Key question

does framing kaeru-chan as a being “steward” (emotional care narrative) vs. a transactional quest (stamp-reward narrative) causally increase visitors’ (a) place attachment to the akiya network and (b) stewardship behaviors (visiting, caring for, and returning to sites)?

hypothesis: stronger affective ties to place predict participation and community-improving behaviors; designing for attachment should nudge people toward prosocial action in/for the spaces we’re revitalizing

Experimental design

• kaeru-chan more as the initiator for social experiment, not necessarily experiment itself
  • can also see acts of stewardship that are kaeru-chan stewards vs not to see if there’s a marked difference
  • history x physical offerings for randomization
  • set list of criteria / what “stewardship” really means
    • list of care acts vs ambient acts
  • multiple stages
    • from detachment → attention (“i notice this place.”)
    • from attention → affection (“i like this place.”)
    • from affection → action (“i’ll take care of this place.”)
    • from action → identity (“i’m the kind of person who takes care of this place.”)
  • place attachment
    • place identity: how much the place reflects or affirms one’s self-concept
    • place dependence: how well the place supports desired activities or goals
    • affective/emotional bond
  • stewardship

    • environmental / civic stewardship = “the active care and responsible use of the environment by individuals or groups, to sustain the quality of places for current and future generations.” — Fernandez-Gimenez et al. (2015), Ecology and Society, 20(1): 41

      • 22 items across awareness, motivation, behaviors, commitment, outcomes. (Environmental Stewardship Scale (ESS) – Larson et al., 2015)
        • reliability is also a metric
      • commons / collective metrics: frequency of rule-following, cooperation rate, mutual monitoring, voluntary contribution size.

      Type	Description
      Behavioral indicators	Actual maintenance actions, volunteer hours, donations, frequency of reporting issues, or completion of “care acts.”

Conditions (randomize at group level at check-in)

layer in consent / opt in for research

• transactional (stampbook): “bring kaeru-chan to any akiya to earn a stamp in your book.”
• stewardship (care narrative): “kaeru-chan feels lonely and misses his friends across japan. bringing him to visit makes him and his friends happy.”

^ how much of this do we want to post online vs just on-site?

Primary outcomes (behavioral, passively logged)

1. site engagement: count of distinct akiya check-ins (RFID),
2. dwell time per site (timestamp deltas),
3. care acts performed (quick checkbox at kiosk or photo evidence: tidying, watering, small fix, guided by your house rules).

Secondary outcomes (brief on-device surveys)

• place attachment (2–3 items) e.g., “I feel connected to this place / I want to come back / This place reflects values I care about” (Likert).
• return & referral intention (1–2 items).

Follow-ups

• potentially include a 2-week ping: did they return? did they bring someone? any remote contribution on discord? (keeps it light, IRB-friendly.)