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Sustainability
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What Influences an Individual's Pro-environmental Behavior?
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What Influences an Individual's Pro-environmental Behavior?

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Psychology of Sustainability and Sustainable Development".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2021) | Viewed by 6357

Special Issue Editors

Ms. Jana Sophie Kesenheimer

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute for Psychology, University of Innsbruck, Innrain 52, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
Interests: social and environmental psychology (influences on pro-environmental behavior: personality, interpersonal factors, persuasion)
Prof. Dr. Tobias Greitemeyer

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute for Psychology, University of Innsbruck, Innrain 52, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
Interests: social psychology: video game-related aggression; dark triad (benign masochism, everyday sadism, antisocial personality); pro-environmental behavior

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Climate change is one of the most (or maybe the most) important threats facing humankind. The challenge of sustainability lies in human hands by minimizing environmental impact or benefitting the environment through human behavior. Thus, pro-environmental behavior is increasingly becoming a vital factor in psychology. The focus of this Special Issue is the specification of determinants that are positively related to pro-environmental behavior on the one hand, and, on the other hand, characteristics that hinder people from behaving pro-environmentally. Future interventions could build on these findings to promote pro-environmental behavior.

Early works explained pro-environmental behavior as a linear function of environmental knowledge, leading to the environmental attitude, which in turn instigates pro-environmental behavior. Although a pro-environmental attitude is one of the most important predictors, more recent approaches identified multiple additional determinants of pro-environmental behavior. For example, personality traits (e.g., HEXACO, social value orientation, and sub-pathological narcissism) were shown to be influential, as well as other external factors (e.g., persuasive information, characteristics of the surrounding social and physical environment). However, a lot of determinants and their interplay still remain unresolved. Identifying predictors in this complex network of determinants of pro-environmental behavior is the aim of this Special Issue. Moreover, previous psychological investigations were often based on participant’s self-reported behavior. Because self-reports are often flawed by social desirability and memory biases, we particularly encourage researchers to use alternative methods in assessing pro-environmental behavior.

In conclusion, we call for articles that investigate (positive and negative) determinants of pro-environmental behavior for this Special Issue in Sustainability. Inter- or transdisciplinary approaches are welcome, as long as these contribute to the psychological research question.

Ms. Jana Sophie Kesenheimer
Prof. Dr. Tobias Greitemeyer
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • determinants of pro-environmental behavior
  • environmental psychology

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 288 KiB  
Article
Fasting Plastic—The Role of Media Reports in a ‘Window of Opportunity’ to Reduce Plastic Consumption
by Berend Barkela, Kristen Werling, Signe Elisa Filler and Lea Marie Heidbreder
Sustainability 2021, 13(21), 11807; https://doi.org/10.3390/su132111807 - 26 Oct 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1784
Abstract
To tackle the problems of plastic pollution in the environment, the reduction of plastic consumption plays a major role. To initiate behavior changes in consumption patterns, the content and time point of interventions are key factors. Furthermore, current studies have outlined the effect [...] Read more.
To tackle the problems of plastic pollution in the environment, the reduction of plastic consumption plays a major role. To initiate behavior changes in consumption patterns, the content and time point of interventions are key factors. Furthermore, current studies have outlined the effect of role models on others’ behavior. Thus, this paper investigates the impact of role models in media reports on efficacy beliefs and consumption behavior using an intervention. Two online studies with quoted samples, in the fasting period Lent (Study 1: n = 656) and a random period (Study 2: n = 947), were conducted. Both studies included two measurement points to investigate the change in plastic consumption over time. In study 1 (during the Lent period), participants were divided into one experimental group that viewed a media report including information on the plastic problem and role-model-like behavior for reducing plastic consumption and one control group that viewed a media report including only information on the plastic problem. In study 2 (during a random period), an additional control group was added where participants did not view a media report at all. Results revealed that a decrease in plastic consumption during the fasting period could be found; however, a decrease in plastic consumption outside of the fasting period could not be found. Media reports that addressed plastic pollution and role models avoiding plastic had no relevant impact on participants’ efficacy beliefs or plastic consumption intention or behavior. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue What Influences an Individual's Pro-environmental Behavior?)
18 pages, 886 KiB  
Article
A Grounded Theory of Pro-Nature Behaviour: From Moral Concern to Sustained Action
by Marc O. Williams, Lorraine Whitmarsh, Geoffrey Haddock and Diarmait Mac Giolla Chríost
Sustainability 2021, 13(16), 8944; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13168944 - 10 Aug 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3154
Abstract
Worldwide ecosystem decline is a pressing issue that has led governments to sign up to biodiversity-related targets, but little is known about what drives individuals’ conservation behaviour. This study uses a qualitative methodology (grounded theory) to understand what leads to pro-nature attitudes and [...] Read more.
Worldwide ecosystem decline is a pressing issue that has led governments to sign up to biodiversity-related targets, but little is known about what drives individuals’ conservation behaviour. This study uses a qualitative methodology (grounded theory) to understand what leads to pro-nature attitudes and behaviours. Twenty participants (10 men; 10 women) underwent semi-structured interviews and audio files were transcribed and coded to form the basis of theory. The authors propose a model based on interview material in which species with intrinsic value (i.e., deemed valuable in their own right, not for their usefulness to humans) are within the bounds of moral consideration. Individuals with generalised beliefs about the intrinsic value of non-human species expressed moral concern for human-caused impacts on nature. External prompts, including social messages, were associated with sporadic pro-nature behaviours. Individuals engaging in sustained behaviour showed evidence of having internalised moral standard of pro-nature actions and also appeared to fashion a social environment that would sustain and enhance their moral views. We discuss the implications of our findings with respect to conservation campaign messaging and government policy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue What Influences an Individual's Pro-environmental Behavior?)
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