Explicitly and Implicitly Measured Valence and Risk Attitudes Towards Plastic Packaging, Plastic Waste, and Microplastic in a German Sample

Within society, problem awareness related to plastic pollution is high. Nevertheless, plastic production and consumption is constantly increasing. Plastic consumption expresses two sides of a coin: consumers appreciate plastic packaging for its practicability and other benefits, likewise they also experience concern especially related to pollution with waste and microplastic. In the current work, we systematically investigated valence- (Study 1; sample size [N] = 103) and risk- (Study 2; N = 105) related attitudes towards plastic packaging, plastic waste, and microplastic. Therefore, we measured participants’ attitudes implicitly and explicitly. By using single-category implicit association tests, we revealed that packaging and microplastic were automatically evaluated as ‘bad’ and neutral regarding risk, and waste as ‘bad’ and ‘risky’. Explicit responses in both studies highlighted an overall negative evaluation of all plastic forms. Thereby, packaging was rated as less ‘bad’, ‘unpleasant’, ‘unpractical’, and ‘risky’ (in general and for the environment) than waste and microplastic. The latter was evaluated as much riskier for human health than packaging and waste. Environmental risk ratings were generally very high. In comparison to other materials (paper, glass, metal), plastic was generally rated as worse and riskier. We conclude that attitudes related to plastic mirror high problem awareness and, therefore, plastic-reduction interventions should support consumers in acting according to their attitudes rather than addressing only awareness and attitude change.