Environmental Locus Of Control Research Articles

Measuring environmental locus of control: An analysis of instruments and their psychometric properties

Locus of Control (LOC) is a general term used in social and educational psychology to refer to the perceived source of control for behavioural outcomes. Since the 1980s, various instruments have been developed to measure this construct in relation to pro-environmental behaviours and action. In this article, we revisit the value of this construct and its measurement to offer a critical analysis of the psychometric properties and instrument construction approach of eight publicly available Environmental Locus of Control (ELOC) instruments. Our analysis focuses on both the robustness of their instrumentation alongside the continued relevance of these measures to diverse audiences in light of various methodological advances. Findings suggest that while the theories and tools available for developing and validating ELOC have become more sophisticated, even the most recent ELOC instruments still exhibit key limitations, particularly in relation to content and construct validity. In light of this, we propose a series of considerations for developing more rigorous ELOC instruments to help improve future measurement of action and self-determined behaviour.

Saving Mr. Water: anthropomorphizing water promotes water conservation

Anthropomorphism refers to the assignment of human-like attributes to otherwise non-human entities. In the pro-environmentalism literature, there is indication that anthropomorphizing nature can promote green behaviors. The current research examines how anthropomorphizing water can promote water conservation behaviors via environmental locus of control—one primary impediment to people acting in an environmentally-friendly fashion. A randomized controlled field trial was carried out across three apartment buildings in Melbourne, Australia, from July 2018 to June 2019. At the end of the first six months, which served as our baseline, half of the households had received monthly water conservation tips within an e-mail newsletter format with water anthropomorphized; the other half received the same tips without anthropomorphism. In the latter six months, households in the experimental group consumed fewer liters of water than those in the control group. Our end-of-year survey revealed that anthropomorphizing water increased responding households’ internal environmental of control, which then encouraged water conservation behaviors. A follow-up laboratory experiment replicated the results within a controlled atmosphere. Both theoretical contributions and practical implications are discussed.

Lifestyle decisions and climate mitigation: current action and behavioural intent of youth

Youth carry the burden of a climate crisis not of their making, yet their accumulative lifestyle decisions will help determine the severity of future climate impacts. We surveyed 17–18 year old’s (N = 487) to establish their action stages for nine behaviours that vary in efficacy of greenhouse gas emission (GGE) reduction and the explanatory role of climate change (CC) knowledge, sociodemographic and belief factors. Acceptance of CC and its anthropogenic origins was high. However, the behaviours with the greatest potential for GGE savings (have no children/one less child, no car or first/next car will be electric, eat less meat) have the lowest uptake. Descriptive normative beliefs predicted intent to adopt all high-impact actions, while environmental locus of control, CC scepticism, knowledge of the relative efficacy of actions, religiosity and age were predictive of action stage for several mitigation behaviours (multinomial logistic regression). These findings inform policy and communication interventions that seek to mobilise youth in the global climate crisis response.

Being Spiritually Green

The article theoretically explores and empirically examines the relationship between spiritually motivated environmentalism (SME) and green purchasing intentions (GPI). Also, the mediating role of psychographic variables, namely environmental self-efficacy (ESE), environmental locus of control (ELOC), and environmental empathy (EE), were tested on the SME and GPI. A total of 223 Indian respondents filled out the administered questionnaire to validate the hypothesis, and collected data were analysed using SEM and Hayes's Parallel Multiple Mediation Model. The effect of SME was found significantly positive on GPI through ESE, ELOC, and EE. The findings from the study indicate that spirituality motivates green buying among consumers. Also, green purchasing augments in presence of consumers' self-efficacy, locus of control, and empathy towards environment.

Environmental segmentation: young millennials’ profile in an emerging economy

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to segment young millennials in an emerging economy based on their environmental attitudes and purchase intentions. The study also attempts to describe the segments and highlight their differences in terms of happiness, frugality, environmental locus of control, and environmental knowledge.Design/methodology/approachThe study sample consisted of 227 Turkish undergraduate students. A two-step cluster analysis was performed on environmental attitudes and purchase intentions scores. The differences among the clusters were then examined according to happiness, frugality, environmental locus of control, and environmental knowledge variables.FindingsA two-step cluster analysis identified three clusters, namely, “non-greens”, “reluctant greens” and “true greens”, all of whom differed in terms of environmental attitudes and purchase intentions. Non-greens (n = 16) and true greens (n = 121) yielded the lowest and the highest scores for environmental attitudes and purchase intentions, respectively. Three clusters also differed significantly in terms of frugality. Environmental knowledge levels of non-greens differed from those of reluctant greens and true greens. There is no significant difference regarding happiness and environmental locus of control among clusters.Practical implicationsLocal and international companies interested in marketing green products to young millennials in emerging economies may enhance their understanding of non-green and green young millennials in the target markets and differentiate their marketing strategies for each segment.Originality/valueGiven the need for a better understanding of young millennials’ environmental behavior in an emerging economy, the current study contributes to the literature by segmenting young Turkish millennials based on their environmental attitudes and purchase intentions, further describing the consumer segments with different variables such as happiness, frugality, environmental locus of control and environmental knowledge.

Who can improve the environment—Me or the powerful others? An integrative approach to locus of control and pro-environmental behavior in China

Many people think that only powerful institutions are effective to combat environmental problems, especially in government-guided countries such as China. This study contrasts people’s beliefs in their own abilities to improve the environment to their perceptions of other powers (e.g. government, corporations, higher powers, and earth-cycles). Previous research explored the impact of internal and external control beliefs on individuals’ pro-environmental behavior mostly separately in developed Western countries. Since China’s cultural and sociopolitical environment significantly differs from that of Western countries, we develop and test an integrated model of environmental locus of control (ELOC) to enlighten possible interactions and simultaneous effects in China. As expected, results indicate that internal ELOC generates positive effects on Chinese people’s behaviors. But contrary to our predictions, external ELOC is positively correlated with internal factors and also positively influences behaviors. The belief in one’s own abilities outperforms the belief in others to translate the confidence into reported behaviors. Nevertheless, Chinese perceive a higher level of governmental and corporate responsibility relative to their own environmental impacts which is driven by Confucian values (i.e. group orientation, belief in hierarchy). Compared to relatively consistent internal ELOC, the perceptions of most external ELOC factors significantly differ among provinces by levels of GDP per capita. Promotional programs should stress the individual’s significance through daily behaviors in specific ways such as green purchase, activism, advocate (e.g. persuasion of friends), and recycling. Communicating the impact of powerful institutions might not necessarily trigger responsibility diffusion, but seems to promote the sense of shared responsibility.

Antecedents of willingness to pay for green products

The main purpose of this paper is to examine whether there is a positive influence of pro-environmental behavior and environmental locus of control toward the willingness to pay for green products. The data obtained by distributing online and offline questionnaires, reaching 419 respondents of 18 to ≥55 years old that have the knowledge and already bought a green product. The purposive sampling was used as the sampling technique, and the data were tested by Statistical Equation Modeling (SEM).The results show that environmental locus of control does not positively affect pro-environmental behavior. However, the environmental locus of control and pro-environmental behavior do have a positive influence on the willingness to pay. Based on the findings, it is essential for green product companies to improve customers’ pro-environmental behavior and environmental locus of control. To do so, the marketer of green products should increase consumers’ concern, awareness, and behavior of conserving nature through activities such as campaigns and demonstrations.

Uncovering How and When Environmental Leadership Affects Employees’ Voluntary Pro-environmental Behavior

Environmental sustainability at the firm level is largely shaped by and dependent on individual-level pro-environmental behavior. Accordingly, investigating the antecedents of employees’ environmentally friendly behavior has become the focus of much scholarly inquiry. Research in this area has identified environmentally specific transformational leadership as an important antecedent. Little is known, however, about the mechanisms through which this type of leadership affects employees’ voluntary pro-environmental behavior, and the conditions under which any such effects are enhanced or attenuated. The present research sought to fill this gap. Data from 125 employee dyads revealed that environmentally specific transformational leadership directly and indirectly affects employees’ voluntary pro-environmental behavior, and the indirect effect is only present for employees who are moderate, high, and very high in environmental locus of control. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

The Relationship between a Campus Composting Program and Environmental Attitudes, Environmental Locus of Control, Compost Knowledge, and Compost Attitudes of College Students

Food waste is one of the most abundant materials contributing to landfills in the United States. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates 96% of uneaten food ends up in landfills. Food and other organic wastes generate potent greenhouse gases in the atmosphere precipitating global climate change. College campus cafeterias generate a large amount of food waste and some universities are making efforts to capture and compost food waste. The purpose of this study was to measure the relationship between participation in a university composting program and students’ environmental attitudes, environmental locus of control (refers to the belief that an individual’s actions play a direct role in the result of any affair), compost knowledge, and compost attitudes. Undergraduate and graduate students were given a survey, which included an environmental attitude scale, an environmental locus of control inventory and sections where students reported their composting habits, knowledge of the composting process, and how composting made them feel. A total of 660 surveys were collected from two universities, one that acted as the treatment and the other as the control group. The results indicated a statistically significant difference between the school with a composting program and the school without a composting program on the variables of environmental attitudes, environmental locus of control, and composting knowledge. Furthermore, composting attitudes were positively related to environmental attitudes, environmental locus of control, and compost knowledge at the university with a composting program. Demographic comparisons found differences within the treatment group on the composting attitude and knowledge and environmental attitude inventories but not locus of control.

Pro-environmental behaviour, locus of control and willingness to pay for environmental friendly products

Purpose – Marketers have realized the importance of assessing consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) before introducing green products across different target audience. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relative influence of consumers’ pro-environmental behaviours (PEBs) and environmental locus of control (ELOC) on their WTP for green products. Design/methodology/approach – The study sample consisted of 256 Indian consumers which were recruited with the help of convenience sampling. A structured questionnaire was administered with scales that were well established and that have been used in previous research. Data were analysed with the help of CFA and structural equation modelling to test the relationship of ELOC and PEB anon WTP. Second, clustering respondents according to their PEB and ELOC has been done to find its differential effect on WTP with the help of multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). Findings – Findings of the study highlight that WTP for green products is significantly predicted by two variables which are in following order: PEB and ELOC. Results of cluster analysis and MANOVA revealed that WTP differ significantly with the level of intensity of ELOC and PEB among Indian consumers. Research limitations/implications – It advances the body of knowledge centred on the interplay of the PEB and ELOC to WTP for green products. Additional work is clearly required to consider the wide range of potentially relevant variables like brand image, prices, advertisements and product quality that ensures the generalizability of findings. Practical implications – The hypothesis framed, tested and inferences made can form a basis of extremely valued toolkit for those green marketers who take caution when planning their marketing and communications strategies to stimulate the WTP by conveying a reason and motivation to act environmentally. Originality/value – In this study, an understanding of WTP for green products is developed. The much required knowledge gap in terms of interplay of ELOC and PEB on WTP has been filled with the help of the present study. It has been identified that those consumer groups who displays higher PEB and ELOC forms the primary target audience for green product marketer.

The Relationship between Pro-Environmental Behavior and its Antecedents under the Background of Low-Carbon Society

Methods of questionnaires were employed to investigate 1034 university students in Beijing and Inner Mongolia. The relationship among environmental concern, low-carbon pro-environmental behaviors and Environmental locus of control and the moderator effect of Environmental locus of control were examined. The results indicated that, the level of female students environmental concern was significantly higher than that of male students. Mongolian students showed higher level of environmental concern and environmental locus of control than Han and other minority nationality students. A hierarchy regression analysis found environmental locus of control was a moderator between environmental concern and two types of pro-environmental behaviors.

The Influence of Message Appeal, Environmental Hyperopia, and Environmental Locus of Control on Green Policy Communication

I examined message appeal in green policy communication by clarifying the moderating roles of environmental hyperopia and individual differences in environmental locus of control. The results suggested that a guilt appeal had a greater effect in 2 conditions, that is, when a global issue was promoted to consumers with an external locus of control, or when a local issue was promoted to consumers with an internal locus of control. Guilt appeals were no more effective than nonguilt appeals when a local issue was presented to individuals with an external locus of control. The guilt appeal backfired in that, when a global issue was promoted to individuals with an internal locus of control, the nonguilt appeal was more persuasive than the guilt appeal. Implications for researchers, nonprofit marketers, and public policymakers are discussed.

Shades of green: linking environmental locus of control and pro‐environmental behaviors

PurposeThe purpose of this research was to examine the impact of various attitudes and personality characteristics on environmentally‐friendly behaviors, from a locus of control (LOC) perspective. Specifically, we developed and tested a model linking a related construct, environmental locus of control (ELOC), to a series of pro‐environmental behaviors.Design/methodology/approachThe context related to various personal and household behaviors vis‐à‐vis the environment, and the subject pool consisted of a diverse group of urban consumers. A survey was employed to measure various attitudinal and personality variables corresponding to internal/external locus of control, as well as a battery of pro‐environmental behaviors. The research propositions were tested using a structural equation modeling approach.FindingsWe found four distinct dimensions of ELOC, two of which relate to an external LOC (“biospheric‐altruism” and “corporate skepticism”) and the other two relate to an internal LOC (“economic motivation” and “individual recycling efforts”). We then linked these four dimensions to a variety of pro‐environmental behaviors. Highly variable patterns were obtained, with different dimensions assuming a greater or lesser impact, or no role at all, depending on the specific behavior under analysis.Research limitations/implicationsGeneralizability of the findings is limited due to the sample (urban consumers from one major city), and the method employed (validity of self‐report measures and the non‐experimental nature of the field study).Practical implicationsOur findings highlight the importance of considering the specificity of pro‐environmental behaviors, when assessing the antecedent roles of pro‐environmental attitudes/dispositions, which are in‐and‐of‐themselves, complex and multidimensional.Originality/valueIn this era of environmental degradation, researchers, managers, and public policy makers alike need to consider that pro‐environmental attitudes are composed of multiple dispositional facets, and that the role of these facets is highly context‐specific.

Environmental Locus of Control, Sympathy, and Proenvironmental Behavior

Geller hypothesized a mediational model of environmentally responsible behavior. Specifically, Geller proposed that “actively caring,” a component of altruism, mediated the relation between environmentally responsible behaviors and personality factors related to self-affirmation (i.e., self-esteem, belonging, and personal control). The present study tested this hypothesis. Participants completed a lengthy questionnaire that assessed their levels of self-esteem, belonging and personal control, dispositional levels of actively caring (i.e., sympathy for others), and environmentally friendly behaviors. Results were largely consistent with Geller’s model. Specifically, sympathy, the proxy measure of actively caring used in this study, mediated the relation between personal control and environmentally friendly behaviors.