The public participation in marine ecological restoration plays an indispensable role in marine environmental protection and ecological security in China. Employing the single boundary dichotomy guidance technology, this study evaluates the preference of Qingdao residents for marine ecological restoration, and attempts to reveal the factors that exert significant influences on residents' preference for marine environmental protection. The research demonstrates that social desirability bias and peer effect are two main determinants of the residents' preference for marine environmental protection, as the consequence of which, the study further contributes to unveiling the influence mechanism of social desirability bias and peer effect on the preference from the perspective of guilt and resistant psychology, which can provide theoretical basis and technical guidance for the Chinese government to stimulate the enthusiasm of the public to participate in the marine ecological restoration. The results show that the residents' willing to pay (WTP) for marine ecological restoration is 184.386 yuan per year on average. According to the results that take the importance perception towards marine ecological restoration attributes into account, the improvement of the number of marine creatures can significantly improve the public's WTP for marine ecological restoration, whereas the public shows no significant difference in preference for the improvement of marine water quality and coastal environment. In addition, this study also demonstrates that both social desirability bias and peer effect have significant positive effects on the WTP for marine ecological restoration. Finally, it is confirmed that social desirability bias and peer effect can improve the WTP for ecological restoration by arousing the respondents' guilt, but the two variables can also lead to resistance psychology, thereby inhibiting the public's enthusiasm to participate in marine ecological restoration. Subjective norms can positively moderate the effects of social desirability bias and peer effect on WTP for marine ecological restoration. The study identifies the influence of the public's preference and competitive psychology on stated preference in marine ecological restoration, which can provide valuable reference for promoting the participation of social capital in marine ecological restoration and improving the effectiveness and accuracy of marine environmental resource evaluation. Therefore, on the basis of the aforementioned analysis, the findings of this study not only contribute to the understanding of the dynamics influencing public engagement in marine ecological restoration but also offer practical insights for policy-makers and stakeholders to foster a more proactive and inclusive approach towards sustaining marine biodiversity and ecosystems, ensuring the long-term health and resilience of marine environments.