Environmental peer persuasion: How moral exporting and belief superiority relate to efforts to influence others

Abstract

Traditional research on environmental behavior has explored the predictors of behavior change as a function of intervention efforts from an authority. The current research examines self-reported environmental behavior outside of these contexts, and in particular demonstrates the value in asking who attempts to influence the environmental behaviors of their peers. Environmental moral exporting and environmental belief superiority both related to efforts to influence the environmental behaviors of others, albeit in different ways. People high in moral exporting were more active in their efforts to influence the environmental behaviors of others, preferred a two-way dialogue between individuals, and enjoyed such interactions. Alternatively, individuals high in environmental belief superiority put relatively less effort into influencing others, compared to those high in environmental moral exporting, and tended to avoid environmental conversations. When individuals high in environmental belief superiority did have those conversations, they were likely to get frustrated and attempted to dominate the conversations. This research demonstrates the value in asking who tries to influence the environmental behavior of others and how they do so.