SBS Graduate Students Help Lead International Research on Social Attitudes Toward Litter

Rain Liu, an assistant professor in the Department of Communication in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, led an on-the-ground research project examining social factors that influence anti-littering intentions in Ghana. The study has important implications for developing persuasive anti-littering messages that encourage proper waste disposal. Specifically, the research explores how social norms—both static and dynamic—and outcome expectations are associated with behavioral intentions. The study was centered in the capital city of Accra, where littering is a significant concern.

The study was collaborated and co-authored with Liu’s former master’s student, Kwaku Danso (now a Ph.D. student at the University of Georgia), and former doctoral student Taylor Foerster (now an assistant professor at Oregon State University). Danso carried out hundreds of in-person surveys across Ghana, collecting all the data on site before bringing the project back to the University of Arizona for analysis.

Findings suggest that anti-littering campaigns in this cultural context may be most effective when they take an integrated approach—highlighting that proper waste disposal is common and increasingly widespread, along with strong community support and growing expectations. The work builds on Liu’s broader research on social norms and environmental behavior, including how social-norm messaging can influence food waste reduction.

The findings were published in Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology were also featured by a leading Ghanaian news outlet Joy News, bringing international attention to research focused on underdeveloped countries.

“It was a tremendous undertaking for an M.A. student,” Liu said. “Beyond that, the project highlights how U of A researchers are contributing to solutions for major environmental challenges in an understudied region of the world.”

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