The influence of narrative transportation on university students' environmental intentions: A serial mediation of empathy with nature and environmental Attitudes

Abstract

This paper aims to explain how narrative transportation influences the environmental intentions of university students at five universities in Hebei, China. It also examines the mediating roles of empathy with nature and environmental attitudes, as well as the serial role. A survey was conducted involving 347 university students to test the proposed hypotheses. This was followed by a qualitative approach that involved examining interviews. The study findings indicate that narrative transportation directly and indirectly influences environmental intentions. Additionally, empathy with nature and environmental attitudes have an indirect impact on environmental intentions through the serial role, enhancing environmental intentions. The novelty of this research model lies in the environmental education-centered operationalization of narrative transportation theory. The use of a mixed-methods approach in this study contributes to a better understanding of the proposed relationships and offers concrete suggestions for educational practices.