Individual Pro-environmental Behavior Research Articles

Pro-environmental behavior and the theory of planned behavior: a state of the art science mapping

PurposeThis science mapping analysis aims to discern current, emerging and future trends of pro-environmental behavior and the theory of planned behavior (TPB).Design/methodology/approachBibliometric analysis through bibliographic coupling and co-word analysis were used to reveal the progress of this phenomenon. Of the 1,120 documents search in Web of Science (WoS) database, 1,031 were used in this analysis after restricting to journal publications and studies after the year 2000.FindingsThe results show that four themes emerged, namely the fundamentals of TPB for pro-environmental behavior, antecedents of pro-environmental behavior, integration of TPB with the norm activation model and value belief theory and studies of pro-environmental behavior in developing countries. Environmental concern, environmental awareness, environmental knowledge and environmental education were the most commonly integrated variables.Research limitations/implicationsThis research is unique in the sense that the integration between TPB and other prominent theories of pro-environmental behavior is vital to predict individual pro-environmental behavior and understand the fundamental scientific importance of the domain. The norm activation model has been integrated with TPB in many pro-environmental behaviors. Mainstream media stakeholders should design and implement a plan for strategic communication and awareness campaigns in the community to encourage consumers to engage in many behaviors that lead to environmental sustainability.Originality/valueThis study presents a science mapping approach to uncover crucial knowledge structure related to pro-environmental behavior and the theory of planned behavior.

Crucial to Me and my society: How collectivist culture influences individual pro-environmental behavior through environmental values

While numerous studies have verified the norm-sustainability relationship, few have delved deeply into this set of relationships. To address this research gap, this study theoretically analyzes the roles of collectivist culture and individual self-construal in the norm-sustainability relationship in the Asian context. Drawing on the value-basis theory and the competitive altruism hypothesis and employing cultural data from an Asian context with hierarchical regression analysis, empirical findings indicate that collectivist culture positively promotes pro-environmental behavior, with altruistic values and biospheric values mediating this positive relationship. At the same time, individual socioeconomic status positively moderates the norm-sustainability relationship. The theoretical contribution of this study lies in theoretically identifying collectivist culture as a deep-seated cultural factor triggering the norm-sustainability relationship in the Asian context. Examining the moderating role of self-construal in the norm-sustainability relationship sheds light on the reasons for the gap between individual pro-environmental behavioral intentions and actions in the Asian context. Lastly, this study provides a new cultural perspective for understanding the formation of biospheric values. Policy implications suggest a focus on the collective atmosphere of collectivism in Asia to stimulate individual environmental responsibility alongside the cultivation of rational environmental perspectives to balance participation across socioeconomic strata in societal and economic development.

Pushing toward systemic change in the Capitalocene: Investigating the efficacy of existing behavior prediction models on individual and collective pro-environmental actions in high school students

Environmental education often advocates for individual pro-environmental behavior—which, while beneficial to a degree, fails to match the large scale of today’s capitalism-fueled socio-ecological challenges. Rather, collective action holds promise as a means for the large-scale changes required in the Capitalocene. These actions can take the shape of encouraging group uptake of behaviors (collective non-activist behaviors) or through fostering system change (collective activist behaviors). This study works to understand how well the environmental literacy framework combined with the theory of planned behavior predicts collective environmental behaviors, using North Carolina high school students as a study population. We find that, while these models effectively predict student engagement in individual environmental behaviors (adjusted R2 = 0.39), they are less accurate at predicting engagement in collective non-activist behaviors (adjusted R2 = 0.17) and collective activist behaviors (adjusted R2 = 0.10). Thus, more research and theory-building are needed to understand what drives collective behavior among youth and beyond.

Age differences and profiles in pro-environmental behavior and eco-emotions

Previous research suggests that age-related differences in pro-environmental behavior (PEB) and the emotional reactions to climate change could originate from generational as well as aging effects and can be influenced by the opportunities and constraints of life circumstances and resources. The current research aimed to better understand age differences through examining the eco-emotions and PEBs of different age groups, and identifying latent groups differing on these variables. In Sample 1, adults from the general population ( n = 4,685) filled out questionnaires assessing eco-anxiety, eco-guilt, and ecological grief and answered 12 questions about their PEBs. In Sample 2 (A), the same PEB questions were answered by high school students ( n = 112) and in Sample 2 (P) by one of their parents ( n = 112). There were no age differences in the overall PEB score, but we found significant, nonlinear differences between age groups in almost all individual PEBs. Eco-friendly clothing and using greener transport were more common in the younger age groups, while older age groups had higher scores in conservation, recycling, reduced meat consumption, and boycotting. Students were less likely to recycle, use reusable bags, eat less meat and save water than their parents, but more likely to use greener transportation. Five latent groups emerged on the eco-emotions and PEB measures. Young adults had a higher probability of belonging to the medium/higher anxiety groups than the older generations, except for those in their 70s. Groups with higher emotional concern showed higher behavioral involvement. Since most participants showed a moderate level of worry, this emotional reaction appears a normative response to the climate crisis and also a possible starting point for promoting PEBs. The findings also suggest that each generation has its preferences in terms of PEBs, and it is worthwhile to address each of the different PEBs separately.

Pro-environmental behaviours of generation Z: A cross-cultural approach

AbstractThe mitigation and adaptation strategies to deal with climate change have not been effective so far and we still observe the effects derived from this problem. This paper aims to explore the determinants of individual pro-environmental behaviour of Generation Z, given the relevance of this generational cohort in society. Quantitative research is conducted based on 1050 valid questionnaires from Generation Z Colombian, Mexican and Brazilian citizens. The hypothesised relationships were tested through a structural equation model estimated using the partial least squares (PLS) regression technique. In addition, a multi-group analysis was carried out to examine potential differences among groups of different nationalities. The results support that the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) adequately models human behaviour and that beliefs generate attitude and subsequently behaviour. However, when it comes to environmental issues, other factors such as environmental disaffection, intrinsic motivations and environmental participation are also relevant. From a theoretical point of view, this study proposes an innovative model supported by the literature. Besides, from a practical point of view, it provides an orientation to guide organisational representatives or leaders in climate change mitigation based on behavioural prediction. Finally, the contribution of this study lies in proposing an innovative model that is combined with the TPB to explain a trend of pro-environmental behaviour in generation Z, evaluating it from different perspectives with members of three different nationalities.

Measuring Individual Pro-Environmental Behavior Transformation: Contextualizing Individual Learning Behavior

This paper proposes an experimental design that policy makers can use to reduce and minimize the environmental catastrophes. This paper uses an experimental design and questionnaire survey to assess the effectiveness of students’ participatory approach to achieve pro-environmental behavior (PEB) and behavioral change strategy. The experiment comprises of assessing the effectiveness of (1) a video on the environmental catastrophe, (2) pictorial reading materials on environmental catastrophe, (3) a labbased simulated eco-tourism trip, and (4) the socialization process towards building PEB. Three time-phase studies could be employed as a participatory form of PEB. The first phase will assess the pro-environmental attributes; the second phase will be the experimental-based treatment; and the third phase assess the behavioral change (the third phase will assess the behavioral change through the same set of questionnaires as stage one). We will assess the changes based on the questionnaire surveys (phase 3 minus phase 1). The four stimuli will be administered randomly (each respondent will get the four sequences of the stimulus differently; the reason is to minimize the sequence order bias of the stimulus). The findings have the potential to position the effectiveness of different stimuli in promoting positive PEB outcomes among individuals. Through the study, we hope a major change will occur around the globe through the manifestations of the four stimuli to understand how it will affect behavioral change. We propose to target the student groups as they are the voices of the future, and their behavior has important implications for now and the future.
 Keywords: video on the environmental catastrophe, pictorial reading materials on environmental catastrophe, lab-based simulated eco-tourism trip, socialization process, pro-environmental behavior

Individual pro-environmental behaviour

Individual pro-environmental behaviour

Protect the environment for impressing others? Understanding whether, why, and when relational mobility shapes individual pro-environmental behaviors

Despite a substantial body of literature on pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs), there has been an overlook of whether and how broader social contexts (relational mobility in particular) may shape PEBs. Integrating the perspective of the person-context interaction with impression management theory, our research aims to understand whether, why, and when relational mobility, an important societal factor, impacts individual self-reported PEBs. Study 1 utilized a national representative dataset and found that relational mobility was positively associated with PEBs. Study 2 replicated this result using a new sample, and further found that relational mobility increased PEBs via impression management motivation. Finally, Study 3 was conducted with an experimental design, revealing that environmental self-identity strengthened the mediating effect identified in Study 2. The findings highlight that PEBs can be shaped by broader environmental factors via impression management motivation, which provides practical implications for promoting environmental sustainability.

Imperceptible, Entertaining: The Impact of Gamification on Public Friendly Environmental Behavior

Faced with growing pressure for environmental sustainability, many companies are exploring innovative ways to incorporate “green” practices into their day-to-day processes. The purpose of this study was to explore the impact mechanism of gamified empowerment mediated by environmental identity and user engagement on pro-environmental behaviors, and to conduct data analysis based on the questionnaires of 341 participants. The study found that: gamification has a positive impact on users’ environmental identity and user fit; environmental identity and user fit can promote the generation and continuation of pro-environmental behavior; environmental identity and user fit play an intermediary role in individual pro-environmental behavior effect. The research enriches the related research on gamification and pro-environmental behavior, and provides suggestions for the development and design of green information systems.

Assessing environmental profiles: An analysis of water consumption and waste recycling habits

Individual pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors are determinant for long-term sustainability. We assessed profiles of an exclusive sample of 1351 households in the municipality of Gijón, Spain, in terms of their water consumption and recycling patterns using Latent Class Analysis (LCA). This methodology allows for households to be classified into groups without imposing any ad hoc criteria and provides information on the determinants of belonging to each group. The database includes the water consumption, self-reported environmental attitudes, and socioeconomic characteristics of the households. The results showed four significant household groups, where smaller families located in urban areas containing at least one homemaker and equipped with water efficient devices are more likely to present the best pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors related to water use and recycling habits. Furthermore, we found that providing better information in terms of water billing and the environmental impact of human behavior also fosters environmentally friendly habits.

An analysis of the factors influencing pro-environmental behavioural intentions on climate change in the university community

Universities play an essential role in promoting economic prosperity, social welfare and environmental protection through education and research. However, discrepancies have been pointed out between what consumers express about their environmental concerns and their environmental behaviour is, thus posing a challenge for the effective adaptation and mitigation of climate change. The purpose of this study is to analyse the sequence ‘beliefs-attitudes-behaviours’ applying the Theory of Planned Behaviour to the context of the university community. To achieve this objective, the hypothesised relations are tested using Partial Least Squares structural equation modeling in a sample of 1991 responses from students and staff at nine Latin American universities. Results show that beliefs and attitudes positively influence intrinsic motivation towards participation in actions related to climate change, and this, together with attitude, influences the pro-environmental behaviour of the university community. Neither extrinsic motivations or individual pro-environmental behaviour do not influence conduct as a member of the community. Affiliation (student vs. employee) moderates some of these relationships. A series of implications for university administrators (e.g., actions oriented towards raising awareness, identification of suitable incentives) are inferred to promote the participation of the community members in pro-environmental actions.

The effect of future-time referencing on pro-environmental behavior

Can the way a language encodes time influence speakers’ pro-environmental behavior? In a controlled experimental setting, we take advantage of a linguistic feature of the German language that allows speakers to use either the present or future tense when referring to an event in the future. Depending on the treatment, participants read a text about the future impacts of climate change and tree planting written in either the present or future tense. We then measured pro-environmental behavior using an incentivized task that represents a trade-off between individual immediate financial rewards and planting trees as long-term environmental gains. The results reveal a positive effect of future tense marking on the number of trees planted. We discuss construal level theory, timing precision, future orientation, and certainty of the occurrence of future climate events as potential mechanisms to explain why future-time referencing might affect individual pro-environmental behavior.

The Role of Social Norms and Personal Costs on Pro-Environmental Behavior: The Mediating Role of Personal Norms.

Pro-environmental behavior necessitates individuals to make personal sacrifices, such as spending more money on environmentally-friendly products to benefit the environment. Realistically, individuals may not be willing to engage in pro-environmental behavior based self-interest. The increase in personal pro-environmental behavior has become an urgent issue in the field of environmental psychology. The present study adopted green consumption paradigm to explore the internal mechanisms of pro-environmental behavior at different personal costs, the role of social and personal norms on pro-environmental behavior, which can promote individual pro-environmental behavior. In our experiment, participants first were instructed to read texts unrelated and related to social norms in sequence. Participants subsequently completed the product choice task, which involved making choices between buying green (eco-friendly) products or cheaper (self-interested) common products, a method to measure pro-environment behavior. Finally, the participants completed the personal norms scale and social norms check. The findings of present study indicated that pro-environmental behavior decreased as personal costs increased. However, social norms effectively promoted individuals' pro-environmental behavior, and personal norms played a mediating role at high personal costs. Our findings indicate that individuals tend to choose cheaper common products that are harmful to the natural environment in self-interest. However, we discuss the implications for the use of social norms as a social marketing technique, which extends the Norm Activation Model.

Examining the Factors That Contribute to Pro-Environmental Behaviour between Rural and Urban Populations

Factors that influence pro-environmental behaviour in individuals can be examined to assess the influence of a single element or combination of elements. In this study, eight factors were investigated for their influence on pro-environmental behaviour: environmental knowledge, environmental attitude, the influence of others, environmental responsibility, age, qualification level, employment status and locality (rural or urban). These factors were established from behavioural theory in the field of psychology, specifically the theory of planned behaviour. Data were collected via an online questionnaire, for which the participants were scored on answers to pro-environmental behaviour questions, which, in turn, were correlated against established influences of such behaviour. A multiple linear regression analysis examined the level of significance that environmental knowledge, environmental attitude, the influence of others and environmental responsibility had on predicting an individual’s level of pro-environmental behaviour. An ordinal logistic regression examined the level of significance that age, qualification level, employment status and locality (rural or urban) had on predicting levels of pro-environmental behaviour. The analyses did not detect a statistically significant relationship between any of the independent variables on individual pro-environmental behaviour. However, the level of contribution of each factor provides insights into approaches that can be used in policy formation in the education and marketing domains.

Marine citizenship: The right to participate in the transformation of the human-ocean relationship for sustainability.

Marine citizenship is a relatively new field of enquiry and research to date has focused on individual pro-environmental behaviour change as an expression of responsibility towards the ocean. The field is underpinned by knowledge-deficit and technocratic approaches to behaviour change such as awareness raising, ocean literacy, and environmental attitudes research. In this paper we develop an interdisciplinary and inclusive conceptualisation of marine citizenship. We use mixed methods to study the views and experiences of active marine citizens in the United Kingdom to broaden understandings of marine citizens' characterisation of marine citizenship, and their perceptions of its importance in policy- and decision-making. Our study shows that marine citizenship entails more than individual pro-environmental behaviours, and includes public-facing and socially collective political actions. We contextualise the role of knowledge, finding more complexity than normative knowledge-deficit approaches permit. We illustrate the importance of a rights-based framing of marine citizenship which incorporates political and civic rights to participate in the transformation of the human-ocean relationship for sustainability. Recognising this more inclusive approach to marine citizenship, we propose an expanded definition to support further exploration of the multiple dimensions and complexities of marine citizenship and to enhance its benefits for marine policy and management.

Aportes de la filosofía para niños y niñas a la educación ecosocial

Today, people are better informed about environmental degradation than ever before. However, this does not imply that people are more engaged toward ecological issues nor are they more committed to achieve greater ecological justice. In this respect, environmental education is paradigmatic: the current generation of young people is, by far and without any doubt, the most knowledgeable and aware of environmental problems thanks, among other things, to the presence since the end of the 20th century of environmental education in primary and secondary school. However, levels of commitment to ecological issues that are significantly higher than before are not observed, except when it comes to individual pro-environmental behavior. How to link environmental awareness with a collective, political, ecosocial and ecocitizen commitment? In order to advance avenues for reflection on this issue, firstly this article presents the elements that characterize the current ecosocial crisis. Secondly, it addresses the ecosocial crisis as a crisis of knowledge that ultimately points to the challenge of transforming the visions of the world. Thirdly, it considers the ecosocial crisis as an opportunity that opens up the possibility of creating new worlds on the planet. Fourthly, the ecosocial crisis is presented as a crisis of contemporary education. Fifthly, it summarizes the two risks to consider in the practice of ecosocial education: the risk of dogmatism and the risk of blaming individuals for global problems. Finally, some clues are proposed that point to the Philosophy for children program as a program that can support the educational practice needed by the current educational and ecosocial crisis, as well as limits recognized risks of ecosocial education.

Research on the consequences of employees' unethical pro-organizational behavior: The moderating role of moral identity.

In recent years, employees' unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPB) has become a social hot issue. This behavior benefits their organization or colleagues while violating core social ethics. Numerous studies have predominately focused on identifying the antecedents and formation mechanisms of UPB. However, only a few studies have focused on the effects and outcomes of UPB. Moreover, guilt triggered by unethical behaviors can motivate individuals to adopt pro-social behaviors, but studies on the effects of UPB on pro-social behavior of actors are rather limited. Therefore, this study explores the underlying relationship between employees' UPB and their own pro-environmental behavior based on the conservation of resources theory. Through collecting data (N = 319) from a Chinese online survey company in different time intervals, the theoretical model was tested by the application of Amos 27.0 and SPSS 25.0 for analysis of the data. The CFA, descriptive analysis, hierarchical regression were illustrated in the article. This study demonstrated that, through emotions of guilt, employees' UPB is negatively correlated with their own environmental protection act. While this relationship is being examined, moral identity plays this mediating role, which can moderate the indirect relationship between employees' UPB and their environmental behavior through guilt. The purpose of the research was to identify the influence mechanisms that contribute to employees' pro-organizational but unethical behavior. With guilt serving as the mediating variable and moral identity serving as the moderating variable, a research model built on the principle of the conservation of resources theory was constructed. This research examines the impact mechanism and boundary conditions of UPB on individual pro-environmental behaviors from the perspective of employees. This paper discusses the theoretical and practical implications of the report's results.

Residents' preference for the management of green tides and its determinants: The evidence from Qingdao, China

Green tides, which cause serious harm to the marine ecological environment, have become a serious and recurrent environmental event in China. This paper investigates the residents' willingness to pay for the governance of green tides. The results show that residents' willingness to pay (WTP) for the complete disappearance of green tides and the restoration of coastal environment to the state before green tides reaches 68.59 CNY/a (US $ 9.85) on average. Additionally, the study uses self-identity and information concern to reflect the differences of residents' intrinsic characteristics and the onslaught of the extrinsic information to empirically analyze the sources of the preference differentials. Risk perception, moral norms, and self-efficacy are further introduced to observe the influence mechanism. The results indicate that moral norms are the most important factors affecting the WTP, and a direct relationship between information concern and residents' WTP is observed. Self-identity does not show a direct impact on residents' preference, however, has an indirect influence through moral norms and self-efficacy. This paper helps to increase individual pro-environmental behaviors and provides references for the management of green tides.

Integrating prosocial and proenvironmental behaviors: the role of moral disengagement and peer social norms

Prosocial behaviors, and more recently, proenvironmental behaviors, have been proposed as two dimensions of an overarching disposition towards the common good. Both behaviors imply a moral dimension and are influenced by the social contexts in which they unfold. In the present study we test these associations, assessing the effect of moral disengagement and peer social norms on prosocial and proenvironmental behaviors. We analyzed the first data wave of an ongoing longitudinal study including 704 Chilean adolescents (301 male, 378 female and 25 do not answer; from 6th to 10th graders). Structural Equation Models showed that prosocial and proenvironmental behaviors were significantly associated with each other, and both with moral disengagement. Direct and cross effects of peer social norms were found for prosocial and proenvironmental behaviors. Moreover, peer social norms on proenvironmental behavior moderated the association between moral disengagement and individual proenvironmental behavior, but the same moderation effect for prosocial norms was not observed. These results highlight the moral nature of prosocial and proenvironmental behaviors and the relevant role that peers have in promoting these behaviors. Results are further discussed regarding their educational and developmental implications.

Effects of Group Emotion and Moral Belief on Pro-Environmental Behavior: The Mediating Role of Psychological Clustering.

An important topic in ecological environmental protection concerns the determination of a method to guide individual pro-environmental behavior from the dual perspectives of immediate intervention and long-term shaping. This research analyzed the influence of group emotions and moral beliefs on the pro-environmental behavior of residents and introduces the concept of the “psychological cluster” to explore the mediating effect of the “psychological cluster” on group emotions, moral beliefs, the pro-environmental behavior of residents, and its various dimensions. The results of a questionnaire survey, factor analysis, regression analysis, and other methods showed that group emotions and moral beliefs can significantly the predict pro-environmental behaviors of residents, and moral beliefs have a significant impact on basic pro-environmental behaviors. Each dimension of the psychological cluster has a significant effect on pro-environmental behavior. Among them, the psychological cluster has the most significant effect on the citizen-type pro-environmental behavior. That is to say, when individuals are passionate about environmental causes, and feel angry and guilty about damaging the environment, they will be encouraged to actively participate in environmental protection activities in public places and give advice on environmental protection. Group emotion and moral belief can drive the occurrence of a psychological cluster, which leads to the generation of group behavior. In other words, psychological clustering acts as a “middleman” between group emotion, moral belief, and pro-environmental behavior of residents. However, its influence is not completely mediated via the psychological cluster. In summary, the psychological cluster plays a partial mediating role in the relationship between group emotion, moral belief, and the pro-environmental behavior of residents. Finally, corresponding policy suggestions are put forward based on this research.