Circular Economy Engagement Enhances User Well-being Through Mastery and Social Connection

Why It Matters

This research highlights that sustainable practices are not just about environmental impact but also about enhancing the user's quality of life. Designers can leverage this by creating products and services that actively encourage and facilitate these well-being-boosting circular behaviors.

Key Finding

The study found that participating in circular economy activities, such as repairing or sharing items, can lead to greater personal happiness and satisfaction by making people feel more competent and connected to others, but this is dependent on supportive environments and opportunities.

Key Findings

• Circular economy behaviors can positively impact user well-being.
• Specific contextual conditions are crucial for maximizing these well-being benefits.
• Key aspects include fostering enjoyment, a sense of mastery, and social belonging.

Research Evidence

Aim: What are the key conditions under which circular economy behaviors most effectively contribute to product user well-being, specifically in terms of enjoyment, mastery, and social belonging?

Method: Delphi study with experts

Procedure: Experts in circular economy, sufficiency, and consumer well-being were consulted through a Delphi study to develop and validate a framework identifying key aspects of circular economy behaviors that influence user well-being.

Context: Circular economy practices and consumer behavior

Design Principle

Design for circularity to enhance user well-being by fostering mastery and social connection.

How to Apply

When designing a product, consider how its lifecycle can be structured to encourage user repair, modification, or sharing, and how these activities can be made to feel satisfying and socially valuable.

Limitations

The framework is theoretical and requires further empirical testing across diverse user groups and cultural contexts.

Student Guide (IB Design Technology)

Simple Explanation: Doing things like fixing your own stuff or sharing with neighbors makes you feel good because you get better at it and connect with people, but only if it's easy and supported.

Why This Matters: Understanding how sustainable actions impact user happiness helps create designs that people will not only adopt but also enjoy, making sustainability more appealing and achievable.

Critical Thinking: To what extent can the pursuit of personal well-being through circular economy behaviors conflict with broader environmental goals, and how can design navigate this tension?

IA-Ready Paragraph: This design project aims to enhance user well-being by integrating principles from the 'Key Aspects of CE Behaviors for Product User Well Being' Framework. By focusing on features that foster a sense of mastery and social connection through circular practices such as repair and sharing, the design seeks to make sustainable consumption a more intrinsically rewarding and enjoyable experience for users, thereby contributing to both personal satisfaction and environmental goals.

Project Tips

• Consider how your design can empower users to feel more skilled.
• Think about how your design can encourage community or shared experiences.
• Explore how to make sustainable actions feel intrinsically rewarding.

How to Use in IA

• Use the framework to analyze how your design choices might impact user well-being through mastery and social connection.
• Justify design decisions by referencing the potential for increased user well-being through circular behaviors.

Examiner Tips

• Demonstrate an understanding of the psychological benefits of sustainable design beyond environmental impact.
• Connect design features directly to user well-being outcomes like mastery and social belonging.

Independent Variable: Engagement in circular economy behaviors (e.g., reuse, repair, sharing)

Dependent Variable: Product user well-being (enjoyment, sense of mastery, social belonging)

Controlled Variables: Contextual conditions (social, policy, infrastructure support)

Strengths

• Interdisciplinary approach integrating sustainability and psychology.
• Development of a comprehensive theoretical framework validated by experts.

Critical Questions

• How can designers effectively measure the 'sense of mastery' or 'social belonging' derived from product use?
• Are there cultural or demographic differences in how circular behaviors impact well-being?

Extended Essay Application

• Investigate the long-term psychological impacts of adopting a circular lifestyle.
• Develop and test a product or service designed specifically to maximize user well-being through circularity.

Source

Circular economy behaviors and well being: identifying the conditions that matter most · Frontiers in Sustainability · 2026 · 10.3389/frsus.2026.1718473