Behavioral prediction of environmentally oriented anticonsumption and consumption: A multilevel study of five Eurobarometer surveys

Abstract

AbstractTo tackle climate change, greater public engagement is called for in actions that fall under the umbrella of environmentally oriented anticonsumption (EOA), in addition to environmentally oriented consumption (EOC) ones. This study examines potential behavioral effects on EOA and EOC actions in response to climate change, by placing attention on the EOA versus EOC distinction, as well as the behavioral domain and frequency of the selected behavioral outcomes and predictors. Multilevel analysis is conducted on a large‐scale, European pooled dataset (N = 137,097 respondents) combined with secondary country data at the societal level (N = 30 countries). The findings provide overall evidence for positive behavioral effects or spillovers on EOA and EOC behaviors in response to climate change, while emphasizing also the need to account for the specificity of different proenvironmental actions. Also, the findings show that positive spillovers are more likely among actions within the same EOA/EOC path of action, pertaining to the same behavioral category (i.e., intra‐domain, rather than inter‐domain spillovers), and having similar behavioral frequency characteristics (e.g., among non‐daily actions). The findings reported here improve understanding of the behavioral mechanisms behind environmental spillovers, for less‐researched EOA (and EOC) outcomes, in response to climate change, and cross‐nationally.