Self-reported Pro-environmental Behavior Research Articles

The various forms of anger about climate change in Australia and their relations with self-reported actions, intentions, and distress

Action on societal issues is often precipitated by feelings of anger. This has been demonstrated reliably for responses to social inequality, but less for other issues. We build on nascent research documenting the links between climate anger, pro-environmental action, and psychological distress, by focusing on the contents of eco-anger. Using a sample of 5,244 Australians, we found that 48.6% reported being at least ‘somewhat’ angry about climate change. Content analyses of the focus of this anger revealed diverse reasons for people’s anger. The most common focus was others’ inaction and apathy on climate change, followed by anger directed at deniers, and at big polluters. Altogether, we identified 13 major categories of anger in our corpus of data. In further exploratory analyses, we examined the correlations between anger forms, self-reported pro-environmental behaviour, collective action intentions, and distress. Our findings suggest that behavioural engagement with climate change could depend, in part, on why people are angry.

Exploring students’ pro-environmental knowledge and behaviour perceptions: a mixed methods investigation

This study explored university students’ pro-environmental knowledge and self-reported pro-environmental behaviours, and the influence of environmental education on their knowledge, beliefs and behaviour. This study also investigated the difference in forming pro-environmental behaviours across gender types and academic majors. The Theory of Planned Behaviour was used to frame the study and to understand if knowledge and beliefs translate into pro-environmental behaviours. A mixed-method approach was taken to achieve the research objectives. The participants comprised of 226 undergraduate students from a leading university in Saudi Arabia. A questionnaire and interview protocol were used to collected data. Descriptive statistical analysis, t-tests, One-way ANOVA, post-hoc tests and thematic analysis were used to analyse the data sets. The results of the study showed that knowledge gained from formal environmental education does not translate to pro-environmental behaviours. This study highlights the need to promote pro-environmental behaviour in university settings by eliminating obstacles to pro-environmental actions.

Linking students’ interest in nature to their self-reported pro-environmental behavior and nature activities – A cross-sectional study in grade 5 to 9

To promote pro-environmental behavior (PEB), it is crucial to understand the drivers behind it. Studies indicate that, in addition to environmental attitudes and nature activities, interest in nature drives people to engage in PEB. However, the relationship between interest in nature and PEB is still greatly understudied among adolescents even though the foundations for PEB seem to be laid during childhood. Therefore, our study focuses specifically on the link between adolescents’ interest in nature, their nature activities, and PEB. We collected self-reported cross-sectional data from 954 German school students using the Scale of Interest in Nature (SIN) and the General Ecological Behavior Scale (GEB). Findings indicate a decline in interest in nature, PEB, and nature activities from grade 5 to 9, while also revealing a significant positive correlation between all these constructs. Results highlight the importance of fostering interest in nature in environmental education programs and suggest including it in further research.

Should the risk of social desirability bias in survey studies be assessed at the level of each pro-environmental behaviour?

Social desirability bias is the tendency of individuals to over-report behaviour viewed favourably by society, such as environmentally sustainable behaviour. The currently prevalent approach to managing social desirability bias in survey studies is to include a set of additional questions to determine a respondent's person-specific social desirability bias, which can also be used as a correction factor. Yet, the pooled correlation between person-specific social desirability and self-reported pro-environmental behaviour is weak. Our study challenges the currently dominant approach. We propose an alternative approach that uses a behaviour-specific indicator. The behaviour-specific indicator captures the social evaluation of the behaviour and perceived embarrassment when admitting to the behaviour. The analysis of the associations between person-specific and behaviour-specific social desirability bias indicators and 11 self-reported behaviours suggests that the behaviour-specific approach has a higher ability to alert researchers to the risk of socially desirable responding in self-report survey studies.

Direct Experience of Nature as a Predictor of Environmentally Responsible Behaviors

A small but growing body of literature suggests that outdoor experiences during childhood affect environment-related behaviors in adulthood. However, research on the magnitude of the effect (effect size) of outdoor experience on learners’ behaviors remains scarce. In this study, we explored the extent to which outdoor experiences are associated with environmentally responsible behaviors. Our sample consisted of 143 ninth- and tenth-grade students living on a Greek island. The data were collected using a properly adjusted environmental literacy instrument. Two different methodological pathways, i.e., a quasi-experimental approach and correlation analysis, were used to analyze the data. A tentative variable representing the frequency and intensity of students’ experiential contact with nature was found to be the strongest available predictor of their self-reported pro-environmental behaviors. The findings of this study support the significance of outdoor, experiential learning during childhood in shaping individuals’ environmental behaviors.

Insights into eco-anxiety in Italy: Preliminary psychometric properties of the Italian version of the Hogg Eco-anxiety Scale, age and gender distribution

Eco-anxiety is a topic of extreme importance in Italy. The present study aimed to assess the preliminary psychometric properties of the Italian version of the Hogg Eco-Anxiety Scale (HEAS). Different internal structures of the HEAS were compared through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and the four-factor model met the best criteria for adequacy of fit. Affective symptoms, rumination, behavioral symptoms, and anxiety about one's negative impact on the planet are the dimensions captured by the 13 items of the HEAS, consistent with the results of the original study. Results highlight good internal consistency for all four subscales of the HEAS making it an adequate instrument to assess eco-anxiety in Italy and enrich research on the topic. Correlations with Climate Change Anxiety Scale, New Ecological Paradigm Scale-Revised, and Self-Reported Pro-Environmental Behaviours were examined. Gender, age distribution and mean differences between countries were also explored.

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.

The Role of Personality in the Adoption of Pro-Environmental Behaviors through the Lens of the Value-Belief-Norm Theory

The present study investigated citizens’ self-reported pro-environmental behaviors by adopting a survey and bootstrapping via structural equation modeling for five different personality traits. Adopting one traditional psycho-social theory, this study investigates how motivations, values, intentions, norms, and behaviors are connected by using different constructs from the value-belief-norm theory extended with external influences and three different pro-environmental behaviors, namely, waste preventer, green consumer, and avoider, and how the connections change between different personality traits from the Big Five personality test, namely, openness, extroversion, neuroticism, agreeableness, and consciousness. According to this study, personal conscience may inspire environmentally beneficial behaviors like green purchasing and waste reduction when appealing to the emotions of the general public. As a result, strengthening the population’s subjective norms requires interventions that concentrate on communication tactics to raise knowledge of penalties and obligations for communal advantages.

Spillover of Social Norms at Work On Employees’ Self-Reported Private Sphere Pro-Environmental Behaviour: A Mixed Method Investigation

AbstractThis article draws on the Focus Theory of Normative Conduct to examine whether injunctive social norms relating to perceived environmental management practices shape employees’ self-reported pro-environmental behaviour in their private sphere. To test our hypotheses, we employed a mixed methods research approach that involved a cross-sectional analysis and a pretest-posttest quasi-experimental field study in the German tourist industry. Our results verify the context-bridging influence of perceived environmental management practices on employees’ self-reported private sphere pro-environmental behaviour. Further, they reveal that this relationship is partially mediated by descriptive social norms among co-workers. Thereby, our findings shed light on a thus far neglected dynamic between injunctive and descriptive social norms that constitutes a pathway for contextual spillover. Our study thus challenges the prominent proposition that the influence of injunctive social norms remains restricted to contexts in which the norm is currently salient. The results further develop existing theory by demonstrating how a dynamic interaction between injunctive and descriptive norms can support the emergence and dissemination of social norms across contexts and they reveal how businesses can shape this process.

Development and Validation of the Climate Capability Scale

Climate change poses a serious existential threat to life on our planet. If we are to mitigate the most damaging impacts of climate change, there is a need for citizens who are willing and able to make changes to their individual behaviours, but who are also politically engaged and motivated to participate in, and advocate for, systemic change; there is a need for citizens who are Climate Capable. However, there is no scale currently available with which to measure the climate capability of adults and adolescents. Through an iterative process across three studies with 849 UK adults, we developed and validated a 24-item Climate Capability Scale. In a further study, with 458 UK adolescent participants (aged 12–15), we validated the scale for use with adolescents. We demonstrate that the scale is internally consistent, has good test–retest reliability, correlates with measures of related constructs such as environmental worldview and scientific literacy, and predicts self-reported pro-environmental behaviour. The Climate Capability Scale may have particular value in educational and public engagement contexts for measuring the effectiveness of programs and interventions designed to increase Climate Capability, as well as similar approaches to heighten engagement with the climate crisis.

Identifying bias in self-reported pro-environmental behavior

Research on pro-environmental behavior (PEB) informs social policies and interventions, so the quality of PEB measurement is critical. Self-reported PEB measures in surveys often contain non-negligible measurement error that can bias estimates and lead to incorrect findings. Given the potential presence of error, we hypothesize that changes to the way self-reported PEB is measured might lead to systematic measurement errors that affect the validity of results. Study 1 (N = 951) showed that priming participants with related scales like environmentalist identity did not substantively change reported behavior (all ds ≤ 0.12). To investigate the possibility of overreporting without priming, Study 2 (N = 385) measured littering prevention behavior using the Unmatched Count Technique. A standard questionnaire format led to much higher reported behavior compared to the more anonymous covert condition, d = 0.53, and this effect appeared driven by participants who reported a stronger environmentalist identity. These results may help to explain some of the observed error in PEB measures. We suggest that researchers could reduce measurement bias with indirect questioning techniques.

The Relationship Between Psychedelic Use, Mystical Experiences, and Pro-Environmental Behaviors

Expanding on the work of Forstmann and Sagioglou, this study investigated the differences in personality and pro-environmental behavior (PEB) as a function of psychedelic-occasioned mystical experiences. A sample of 240 participants with prior psychedelic experience completed an online survey. Data were collected on participants’ psychedelic-occasioned mystical states, personality, and self-reported PEB. A measure of behavioral PEB was also included (Charity Task). The mean scores on self-reported PEB, openness and agreeableness of participants who met the criteria for a “complete” mystical state, were significantly higher than those who did not. Specifically, those who experienced a mystical state scored higher on the PEB types “eco-shopping and eating” and “one-off domestic conservation actions.” Participants who demonstrated PEB in the Charity Task scored higher on self-reported PEB than those who did not, supporting the task’s validity. Findings suggest that mystical experiences influence PEB. Future research with experimental designs could further illuminate potential causal relationships.

Self-transcendent emotion dispositions: Greater connections with nature and more sustainable behavior

In three studies, we explored how different classes of positive emotion dispositions may have different relations with pro-environmental outcomes despite sharing positive valence. We hypothesized that self-transcendent emotions (awe, compassion, love) would relate to more sustainable behaviors, beliefs, values, and self-nature representations because these emotions support a prosocial mindset and broaden the self-concept. Conversely, we hypothesized that self-interested emotions (joy, contentment, pride, amusement) would not relate to more of these pro-environmental outcomes and would instead predict more self-orientated beliefs and values because these emotions involve a greater self-focus. In Study 1, self-transcendent emotions uniquely predicted greater self-reported pro-environmental behavior, biospheric concern, nature connectedness, and more sustainable self-nature representations, whereas self-interested emotions did not and instead predicted greater egoistic concern. Study 2 aimed to replicate these findings and added measures of values and political beliefs. For self-transcendent emotions, the results of Study 1 were replicated, and it was also found that they uniquely predicted greater endorsement of self-transcendent values and less political conservatism. Self-interested emotions uniquely predicted less pro-environmental behavior and greater endorsement of self-enhancement values and conservative beliefs. Finally, Study 3 found that self-transcendent emotions but not self-interested emotions uniquely predicted more actual recycling weeks later. Implications for the intersection of positive emotions research and sustainability are discussed.

On the predictors of pro-environmental behaviors: integrating personal values and the 2-MEV among secondary school students in Tanzania

The role of personal values in understanding pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors has received considerable attention from psychological researchers. However, little is known about the mutual interaction of personal values and the Theory of Ecological Attitudes (2-MEV) in explaining pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs). To explore the mediating factors with which pro-environmental behaviors are explained via environmental attitudes and personal values, this article reports the study findings from secondary school students. Specifically, the article indicates the extent to which a unified model of personal values and the Theory of Ecological Attitudes (2-MEV) explain self-reported PEBs. The cross-cultural validity of the 2-MEV for measuring environmental attitudes (EA) among the selected respondents is as well investigated. A cross-sectional survey of 408 secondary school students was used for data collection. As expected, principal component analysis with a varimax rotation confirmed the two-factor structure of the 2-MEV measuring EA with two uncorrelated factors of Preservation and Utilization. Interestingly, multiple regression analyses indicated that a combined model of personal values and the 2-MEV provides a more explained variance of self-reported PEBs compared to when any of the two predicators is used independently. Overall, altruistic value provides the largest predictive power over egoistic and biospheric values in mediating EA. In turn, the general model that includes personal values and the 2-MEV indicates that Preservation makes the largest and unique contribution in explaining recycling, biodiversity protection, environmental activism, and general PEBs. Conversely, the Utilization factor provides the largest negative explained variance for management of environmental pollution behavior. These findings remain unaltered even when the age of respondents and social desirability responding are statistically controlled. The implications regarding these study findings are discussed.

The COVID-19 crisis does not diminish environmental motivation: Evidence from two panel studies of decision making and self-reported pro-environmental behavior

The literature shows that threats unrelated to environmental problems can shift attention away from these problems and affect pro-environmental behavior. It is not clear whether the COVID-19 crisis that started in 2019 had any uniform effect on pro-environmental behavior and decision making. In two preregistered panel studies conducted before and during the first COVID wave (n1 = 206, n2 = 164) and before and during the second COVID wave (n3 = n4 = 260), we found that the crisis had had no uniform effect on pro-environmental behaviors, environmental attitude, nor on the behavioral costs of general pro-environmental behavior. Analysis of one specific pro-environmental behavior, the choice of environmentally friendly delivery of products, revealed that the general preference for green delivery services and heightened preference for green delivery services among people with higher attitude levels remained unchanged by the COVID-19 crisis. Thus, if the COVID-19 crisis has had any effects on pro-environmental behaviors, these effects are probably fragmented, specific to certain population segments, and not visible in the short-term perspective.

Identifying Bias in Self-Reported Pro-Environmental Behavior

Identifying Bias in Self-Reported Pro-Environmental Behavior

Organisational Climate and Pro-environmental Behaviours at Work: The Mediating Role of Personal Norms.

Organisations are currently strongly encouraged to adopt more responsible production patterns aligned with sustainable development goals (SDGs). Pro-environmental behaviours (PEBs) in the workplace can strengthen the expected positive impacts of organisations’ environmental performance and engender more sustainable transitions to low-carbon production. Research on PEBs at work is relatively recent, so this field still lacks studies of the role of organisational policies and practices in workers’ adoption of these behaviours and of psychosocial processes that contribute to more sustainable workplaces. The present research examined how perceptions of organisations’ environmental policies and practices (i.e., organisational climate or injunctive norms) and of coworkers’ PEBs (i.e., descriptive norms) affect employees’ self-reported voluntary PEBs. Thogersen’s norm taxonomy model was also applied to address the role of personal norms. Self-commitment to sustainable goals at work can play a fundamental role in workers’ behavioural choices, so this research further investigated whether personal norms mediate the relationship between perceived pro-environmental organisational climate and reported workplace PEBs. To test the proposed model, data were collected on 210 workers from different business sectors, who completed an online questionnaire. The analyses showed that, after controlling for the effects of tenure, education level, and a management position, a pro-environmental organisational climate predicts stronger personal norms and a greater tendency to adopt PEBs at work (adjusted R squared=0.36), providing evidence of complete mediation. Coworkers’ perceived descriptive norms also contribute directly to self-reported PEBs. The discussion of the results focuses on the importance of organisational level initiatives as a way to promote change in individuals’ behaviours, which can have positive consequences for workplaces’ transition to sustainability.

Explaining the difference between the predictive power of value orientations and self-determined motivation for proenvironmental behavior

Previous research has shown that biospheric, altruistic, and egoistic values explain more variance in proenvironmental behavior than explained by the self-determined motivation that is linked to such behavior (i.e. motivation fueled by the fulfilment of basic psychological needs). However, these findings might stem from the relatively narrow measures of proenvironmental behavior employed in these studies. In two studies, we investigated the predictive power of self-determined motivation and value orientations in explaining broader measures of self-reported proenvironmental behavior. Our results support our expectation that self-determined motivation would remain a significant predictor of proenvironmental behavior after controlling for value orientations. In line with our expectations, self-determined motivation (vs. values) was more predictive of behavior that was predominantly guided by environmental motives. We discuss the implications of these results for the prediction of proenvironmental behavior.

Green Spaces in Chinese Schools Enhance Children's Environmental Attitudes and Pro-Environmental Behavior

Previous research has asserted that promoting connection to nature can enhance children's environmental attitudes and cultivate their pro-environmental behavior. School green spaces and educational programs have been recognized as important interventions toward this goal, although empirical study examining their effectiveness, especially in China, is rare. This study collected data from 1,597 students (9-12 years old) in southwest China. The study used the Two Major Environmental Values scale to measure two dimensions of children's environmental attitude—preservation and utilization—and used a project-specific pro-environmental behavior scale to measure children's self-reported pro-environmental behavior. The results found that students' perceived school environment is consistent with objective measures of “green space quality.” Meanwhile, students' perception of their school environment and their interactions with natural elements have a positive correlation with students' preservation attitude and pro-environmental behavior. School green activities have a negative correlation with a utilization environmental attitude. This study thus highlights the value of green campuses, and when supplemented by environmental pedagogical activities, they could significantly contribute to equipping children with environmental literacy.

Ego or Eco? Neither Ecological nor Egoistic Appeals of Persuasive Climate Change Messages Impacted Pro-Environmental Behavior

Based on the ‘Inclusion Model of Environmental Concern’, we tested whether daily messaging intervention increases participants’ pro-environmental behavior (PEB). In a two (time: pre vs. post, repeated measure) × three (condition: egoistic appeals, ecological appeals, control group) experimental design, two hundred and eighteen individuals received either daily messages containing egoistic appeals for action to prevent climate change (e.g., preventing personal consequences of released diseases in melting arctic ice), ecological appeals (e.g., ecological consequences of melting glaciers), or no messages (control). PEB was assessed via self-reports and donations to an environmental organization. Neither of the appeals had an effect on the two dependent measures. Irrespective of experimental conditions, self-reported PEB was higher in the post- compared with the pre-test. Overall, the present results do not provide support for the effectiveness of a daily messaging technique. Instead, it appears that ‘being observed’ is the more effective ‘intervention’. Implications for how to foster PEB are discussed.