{"id":3478,"date":"2021-04-18T17:44:03","date_gmt":"2021-04-18T21:44:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/undergraduate-research-forum\/?p=3478"},"modified":"2021-04-18T17:44:05","modified_gmt":"2021-04-18T21:44:05","slug":"a09-t-littering-in-college-towns-how-students-perceptions-align-with-reality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/undergraduate-research-forum\/a09-t-littering-in-college-towns-how-students-perceptions-align-with-reality\/","title":{"rendered":"A09-T: Littering in College Towns: How Students’ Perceptions Align With Reality"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Littering leads to soil and water pollution and poses threats to ecological systems. This research investigates littering in college towns and surrounding natural areas, through an interdisciplinary lens. We examined: why do college students litter? Understanding the motivations behind littering would allow for the development of effective programs and policy to combat littering in college towns. An online survey was distributed to students at Miami University across departments and social media outlets. This survey asked students to self report their beliefs and attitudes towards littering, the environment, and the behaviors of their peers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our findings include: 91% of respondents indicated a strong interest in nature and environmental conservation. 73% of respondents indicated that they would either confront an individual littering or pick up the litter afterwards. Despite this, 85% of respondents also indicated that they observed at least three pieces of litter every day. In addition, when asked to rate how strongly they cared about littering, student\u2019s rated themselves 82% higher than when asked how strongly they believed their peers cared about littering. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This suggests that students either engage in fundamental attribution error and blame their peers for the litter around them instead of their own behavior, or, that the majority of litter found in Miami University results from the behavior of a small group of students. This second conclusion is supported by students observing more litter in uptown Oxford and around fraternity housing than on campus or within natural areas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These conclusions allow us to identify potential causes behind littering behavior in Oxford, which with extended research could potentially be applied to other college towns in America. Additionally, these findings could help identify potential solutions such as education programs, buddy systems, or stronger enforcement of littering fines towards addressing causes to target the issues identified in our research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Authors: <\/strong>Emil Barr, Cassie Conrad, Jenna Knight<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Faculty Advisor: <\/strong>Wen-Ching Chuang, Western Program<\/p>\n\n\n\n