Investigating Prosocial Behavior: A Case Study of Littering in Laos

Using vignette experiments, this thesis examines individuals’ decision-making in various social dilemmas. A case study of littering behavior amongst university students in Lao People's Democratic Republic is used to investigate whether individual preferences are stable across littering dilemmas and other social dilemmas. This study further investigates if a visual prompt can encourage prosocial behavior in littering situations. The results show that behavior in social dilemmas is dependent on individual preferences. Additionally, the study finds little evidence that visual prompts could be used in order to efficiently decrease littering in Laos. However, a negative relationship is found between littering behavior and knowledge regarding the consequences of littering. These findings indicate that policy makers could use knowledge increasing campaigns in order to increase prosocial decision making regarding littering. Yet, further studies are needed in order to validate the results. Lastly, we also find differences in what influence littering behavior, depending on the item being littered