Water Use as a Commons Dilemma

It was hypothesized that educational interventions that focus on the long-term consequences of water use and the efficacy of personal action to conserve would be more effective in reducing water consumption among residential water users than messages that focus on the economic advantages of conservation or a control condition that was given only tips on how to conserve. The 171 households consenting to participate in the study were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: education about long-term consequences and personal efficacy of conservation, education about the self-interested economic effect of water use, or a participation control group. A second control group of 36 households was not contacted and was unaware of the study. A second independent variable was socioeconomic status of area (SES): lower-middle versus upper-middle SES. Water use was recorded for the 2-month pre-intervention, intervention, and post-intervention periods. In support of the hypothesis, residents in the lower-middle class area conserved more water in both the intervention and post-intervention period if they received the long-term consequences and personal efficacy education. However, neither educational message had an effect in the upper-middle class area. Possible explanations and implications for these results are discussed.