A função do contexto no consumo de produtos sustentáveis

Abstract

Behavior analysis interest about sustainability began in the 1970 and today is a rising research field. Considering the relevance of this topic, developing studies about context and consumer behavior could help to identify the variables that influence consumer choice behavior towards sustainable products. This study aimed to measure how different sustainability contexts (VI) could control consumer choice behavior (VD). An experimental survey was conducted with 34 subjects using the online research site Questionpro, where hypothetical product choice situations were conducted, with sustainable and non-sustainable products. The experiment had 8 phases and was divided into two parts, the subjects were randomly allocated into four different groups, with eight subjects in each one. Part 1 had the product baseline (phase 1), one report request (phase 2), and one environmental certification stamp baseline (phase 3), followed by nine environmental certification stamp training (phase 4). The four groups contain the same phases, the difference lies in the manipulated contexts (verbal and nonverbal) and the differential reinforcement (present or absent). The analysis were non-parametric statistical tests Wilcoxon and Mann Whitney towards data for each group and between groups, also the request reports. Results shows that it is possible to establish training conditions for identifying the sustainable stamps, either in contexts in which the stamps are linked to a verbal or non-verbal context, as long as there is an adequate consequence for this behavior. Differential reinforcement also influenced the level of awareness, the groups that achieved the highest level of sustainable awareness