Search

Most research in environmental psychology is conducted in individualistic countries and focuses on factors pertaining to individuals. It is yet unclear whether these findings also apply to more collectivistic countries, in which group factors might play a prominent role. In the current paper, we test the individual-focused value-identity-behaviour pathway, in which personal biospheric values relate to pro-environmental actions via environmental self-identity, in an individualistic and a collectivistic country. Furthermore, we test in both countries whether a new group-focused pathway also exists, in which group values relate to pro-environmental behaviour via environmental group identity, particularly in collectivistic countries. Questionnaire studies were conducted among Dutch ( N = 161) and Chinese ( N = 168) students. Our results indicated that personal biospheric values, mostly via environmental self-identity, predict pro-environmental behaviour in both countries. We also found initial support for our newly proposed value-identity-behaviour pathway at the group level, particularly in China. Yet, in both countries, the association between group-level variables and pro-environmental behaviour was weaker than for personal-level variables, and partly overlapped with personal-level variables. Our findings show the relevance of personal- and group-level factors in understanding pro-environmental behaviour in both individualistic and collectivistic countries, which has strong theoretical and practical implications, particularly for developing international strategies to promote pro-environmental actions across the world., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Wang, Van der Werff, Bouman, Harder and Steg.)

To realize the full potential of solar photovoltaics (PV), PV adopters need to adapt their energy demand to the production of self-generated solar energy as much as possible (i.e., use their PV sustainably). In a longitudinal questionnaire study ( N = 74) in the Netherlands, we compared the intention to use PV in a sustainable way before the installation of PV with actual PV use. Wave 1 took place before respondents adopted PV, while Wave 2 took place after they installed PV. We examined whether potential differences between actual sustainable PV use and initial intentions may have implications for how people see themselves and for the motivation they ascribe to their decision to adopt PV. Our results show that the vast majority of people use their PV in a less sustainable way than they anticipated. Furthermore, after the installation of PV, respondents are less likely to see themselves as a sustainable PV user and less likely to believe that PV have positive environmental consequences than before the installation, while environmental self-identity did not differ pre and post-installation of PV. Moreover, the stronger the discrepancy between intended and actual sustainable use of the PV, the less likely people were to see themselves as a sustainable PV user and as a person who acts pro-environmentally in general. These findings suggest that it is important to support people to use their PV in a sustainable way to facilitate them to act upon their intentions.

To reduce environmental problems, people need to consistently engage in pro-environmental behaviors. Many environmentally friendly actions not only benefit the environment, but can also save money. Research suggests that emphasizing monetary benefits of pro-environmental behavior may hinder positive spillover to other pro-environmental behaviors. Yet, it is unclear why and under which circumstances this is the case. We propose that spillover effects depend on how emphasizing different types of benefits affects environmental self-identity, as a stronger environmental self-identity is more likely to lead to other pro-environmental actions. We hypothesize that emphasizing monetary benefits of pro-environmental behavior is less likely to strengthen environmental self-identity than emphasizing environmental benefits, and therefore not likely to lead to positive spillover. We tested our hypotheses in four experiments. In Study 1, we found that emphasizing the environmental benefits of pro-environmental behavior strengthened environmental self-identity, and resulted in positive spillover compared to not emphasizing any benefits or emphasizing monetary benefits. However, these results were not replicated in Study 2 that included a larger student sample. Yet, Study 3, including a large sample of the general population, showed that emphasizing monetary benefits weakens environmental self-identity and thereby leads to less spillover than emphasizing environmental benefits or not emphasizing any benefits. Similarly, Study 4 suggests that emphasizing monetary benefits may weaken environmental self-identity and decrease positive spillover compared to emphasizing environmental benefits or no benefits. Our findings suggest that environmental self-identity is not easily influenced by emphasizing different types of benefits of behavior, and consequently, spillover behavior is not easily promoted or inhibited. Yet, emphasizing monetary benefits may be a risk in some cases, as it may inhibit positive spillover.

Global climate change threatens the health, economic prospects, and basic food and water sources of people. A wide range of changes in household energy behavior is needed to realize a sustainable energy transition. We propose a general framework to understand and encourage sustainable energy behaviors, comprising four key issues. First, we need to identify which behaviors need to be changed. A sustainable energy transition involves changes in a wide range of energy behaviors, including the adoption of sustainable energy sources and energy-efficient technology, investments in energy efficiency measures in buildings, and changes in direct and indirect energy use behavior. Second, we need to understand which factors underlie these different types of sustainable energy behaviors. We discuss three main factors that influence sustainable energy behaviors: knowledge, motivations, and contextual factors. Third, we need to test the effects of interventions aimed to promote sustainable energy behaviors. Interventions can be aimed at changing the actual costs and benefits of behavior, or at changing people's perceptions and evaluations of different costs and benefits of behavioral options. Fourth, it is important to understand which factors affect the acceptability of energy policies and energy systems changes. We discuss important findings from psychological studies on these four topics, and propose a research agenda to further explore these topics. We emphasize the need of an integrated approach in studying the human dimensions of a sustainable energy transition that increases our understanding of which general factors affect a wide range of energy behaviors as well as the acceptability of different energy policies and energy system changes.