Moser, Stephanie; Kleinhückelkotten, Silke (2018). Good Intents, but Low Impacts: Diverging Importance of Motivational and Socioeconomic Determinants Explaining Pro-Environmental Behavior, Energy Use, and Carbon Footprint. Environment and behavior, 50(6), pp. 626-656. Sage 10.1177/0013916517710685
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Earlier research has yielded contradictory results as to the main drivers of environmentally
significant behavior. Intent-oriented research has stressed the importance of motivational
aspects, while impact-oriented research has drawn attention to people’s socio-economic
status. In this study, we investigated the diverging role of a pro-environmental stance under these two research perspectives. Data from a German survey (N = 1,012) enabled assessment of per capita energy use, and individual carbon footprints (impact-related measures), proenvironmental behavior (an intent-related measure), and behavior indicators varying in environmental impact and intent. Regression analyses revealed people’s environmental selfidentity to be the main predictor of pro-environmental behavior; however, environmental self-identity played an ambiguous role in predicting actual environmental impacts. Instead, environmental impacts were best predicted by people’s income level. Our results show that individuals with high pro-environmental self-identity intend to behave in an ecologically responsible way, but they typically emphasize actions that have relatively small ecological benefits.
Item Type: |
Journal Article (Original Article) |
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Division/Institute: |
10 Strategic Research Centers > Centre for Development and Environment (CDE) |
UniBE Contributor: |
Moser, Stephanie |
ISSN: |
0013-9165 |
Publisher: |
Sage |
Projects: |
[619] Representative survey of the per-capita consumption of natural resources in Germany
[804] Socio-Economic Transition |
Language: |
English |
Submitter: |
Stephan Schmidt |
Date Deposited: |
11 Jul 2017 10:47 |
Last Modified: |
05 Dec 2022 15:06 |
Publisher DOI: |
10.1177/0013916517710685 |
Additional Information: |
Online First 2017 |
BORIS DOI: |
10.7892/boris.101420 |
URI: |
https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/101420 |
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