Conflicts between people and wild animals are increasing globally, often with serious consequences for both. Local regulations or ordinances are frequently used to promote human behaviors that minimize these conflicts (risk-reducing behaviors), but compliance with ordinances can be highly variable. While efforts to increase compliance could be improved through applications of conservation psychology, little is known about the relative influence of different factors motivating compliance. Using concepts from psychology and risk theory, we conducted a longitudinal study pairing data from mail surveys with direct observations of compliance with a wildlife ordinance requiring residents to secure residential garbage from black bears (Ursus americanus). We assessed the relative influence of beliefs and attitudes toward bears and bear proofing, perceived behavioral control, perceived risks and benefits assigned to bears, norms, trust in management, previous experience with conflicts, and demographics on compliance behavior (i.e., bear proofing). Data on previous experience were obtained through direct observation and survey reports. We found that higher compliance rates were associated with more observed conflicts on a respondent's block. Counter to expectations, however, residents were less compliant when they were more trusting of the management agency and perceived more benefits from bears. We suggest that messages have the potential to increase compliance when they empower residents by linking successful management of conflicts to individual actions and emphasize how reducing conflicts could maintain benefits provided by wildlife. Modifying existing educational materials to account for these psychological considerations and evaluating their impact on compliance behavior over time are important next steps in changing human behaviors relevant to the globally important problem of human-wildlife conflict.

中文翻译：

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降低风险行为以限制人类与野生动物冲突的心理驱动因素

人与野生动物之间的冲突在全球范围内日益增加，往往对双方都造成严重后果。地方法规或条例经常被用来促进将这些冲突最小化的人类行为（降低风险的行为），但对条例的遵守情况可能变化很大。虽然可以通过应用保护心理学来改善提高合规性的努力，但人们对促进合规性的不同因素的相对影响知之甚少。使用心理学和风险理论的概念，我们进行了一项纵向研究，将邮件调查的数据与对野生动物条例的遵守情况进行了直接观察，该条例要求居民从黑熊 (Ursus americanus) 手中获取住宅垃圾。我们评估了信念和态度对熊和熊的证明的相对影响，感知的行为控制、感知的风险和分配给熊的风险和收益、规范、对管理的信任、以前的冲突经验以及合规行为的人口统计数据（即防熊）。以往经验的数据是通过直接观察和调查报告获得的。我们发现较高的合规率与更多观察到的受访者街区的冲突有关。然而，与预期相反，当居民更信任管理机构并认为熊能带来更多好处时，他们的顺从性就会降低。我们建议，当通过将冲突的成功管理与个人行动联系起来并强调减少冲突如何保持野生动物提供的利益来赋予居民权力时，信息有可能提高合规性。