How Does Misperception of Others Affect One's Own Waste Sorting Behavior?—A Study from Chinese Sample

Abstract

People often misestimate (overestimate or underestimate) the attitudes and behaviors of others in the group, that is, normative misperception (including behavioral misperception and attitudinal misperception) ,which can affect one's own decision-making behavior in turn. This study based on a sample of 1,460 Chinese individuals confirmed that: (1) Overestimated normative misperception positively promoted individuals' own waste sorting behavior, and underestimated normative misperception had no effect on waste sorting. (2) Overestimated behavioral misperception increased individuals' waste sorting behavior, and this effect was mediated by the “impression management motivation-personal norm” chain path. (3) Overestimated attitudinal misperception also increased individual waste sorting behavior, and this effect was mediated by the “impression management motivation-personal norms” and “consequence awareness-personal norms” chain paths.