Skip to main content

ETHNOS_APP

Home • Search • Journals • List 0

Selecting the most promising behaviour change interventions for field experimentation

Bibliographic Data

ID11440562
AuthorsŽiva Alif (0000-0002-3752-468X, University of Ljubljana), Anna Kristina Zinn (0000-0002-3631-0372, The University of Queensland, corresponding author), Sara Dolnicar (0000-0001-5176-3161, University of Primorska)
Year2026
Volume114
Pages105379
Publication date2026-06-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueTourism Management (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0261-5177 • E-ISSN: 1879-3193
PublisherElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.tourman.2025.105379
OpenAlexW7118685131
LanguageEN
References cited42

Robust pre-testing protocols can help researchers select the most promising behaviour change interventions to test in field experiments. We add to an existing pre-testing protocol by outlining the importance of (1) scrutinising “neutral” stimuli and (2) accounting for different pools of participants. We test the full pre-testing protocol in the context of farm tourism. Specifically, we test theory-driven messages to increase water-saving intentions during a hypothetical farm stay for Australian participants (Study 1) and participants from the UK (Study 2). While all messages increased intentions to save water compared to no message, theory-derived messages did not outperform neutral appeals. We also found cultural differences. Our findings emphasize the importance of pre-testing intervention materials and help guide behaviour scientists in tourism research on how to select interventions for field experiments. This research further offers an overview of promising interventions to entice water saving in farm tourism

Behaviour change · Context (archaeology · Field (mathematics · Protocol (science · Psychological intervention · Tourism · Behavioral Health and Interventions · Diverse Aspects of Tourism Research · Environmental Education and Sustainability

  • I Am What I Am, by Looking Past the Present

    Open Access•Ellen van der Werff, Linda Steg et al.•Environment and Behavior•2014

  • Meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials testing behavioural interventions to promote household action on climate change

    Open Access•Claudia F Nisa, Jocelyn J Bélanger et al.•Nature Communications•2019

  • Responsibility as a Predictor of Ecological Behaviour

    Open Access•Florian G Kaiser, TODD A SHIMODA•Journal of Environmental Psychology•1999

  • The NR-6

    Open Access•Elizabeth K Nisbet, John M Zelenski•Frontiers in Psychology•2013

  • Contrasting the Theory of Planned Behavior With the Value-Belief-Norm Model in Explaining Conservation Behavior1

    Open Access•Florian G Kaiser, Gundula Hübner et al.•Journal of Applied Social…•2005

  • The affect heuristic

    Open Access•Paul Slovic, Melissa L Finucane et al.•European Journal of Operational…•2007

  • Theory of planned behaviour, identity and intentions to engage in environmental activism

    Open Access•Kelly S Fielding, Rachel I McDonald et al.•Journal of Environmental Psychology•2008

  • Construal-level theory of psychological distance.

    Yaacov Trope, Nira Liberman•Psychological Review•2010

  • Cognitive Architecture and Instructional Design

    Open Access•John Sweller, Jeroen J G Van Merriënboer et al.•Educational Psychology Review•1998

  • Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect

    David Watson, David C Watson et al.•Journal of Personality and Social…•1988

  • A review of experiments in tourism and hospitality

    Open Access•Giampaolo Viglia, Sara Dolnicar•Annals of Tourism Research•2020

  • Can knowledge transfer speed up climate change mitigation in agriculture? A randomized experimental evaluation of participatory workshops

    Open Access•Živa Alif, Ana Novak et al.•Environmental Science & Policy•2023

  • Climate change action as a project of identity

    Open Access•Stepan Vesely, Torsten Masson et al.•Global Environmental Change•2021

  • What influences water conservation and towel reuse practices of hotel guests

    Open Access•H Han, Sunghyup Sean Hyun•Tourism Management•2018

  • Progress in field experimentation for environmentally sustainable tourism – A knowledge map and research agenda

    Open Access•Csilla Demeter, David Fechner et al.•Tourism Management•2023

  • The tourist on the farm

    Open Access•Charline Dubois, M Cawley et al.•Tourism Management•2017

  • Should the risk of social desirability bias in survey studies be assessed at the level of each pro-environmental behaviour

    Open Access•Oscar Yuheng Zhu, Danyelle Greene et al.•Tourism Management•2024

  • A typology of quantitative approaches to discovery

    Open Access•Sara Dolnicar, Anna Kristina Zinn et al.•Annals of Tourism Research•2024

  • Designing for more environmentally friendly tourism

    Open Access•Sara Dolnicar•Annals of Tourism Research•2020

  • Understanding Farmers' Aesthetic Preference for Tidy Agricultural Landscapes

    Rob J F Burton•Landscape Research•2012

  • New Environmental Theories

    Open Access•Paul C Stern•Journal of Social Issues•2000

  • A Theory of Social Comparison Processes

    Open Access•Leon Festinger•Human Relations•1954

  • If you want to learn about real behaviour, measure real behaviour

    Open Access•Giampaolo Viglia, Sara Dolnicar et al.•Journal of Sustainable Tourism•2024

  • Heuristic processing can bias systematic processing

    Shelly Chaiken, Durairaj Maheswaran•Journal of Personality and Social…•1994

  • Identity Salience and Role Performance

    Sheldon Stryker•Journal of Marriage and the Family•1968

  • A Room with a Viewpoint

    Noah J Goldstein, Robert B Cialdini et al.•Journal of Consumer Research•2008

Highly citedNo

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access
Ethnos_APP • Open Source Project • MIT License • Frontend v2.0.0 • Privacy and Cookies • API Documentation: api.ethnos.app/docs • API Source Code: GitHub • DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17049435 • Frontend Source Code: GitHub • DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17050053 • cruz.rio.br • Expectantes Misericordiae