Mandated versus Retrofitted Tank Owners: Psychological Factors Predicting Maintenance and Management

[摘要] The objective for this study is to understand the key motivational descriptors that vary among residents who have voluntarily installed tanks on their property (i.e., retrofitted) and those who have installed a tank based on the Queensland Development Code MP4.2 (i.e., mandated).The framework for this psychosocial analysis is self-determination theory (DeciRyan, 1991, 1995). This theory is concerned with understanding the motivational drivers of choice (e.g., why do people choose to get a rainwater tank, what motivates someone to maintain their tank) and focuses on the degree to which an individual’s behaviour is self-motivated (i.e., self-determined). It was hypothesised that higher perceptions of competence and autonomy will predict more frequent engagement in tank-related behaviours and that the level of self-determined motivation (i.e. intrinsic, extrinsic, amotivated) will also influence these behaviours. Results showed that: retrofitters reported higher intrinsic motivation and had a higher self-determination score than mandated participants; mandated participants reported higher amotivation and thus had a lower self-determination score than retrofitted participants; retrofitters demonstrated a higher sense of tank ownership compared to mandated participants; self-determination variables predict greater engagement in tank maintenance, higher frequency of maintenance behaviours and greater correctness in the frequency of tank maintenance; and amotivation variables predicted lack of motivation to engage in tank maintenance, lower frequency of maintenance behaviours and less correctness in the frequency of tank maintenance.It is believed that results from this study will help researchers in understanding differences in tank maintenance and rainwater use behaviours among residents in SEQ based on a greater understanding of motivational influences.

[发布机构] CSIRO

[学科分类] 地球科学(综合)