hidden" name="login-with-ajax" value="login">
</div>
<div class="cb-remember-me cb-extra cb-ta-center"><label>Remember Me</label><input name="rememberme" type="checkbox" class="lwa-rememberme" value="forever"></div>
<div class="cb-lost-password cb-extra cb-ta-center">
<a class="lwa-links-remember cb-title-trigger cb-trigger-pass" href="https://www.alleghenyfront.org/wp-login.php?action=lostpassword&template=default" title="Lost your password?">Lost your password?</a>
</div>
</div>
<input type="hidden" id="apbct_visible_fields_0" name="apbct_visible_fields"
value="eyIwIjp7InZpc2libGVfZmllbGRzIjoiIiwidmlzaWJsZV9maWVsZHNfY291bnQiOjAsImludmlzaWJsZV9maWVsZHMiOiJsb2cgcHdkIGctcmVjYXB0Y2hhLXJlc3BvbnNlIGpldHBhY2tfcHJvdGVjdF9udW0gamV0cGFja19wcm90ZWN0X2Fuc3dlciBsd2FfcHJvZmlsZV9saW5rIGxvZ2luLXdpdGgtYWpheCIsImludmlzaWJsZV9maWVsZHNfY291bnQiOjd9fQ==">
</form>POST https://www.alleghenyfront.org/wp-login.php?action=lostpassword&template=default
<form class="lwa-remember cb-form clearfix" action="https://www.alleghenyfront.org/wp-login.php?action=lostpassword&template=default" method="post">
<div class="cb-form-body">
<input type="text" name="user_login" class="lwa-user-remember cb-form-input" placeholder="Enter username or email">
<div class="sgr-main">
<div style="width: 304px; height: 78px;">
<div><iframe title="reCAPTCHA" width="304" height="78" role="presentation" name="a-5e9290lhq2fo" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"
sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-top-navigation allow-modals allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-storage-access-by-user-activation"
src="https://www.recaptcha.net/recaptcha/api2/anchor?ar=1&k=6Lf0UogUAAAAAEYpBKax9sccqU9rtaTmnMYbBULc&co=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYWxsZWdoZW55ZnJvbnQub3JnOjQ0Mw..&hl=en&v=rKbTvxTxwcw5VqzrtN-ICwWt&size=normal&cb=tp98l1d9yoxi"></iframe>
</div><textarea id="g-recaptcha-response-1" name="g-recaptcha-response" class="g-recaptcha-response"
style="width: 250px; height: 40px; border: 1px solid rgb(193, 193, 193); margin: 10px 25px; padding: 0px; resize: none; display: none;"></textarea>
</div><iframe style="display: none;"></iframe>
</div> <span class="lwa-status cb-ta-center"></span>
<div class="cb-submit cb-ta-center">
<input type="submit" value="Get New Password" class="lwa-button-remember cb-submit-form">
<input type="hidden" name="login-with-ajax" value="remember">
</div>
</div>
<input type="hidden" id="apbct_visible_fields_1" name="apbct_visible_fields"
value="eyIwIjp7InZpc2libGVfZmllbGRzIjoiIiwidmlzaWJsZV9maWVsZHNfY291bnQiOjAsImludmlzaWJsZV9maWVsZHMiOiJ1c2VyX2xvZ2luIGctcmVjYXB0Y2hhLXJlc3BvbnNlIGxvZ2luLXdpdGgtYWpheCIsImludmlzaWJsZV9maWVsZHNfY291bnQiOjN9fQ==">
</form>GET https://www.alleghenyfront.org/
<form method="get" class="cb-search" action="https://www.alleghenyfront.org/">
<input type="text" class="cb-search-field cb-font-header" placeholder="Search.." value="" name="s" title="" autocomplete="off">
<button class="cb-search-submit" type="submit" value=""><i class="fa fa-search"></i></button>
</form>GET https://www.alleghenyfront.org/
<form method="get" class="cb-search" action="https://www.alleghenyfront.org/">
<input type="text" class="cb-search-field cb-font-header" placeholder="Search.." value="" name="s" title="" autocomplete="off">
<button class="cb-search-submit" type="submit" value=""><i class="fa fa-search"></i></button>
</form>GET https://www.alleghenyfront.org/
<form method="get" class="cb-search" action="https://www.alleghenyfront.org/">
<input type="text" class="cb-search-field cb-font-header" placeholder="Search.." value="" name="s" title="" autocomplete="off">
<button class="cb-search-submit" type="submit" value=""><i class="fa fa-search"></i></button>
</form>POST //translate.googleapis.com/translate_voting?client=te
<form id="goog-gt-votingForm" action="//translate.googleapis.com/translate_voting?client=te" method="post" target="votingFrame" class="VIpgJd-yAWNEb-hvhgNd-aXYTce"><input type="text" name="sl" id="goog-gt-votingInputSrcLang"><input type="text"
name="tl" id="goog-gt-votingInputTrgLang"><input type="text" name="query" id="goog-gt-votingInputSrcText"><input type="text" name="gtrans" id="goog-gt-votingInputTrgText"><input type="text" name="vote" id="goog-gt-votingInputVote"><input
type="hidden" id="apbct_visible_fields_5" name="apbct_visible_fields"
value="eyIwIjp7InZpc2libGVfZmllbGRzIjoic2wgdGwgcXVlcnkgZ3RyYW5zIHZvdGUiLCJ2aXNpYmxlX2ZpZWxkc19jb3VudCI6NSwiaW52aXNpYmxlX2ZpZWxkcyI6IiIsImludmlzaWJsZV9maWVsZHNfY291bnQiOjB9fQ=="></form>Text Content
* Home
* About Us
* About
* Listen
* Our Staff
* Contact
* Donate
* Archive
* Podcasts
* Newsletter
* Topics
* Climate Change
* Conservation
* Wildlife
* Coronavirus
* Culture
* Economy
* Energy
* Environmental Justice
* Essays
* Food and Agriculture
* Health
* Politics
* Pollution
* Recreation
* Technology
* Transportation
* Video
* Water
* Your Environment Update
*
*
*
* Search
* Home
* Full Episodes
* Topics
* Series
* Wild Pennsylvania
* Follow the Pipeline
* Hazardous to Your Health
* The Coming Chemical Boom
* Listen
* About Us
* Contact Page
* Facebook
* Twitter
* Instagram
Prove your humanity
7 + 3 =
Remember Me
Lost your password?
* Full Episodes
FULL EPISODES
See all
* EPISODE FOR JUNE 28, 2024
June 28, 2024
* EPISODE FOR JUNE 21, 2024
June 21, 2024
* EPISODE FOR JUNE 14, 2024
June 14, 2024
* Series
* East Palestine: One Year Later
* Sowing Soil with Soul
* Pollution’s Mental Toll
* Wild Pennsylvania
* The Coming Chemical Boom
* Follow the Pipeline
* Following Pennsylvania Gas to Scotland
* Fracking in Ohio: Who’s Listening?
* Good River
* Hazardous to Your Health
* Headwaters
* Hidden Poison
* Our Three Rivers
* Future of Coal
* Energy
ENERGY
See all
* POLLUTION RISKS FROM GAS STOVES ARE GREATER IN SMALL HOMES
June 28, 2024
* REPORT: MOUNTAIN VALLEY PIPELINE TESTING RELEASED WATER AGAIN
June 27, 2024
* PA. LAWMAKERS BEGIN DEBATE ON NEW RENEWABLE ENERGY GOALS
June 27, 2024
* Climate
CLIMATE
See all
* HOW THE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT IS PLAYING OUT IN ONE OF THE ‘MOST BIASED’
STATES FOR RENEWABLES
June 25, 2024
* CLIMATE CHANGE IS MAKING HEAT WAVES LIKE THIS WEEK’S MORE COMMON AND
SEVERE IN PA.
June 19, 2024
* ‘WE’RE LOADING THE DICE’: SCIENTISTS SAY RECORD HEAT IS DUE TO CLIMATE
CHANGE
June 19, 2024
* Health
HEALTH
See all
* POLLUTION RISKS FROM GAS STOVES ARE GREATER IN SMALL HOMES
June 28, 2024
* MORE THAN 30 PA. SCHOOLS DETECTED TOXIC ‘FOREVER CHEMICALS’ IN THEIR
DRINKING WATER THAT EXCEED EPA STANDARD
June 21, 2024
* CLIMATE CHANGE IS MAKING HEAT WAVES LIKE THIS WEEK’S MORE COMMON AND
SEVERE IN PA.
June 19, 2024
* Wild PA
* StateImpact PA
*
Meet the trash heap in the alleyway behind Pittsburgher Meda Rago's house. Rago
regularly volunteers with her neighborhood's clean-up crew, but it doesn't seem
to make a dent in the litter problem. Photo: Lou Blouin
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF LITTERING
Lou BlouinJanuary 8, 2016
Citizen Q
Littering continues to be a big environmental problem in cities. And one
Pittsburgher from the city’s North Side neighborhood is taking the problem
personally. Meda Rago regularly picks up trash to keep her street clean. And she
really isn’t kidding when she says she’s found some pretty weird things chucked
into the alley behind her house.
“About two years ago, we came down the alley and saw an entire roast turkey
lying in the street,” Rago says.
Normally, the alley doesn’t draw such exotic things. Typically, it’s stuff like
old fast-food bags, soda cans and worn out sneakers.
LISTEN: “WHY DO PEOPLE LITTER?”
Audio Player
https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.alleghenyfront.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/AF010816_Lou_Litter.mp3
00:00
00:00
00:00
Use Up/Down Arrow keys to increase or decrease volume.
But Rago wanted to know why some people continue to throw their trash on the
ground, while others observe the taboo on littering. Well, it turns out, there
are actually people who study this topic. Among them is California State
University social psychologist Wesley Schultz, and he says one of the most
interesting parts about this whole issue is that littering wasn’t always seen as
the social ill it is today.
“If you look back at the surveys that were done in the 1960s, people were much
more accepting about throwing waste just openly in public spaces,” Schultz says.
But that changed a lot in the span of just a couple decades. Schultz says by the
1980s, it was not only seen as socially taboo—but unethical—to just throw your
trash on the ground.
“The thing that’s often cited is the push by Keep America Beautiful and the
‘Crying Indian’ public service announcements that were aired in the early 1970s.
It sort of captured the idea that throwing litter, throwing waste into public
spaces degraded that space.”
Schultz says the establishment of that social norm against littering was a game
changer. But social norms aren’t 100 percent effective in themselves. And with
littering, Schultz’s research showed that people most often break that taboo for
really practical reasons.
“We found that the distance to a trash receptacle was the strongest predictor of
littering,” Schultz says. “So the farther away you are from a trash can or a
recycling container, the more likely you are to litter.”
WATCH: “KEEP AMERICA BEAUTIFUL’S 1970 ‘IRON EYES CODY’ PSA”
So if cities put trash or recycling containers in public spaces, people start
doing the right thing again. And Schultz says this proves a basic assumption we
make about litterers is totally wrong—namely, that people who litter, just do it
because they don’t care.
“Often times people do care. But it’s too much of a hassle, it’s too
inconvenient. And so people do litter, even though they already care about it,”
Schultz says.
In other words—and Schultz says you could actually say this for a lot of
environmental issues—we don’t mind doing the right thing as long as it’s not too
disruptive to the way we live our lives. And it’s also clear that we have a huge
influence on each other.
“The presence of existing litter was strongly predictive of littering behavior.
So if you’re in a place that’s already highly littered, you’re much more likely
to litter than if you’re in a place that’s clean or free of litter.”
So no matter how futile Meda Rago’s neighborhood cleanups might feel, they
actually are making a difference. Rago plans to continue her cleanups with her
neighbors. But what she really wants now are some new garbage cans for the
neighborhood so she doesn’t have to pick up so much trash in the first place.
###
Meda Rago’s story is part of our Citizen Q series, where we answer your everyday
environmental questions. If you have a question of your own, drop us a line at
in**@al************.org or on Facebook.
SHARE THIS:
* Click to print (Opens in new window)
* Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
* Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
* Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
* Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
*
8 January 2016littering
Lou Blouin
Reporter/Web Editor
Lou has worked as a writer, reporter and radio producer for the past 10 years.
He was The Allegheny Front's enterprise reporter in 2015 and is now its digital
editor. His work has appeared on Here and Now, NPR's The Salt and Marketplace,
and he is a semi-regular contributor to WHYY's health and science program, The
Pulse. He now lives in Detroit.
RELATED POSTS
* WHY DOES PENNSYLVANIA HAVE ONLY A HANDFUL OF NATURAL LAKES?
Margaret J. KraussJune 16, 2017
* NO—YOUR RECYCLING IS NOT JUST GOING TO THE LANDFILL. WELL, MOST OF IT ISN’T.
Lou BlouinDecember 23, 2016
Powered by Google Übersetzer
LATEST STORIES
PA. AMERICAN WATER TO SPEND $300K FOR WATERSHED PROJECTS FOR POLLUTING
LACKAWANNA COUNTY WATERWAYS
July 1, 2024
EPISODE FOR JUNE 28, 2024
June 28, 2024
POLLUTION RISKS FROM GAS STOVES ARE GREATER IN SMALL HOMES
June 28, 2024
REPORT: MOUNTAIN VALLEY PIPELINE TESTING RELEASED WATER AGAIN
June 27, 2024
PA. LAWMAKERS BEGIN DEBATE ON NEW RENEWABLE ENERGY GOALS
June 27, 2024
FOLLOW US
* Twitter
* Facebook
* Instagram
CONNECT
SEARCH
THE ALLEGHENY FRONT
67 Bedford Square
Pittsburgh, PA 15203
* Home
* About Us
* Contact
* Listen
* Podcasts
* Newsletter
COPYRIGHT 2024 ALLEGHENY FRONT
Originaltext
Diese Übersetzung bewerten
Mit deinem Feedback können wir Google Übersetzer weiter verbessern