Zrównoważona konsumpcja w pułapce: niezgodność postaw i zachowań oraz jej racjonalizacja

Jolanta Zrałek

doi:10.17951/h.2017.51.2.281

Abstract

The main finding which derives from the research on sustainable consumption discloses that although consumers’ attitudes toward the concept of sustainability are positive, individuals relatively rarely follow sustainability rules in their daily life. This phenomenon called attitude-behavior gap has not been clearly explained. Some authors, relying on Ajzen’s theory of planned behavior, seek to clarify it through the lens of rationalization techniques. The objective of this article is to describe the phenomenon of attitude-behavior gap as well as to explain the techniques of rationalization and identify them on the example of Polish consumers. This goal is achieved by presenting the results of literature analysis and introducing selected outcomes of qualitative field research.

Highlights

Along with the development of sustainability concept, more and more attention has been focused on sustainable consumption (SC)
A growing body of research concerning sustainable consumption focuses on the attitude-behavior gap and its possible grounds
As a variable incorporated into the theory of planned behavior (TPB), neutralization influences both the ultimate behavior and its antecedents

Summary

Introduction

Along with the development of sustainability concept, more and more attention has been focused on sustainable consumption (SC). 667–669], when examining the issues of delinquency, significantly developed the research in this field by identifying five major types of neutralization techniques These authors indicated: “the denial of responsibility” – the person is not personally responsible for a violation of social norms because of external factors he/she cannot influence, “the denial of injury” – a certain behavior is wrong it is tolerable because nobody was harmed, “the denial of the victim” – a victim is the one, who did something wrong and the current injury is only a kind of punishment for this previous misbehavior, “the condemnation of the condemners” – those who condemn the norm violating behavior engage in similar actions, and “the appeal to higher loyalties” – the person misbehave because he/she is trying to attain the higher order goals

Objectives

Methods

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Conclusion