Earth Day: Are you saving the planet or just showing off? Take our quiz.

Are you making environmental choices in order to save the planet or because you want to be seen with a green halo? A new study by economic researchers Steven Sexton and Alison Sexton suggests that some people purchase products that are perceived as environmentally friendly as a way of increasing their social standing. They found, for example, that the unusually shaped Toyota Prius hybrid was a conspicuous badge that sold better in “green” communities than in other communities, all things being equal. “Consumers are willing to pay up to several thousand dollars to signal their environmental bona fides through their car choice,” wrote Sexton and Sexton.

Are you a “conspicuous conservationist”? Take our quiz to find out. (Note that our quiz will label answers that conspicuous conservationists would give as "Correct!" and all other answers as "Incorrect!"

2. Your local hardware store offers two versions of compact fluorescent lights. One version is disguised to look just like an incandescent bulb and costs $4. The other bulb is in the shape of a swirl and costs $5. They are identical in every other respect. Which one do you buy?

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The $5 swirly CFL bulb

The $4 bulby CFL bulb

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