08.04.2014
1
UNDERSSTANDING PROENVIRONMENTAL
BEHAVIOUR II
Environmental values, attitudes and
behaviour: Theory and evidence
Proenvironmental behavior: The case of
Household energy consumption
HEN5972014
1
ENVIRONMENTAL VALUES, ATTITUDES AND
BEHAVIOUR: IS THERE A LINK?
A look at concepts, models, theories, evidence
Examples
Environmental attitudes and attitudes towards predators
Hosuehold energy comsumption
HEN5972014
2
HEP VERSUS NEP
(DUNLAP & VAN LIERE, 1978;
DUNLAP ET AL., 1992)
"Human Exemptionalism Paradigm" (HEP):
Human beings are exempt from the laws of nature and rulers
over the physical world.
New Environmental (or Ecological) Paradigm:
Today, the HEP is assumed to be replaced by a new world
view more compatible with environmental limits, hereafter
NEP
HEN5972014
3
ENVIRONMENTAL VALUE-ORIENTATIONS AS
BASIS FOR ACTION
Stern & Dietz (1994): a tripartite model
Egoistic:perceived personal threat from environmental
problems is most important
Altruistic:negative consequences for others is most important
Biospheric:perceived consequences for the biosphere
HEN5972014
4
08.04.2014
2
GENERAL ENVIRONMENTAL ATTITUDES
AND VALUES AS PREDICTORS OF
BEHAVIOUR
In general relatively weak relations between environmental
attitudes and behaviourt
Scott & Willits (1994): acceptance of parts of the NEP concept is
associaed with the enactment of both consumer and political behaviours
focused on protecting the environment
Widegren (1998): personal norm a better predictor of proenvironmental
behavior and willingness to pay than the NEP scale
Bamberg (1996): General attitudes towards traffic-policy have no direct
impact on car-using behavior, but a strong direct impact on the situationand
behavior-specific cognitions
HEN5972014
5
GENERAL ATTITUDES/MOTIVES:
ECOCENTRISM/ANTHROPOCENTRISM SCALE
Thompson & Barton (1994): Different reasons or
motives for acting environment-friendly.
Anthropocentrism: protection of nature related
to maintaining or improving the quality of life for
people
includes egoistic and social-altruistic values (cf. Stern & Dietz,
1994)
Ecocentrism: valuing nature for it’s own sake
Nature should be protected because it has intrinsic value
HEN5972014
6
GENERAL ATTITUDES/MOTIVES: NEW
ENVIRONMENTAL PARADIGM (NEP)
Dunlap & Van Liere (1978):
First version of the NEP-scale (twelve items)
Three broad themes:
Humanity's ability to upset the balance of nature
Limits to growth for human societies
Role of humans relative to the rest of nature
HEN5972014
7
NEP-R (DUNLAP ET AL.,1992)
15 item scale
Five facets
Limits to growth
Anti-anthropocentrism
The fragility of nature's balance
Rejection of exemptionalism
The possibility of an ecological catastrophe
HEN5972014
8
08.04.2014
3
SPECIFIC ENVIRONMENTAL ATTITUDES
Schahn & Holzers (1990) 21 item scale:
Theoretical concepts: Affective evaluation, attitudes (in
a narrower sense), and self-reported behaviors.
Content areas: Reduced energy consumption, energy
used for transportation, environmentally responsible
purchases, societal involvement, recycling, water
consumption, protecting own health. HEN5972014
9
SPECIFIC ENVIRONMENTAL ATTITUDES AS
PREDICTORS OF BEHAVIOUR
Diekman & Preisendörfer (1998):
Considerable inconsistencies between specific environmental
attitudes and behavior
Lober (1995):
Attitudes towards the siting of a recycling center differed
significantly from behaviour in a study of behavioural and
attitudinal dimensions of public opposition using inperson
surveys and observed measures of behaviour.
Steel (1996):
Attitude intensity was correlated with self-reported
environmental behaviour and political activism in
environmental issues.
HEN5972014
10
RESPONSIBILITY AS PREDICTOR OF
BEHAVIOUR
Kals, Schumacher & Montada (1998):
Ecologically relevant decisions based on responsibility
related beliefs and emotions, and on attributions of
responsibility
HEN5972014
11
KNOWLEDGE AS PREDICTOR OF BEHAVIOUR
Diekman & Preisendörfer (1998):
Ecological knowledge affects environmental behavior
directly and indirectly
Higher inconsistency in young people
HEN5972014
12
08.04.2014
4
CULTURE AS A PREDICTOR OF BEHAVIOUR
Laroche, Toffoli, Kim, & Muller (1996):
Determinants of environmental behaviours may vary
across cultures
HEN5972014
13
FIELDING, MCDONALD & LOUIS (2008): INCORPORATING
IDENTITY CONSTRUCTS INTO THE THEORY OF PLANNED
BEHAVIOUR (TPB) TO INVESTIGATE INTENTIONS TO ENGAGE
IN ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISM
Environmental group membership and self-identity
were positive predictors of intentions
More positive attitudes toward and a greater sense of
normative support for environmental activism were
related to greater intentions to engage in the
behaviour.
HEN5972014
14
Values
Identity
Attitude Intention
Barriers/
opportunities
Actual
measure
taken
Factors assumed to influence choice of environment- friendly
measure (adapted after Biel & Grankvist, 2005)
HEN5972014
15
THE VALUE-BELIEF-NORM THERY OF
ENVIRONMENTALISM (STERN ET AL, 2000)
Biospheric
Altruistic
Egoistic
Ecological
Worldview
(NEP)
Adverse
conse-
quences
for
valued
objects
Perceiv
-ed
ability
to
reduce
threat
Sense of
moral
obligation
to take
pro-
environ-
mental
actions
Activism
Non-
activist
public
sphere
behaviors
so
Private
sphere
behaviors
Behaviors
in
organi-
sations
HEN5972014
16
08.04.2014
5
ENVIRONMENTAL ATTITUDES: SOME
EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE
DIVERGING ATTITUDES TOWARDS
PREDATORS: DO ENVIRONMENTAL
ATTITUDES PLAY A PART?
Kaltenborn, B.P. & Bjerke, T & Strumse, E.(1998)
HEN5972014
17
THEME
Environmental beliefs and attitudes towards large
carnivores among sheep farmers, wildlife managers and
research biologists in Norway
HEN5972014
18
HUMAN ECOLOGY
Managing the interaction of population, social
organisation and technology in response to the
environment
The ability of humans to cope and adapt to a changing
environment
HEN5972014
19
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT ISSUES
How various interest groups perceive the environment
Values and beliefs attached to the env.
How environmental beliefs affect the position different
actors take in conflict situations
HEN5972014
20
08.04.2014
6
WILDLIFE AS CONFLICT ISSUE
Human dominion versus concern over negative effect of
human activity on ecological processes
Norway: Sheep farmers demanding extermination of
large carnivores versus groups supporting protection
HEN5972014
21
KELLERT’S TYPOLOGY OF ATTITUDES
TOWARD WILDLIFE
Positive attitudes
Ecologistic: Interest in ecological value of species and its rel
to env
Naturalistic: Interest in direct outdoor contact w. species
Moralistic: Opposition to harm toward spoecies
Negative attitudes
Dominionistic: Interest in mastery over animals
Negativistic: Fear, dislike
Utilitarian: Interest in use for the benefit of humans
HEN5972014
22
EARLIER RESULTS (NORWAY)
Wildlife managers and research biologists:
High on Ecologistic and naturalistic attitudes
Sheep farmers:
High on dominionistic, negativistic and utilitarian attitudes
HEN5972014
23
MAIN RESEARCH QUESTIONS
How strong is the support for an ecological world view
in sheep farmers, wildlife managers and research
biologists in Norway?
Are differences in attitudes towards wildlife related to
more fundamental differences in environmental values or
beliefs?
HEN5972014
24
08.04.2014
7
METHOD
Participants:
1129 sheep farmers, wildlife managers and research
biologists (response rate = 66.5%)
Instruments:
35 statements measuring attitudes towards large carnivores
15item NEP scale
HEN5972014
25
RESULTS
Eight items expressing the ”New Ecological
Paradigm”(NEP) received the highest mean ratings
Seven items expressing the ”Human Exemptionalism
Paradigm” (HEP) received weakest support
HEN5972014
26
RESULTS
NEP: Group differences
Sheep farmers: higher than other groups on
HEP-items. Lower than other groups on NEP-
items
Support/rejection of HEP and NEP
HEN5972014
27
RESULTS
HEP
Research biologists:
Clearest rejection
Wildlife managers
Rejection, yes, …but less
strong
Sheep farmers
Close to a neutral pos.
NEP:
No distinction betw.
wildlif man. and res.
biol., who agree with the
NEP.
Sheep farmers:
Significantly lower
HEN5972014
28
08.04.2014
8
RELATIONS BETWEEN NEP, HEP AND THE SIX
ATTITUDE SCALES
Overall sample: NEP correlates pos. w. the positive
attitude domain, and neg. with neg. attitudes
HEP: opposite pattern: neg. corr. with pos. attitudes,
pos. corr. with neg. attitudes
Relations between NEP, HEP and the six attitude scales
HEN5972014
29
RELATIONS BETWEEN NEP, HEP AND THE
SIX ATTITUDE SCALES
Sheep farmers:
Pos. corr. between NEP and ecologistic, moralistic and
naturalistic att.
Pos. corr. between HEP and dominionistic, negativistic and
utilitarian att.
Wildlife managers:
NEP correlated pos. with positive att. and neg. with neg. att.
HEPcorrelated neg. with positive att. and pos. with neg. att.
Research biologists:
Pos. corr. between NEP and ecologistic, moralistic and
naturalistic att.
HEP correlated neg. with positive att. and pos. with neg. att.
HEN5972014
30
CONCLUSIONS
Respondents tended towards pro-ecological beliefs
Negative attitudes towards carnivores are most typically
found in groups whose economic interests are threatened
by these animals
The three groups express similar structure of
environmental beliefs, but there is a difference of
degrees: Sheep farmers’ ecological beliefs are weaker
Sheep farmers: Carnivores are perceived as an outgroup
cognitively dissociated from other animals and the
ecosystem: Thus, pro-ecological beliefs go together with
neg. attitudes towards predators
HEN5972014
31
METHODS STRENGTHENING THE
RELATION BETWEEN ATTITUDES
AND BEHAVIOUR
32
HEN5972014
08.04.2014
9
REMINDERS
Overcomes internal barriers for action such as lazyness,
forgetfulness etc
Must be:
Specific
Close to the target behaviour in time and space
Tailored to suit it’s audience
33
HEN5972014
INFLUENCE INTERNAL BARRIERS BY A
FOCUS ON ATTITUDES AND NORMS
Make people aware of the attitudes and norms
they already have, but do not relate to the present
situation
When people’s attitudes already are in favour of
environmental protection, it is useful to remind
them about this in a subtle way
Campaigns are well suited for this purpose
34
HEN5972014
STRATEGIES STRENGTHENING THE RELATION BETWEEN
ATTITUDES, INFORMATION, ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOUR
Increasing participation in a recycling project: Four experimental
conditions
Control group (not contacted) 2% participation
Information (folder describing project) 10%
participation
Information + reminder before pick up 21%
participation
Information + reminder + personal
contact
28%
participation
35
HEN5972014
INFORMATION HAS MORE EFFECT WHEN IT
ATTRACTS ATTENTION THROUGH:
a personal approach
rumours
making the invisible visible
using a powerful medium
careful design of the message
message close to behaviour in time and space
message designed to match the target group
using the local groups
36
HEN5972014
08.04.2014
10
CREDIBILITY
It must be possible to check the information
Use of social networks
Use of opinion leaders to introduce desired behaviour
37
HEN5972014
CREATE ENGAGEMENT
Commitment increases engagement
Norm activation increases engagement
Crises can increase engagement
38
HEN5972014
BEHAVIORAL KNOWLEDGE FROM
INTERVENTION STUDIES
HEN5972014
39
LEHMAN & GELLER (2004):REVIEW OF THE
APPLIED BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS APPROACH TO
ENCOURAGING PROENVIRONMENT BEHAVIOR
Argues that behavior analysis can play a greater role in
solving environmental problems through
(a) reexamination and expansion of intervention targets,
(b) increased focus on long-term maintenance of proenvironment
behavior, and
(c) more effective dissemination of intervention strategies
and research findings.
HEN5972014
40
08.04.2014
11
INTERVENTION STRATEGIES.
Antecedent Strategies
(a) information/education
(b) verbal or written prompts
(c) modeling and demonstrations
(d) commitment
(e) environmental alterations.
HEN5972014
41
CONSEQUENCE STRATEGIES
Rewards
Notable behavior change, but behaviors drop to baseline
levels when the reward was removed
Feedback: providing information to participants about
their environment-relevant behaviors
modest but consistent energy savings
HEN5972014
42
PROBLEM: LONG-TERM BEHAVIOR
MAINTENANCE
Solution startegies
focus on behaviors that do not need to be maintained
implement intervention evaluations of appropriate length and
design, so factors which increase response maintenance can
be discovered
design interventions that can continue indefinitely
HEN5972014
43
BOYCE AND GELLER (2001): KEY FACTORS
RELATED TO BEHAVIORAL MAINTENANCE
Reward schedules should be large enough to get
a behavior started, but not so large as to serve as
complete justification for performing a behavior
When a behavioral commitment is requested, it
should be accompanied by information that
provides a sound rationale for the behavior.
HEN5972014
44
08.04.2014
12
INFORMATION CAMPAIGNS: CAN THEY
INCREASE ECOLOGICAL BEHAVIOUR?
What can psychology tell us about the the effects of
information campaigns?
Which type of campaign works best? When does
information work?
What are the conditions for strong relations among attitudes
and behaviours?
Are attitude campaigns sufficient for attitude change?
Changing environmental attitudes: Effective
strategies
45
HEN5972014
INFORMATION- AND ATTITUDE CAMPAIGNS:
POSSIBILITIES AND LIMITATIONS
+ May increase people’s awareness and change attitudes
- Lead only occassionally to behavioural change
How can we increase the effectiveness of
campaigns?
46
HEN5972014
INFORMATION ALONE HAS VERY
LIMITED EFFECT, BECAUSE:
Removes only information related barriers
Does not remove external barriers (such as economic ones)
Increases at best only low cost/less demanding behaviours
47
HEN5972014
WHEN IS INFORMATION EFFECTIVE?
Feedback:
Via the energy meter at home
Via electronic devices (feedback every minute, hour, etc…)
This works, because:
The information is directly related to behaviour
Straight-forward application of behavioural psychology (operant learning theory):
all behaviours leading to rewards will be repeated
Feedback is at it’s most effective when available immediately before and
after the target behaviour (here: energy saving behaviour)
Limitation: Participants must be highly motivated
48
HEN5972014
08.04.2014
13
MODELING/OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING
Ex.: Video of a young couple demonstrating how they
can save energy in the home
Combines behavioural psychology and communication
research
Experiments have demonstrated energy savings of more than
20%
Cost-effective: video is a one-time cost that may be used in
an unlimited number of households
Limitation: Participants must be motivated
49
HEN5972014
THE POTENTIAL OF INFORMATION CAMPAIGNS
Works when the most important barriers are internal to the
individual
May have important indirect effects over time
Influences only attitudes and behaviours compatible with people’s
more fundamental values
The effect increases if one builds upon psychological principles
of communication and focuses the campaign directly towards
relations between attitudes and behaviours
Works best in combination with other strategies (such as
organisational change, economic incentives, etc) 50
HEN5972014
ADDRESSING FIELDS OF RATIONALITY
– A POLICY FOR REDUCING HOUSEHOLD
ENERGY CONSUMPTION?
H. WESTSKOG, CICERO, OSLO
T. WINTHER, SUM, UNIVERSITY OF OSLO
E. STRUMSE, LILLEHAMMER UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
HEN5972014
51
FACTORS INFLUENCING BEHAVIOUR
ON THE INDIVIDUAL LEVEL
Material conditionsSkills, knowledge
Attitudes,
personal norms
Beliefs, values,
identities
Energy
behaviour
HEN5972014
52
08.04.2014
14
WHAT CONDITIONS PEOPLE’S
preferences
behaviour HEN5972014
53
PREFERENCES: A PSYCHOLOGICAL
PERSPECTIVE
Descriptive approach: preferences as the likes or dislikes
the individual may have in a certain domain,
Reasonable Person Model:
People are satisficers, not maximizers
People can be reasonable, depending upon the circumstances
People often possess extremely limited information.
People’s needs are many and varied
HEN5972014
54
FOCUS ON SELECTED COGNITIVE,
AFFECTIVE (AND MATERIAL) FACTORS
Underlying factors for understanding preferences in
economic theory
Factors partly accounting for the motivations pushing or
pulling the individual to perform various measurable
behaviours:
Skills and knowledge
Attitudes and personal norms
Beliefs, values and identities
HEN5972014
55
IMPORTANT FINDINGS ON PREDICTORS
OF ENVIRONMENTAL BEHAVIORS
A strong intention to act can be seen as resulting
from a large variety of environmentally relevant
thoughts and emotions, such as
Attitudes
Perceived behavioural control
Personal norms
Problem awareness
Feelings of guilt
Attributions: Beliefs about responsibilities and causes
HEN5972014
56
08.04.2014
15
META-ANALYSES ON PSYCHO-SOCIAL
DETERMINANTS OF PRO-ENVIRONMENTAL BEHAVIOUR.
Hines, Hungerford & Tomera’s (1987) meta –
analysis of 128 studies - Results from a subset of
studies focusing of psycho-social variables:
mean correlations with pro-environmental
behaviour (PEB)
Proenvironmental attitudes: r = .38
Locus of control/self-efficacy: r = .37 (15 studies)
Felt moral obligation to behave in a proenvironmental
way: r =.33 (6 studies)
Pro-environmental behavioural intention: r =.49 (6
studies)
HEN5972014
57
BAMBERG & MÖSER (2007): NEW META-ANALYSIS OF
PSYCHO-SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF PROENVIRONMENTAL
BEHAVIOUR
Based on 57 samples/studies
Results:
Mean correlations similar to those reported by Hines et
al.
Structural equation modelling (SEM): Meta-analytic
SEM (MASEM)
Pro-environmental behavioural intention mediate the impact of
all other psycho-social variables on pro-environmental behaviour
(27% explained variance).
Attitude, behavioural control and personal moral norm all predict
pro-environmental behavioural intention (52% explained
variance)
Problem awareness: important indirect determinant of proenvironmental
intention mediated by moral and social norms,
guilt and attribution processes.
HEN5972014
58
STERN (2008): REVIEW OF THE SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL
LITERATURE ON HOW CONSUMER CHOICES ARE AFFECTED BY
VARIOUS INTERVENTION APPROACHES
The strongest influences are often contextual.
Psychologists rarely examine more than a few of these
The more a behavior is shaped by technology,
infrastructure, regulation, financial cost, convenience,
and other contextual factors, the weaker the effect of
personal variables
The favored variables of psychologists and economists
have limited importance
HEN5972014
59
INFORMATION: ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND
CONSERVATION MESSAGES (LUTZENHISER,
2009)
Should be intelligible to the consumer
Should be concrete, vivid and impactful,
personalized, action-oriented, and offering
advice about choice and behaviour that is
perceived to be fair, just, and equitable.
People process information in different ways
The messenger affects the perceived legitimacy,
credibility, and trustworthiness of the
information.
HEN5972014
60
08.04.2014
16
INFORMATION PRESENTATION AND CHOICE
OF ELECTRICITY (GREEN OR NOT)
The format of information presentation assumed
to have a strong effect on choice of electricity
People choose the electricity offered as the default
Results:
In a field study, people did choose green el. when it
was the default
This was also the result in one experiment
(Pichert & Katsikopoulos, 2008)
HEN5972014
61
HOW STRONG ARE THE INFLUENCES OF
PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS?
The more a behaviour is shaped by contextual factors,
the weaker the effect of personal variables (Stern 1999)
Often highly indirect effect- can potentially influence a
wide variety of behaviours
Some specific psychological factors(Stern 2009)
Personal commitment
Perceived personal costs and benefits of actions
Behaviour-specific beliefs and norms
HEN5972014
62
PSYCHOLOGICAL INTERVENTIONS
Should target the ‘niches’ between powerful structural
variables: when the people – environment configuration
is particularly open to change
when behaviour is not strongly constrained by regulation,
habit, matters of economic cost, convenience, and the like.
HEN5972014
63
STRUCTURES
Energy
behaviour
Human resources Non-human resources
Social norms Culture
HEN5972014
64
08.04.2014
17
FIELD OF RATIONALITY: CONFIGURATION OF
FACTORS INFLUENCING BEHAVIOUR
Material conditions
Energy
behaviour
Human resources Non-human resources
Social norms Culture
Group norms Group values
Capacity, competences
Skills, knowledge
Attitudes,
personal norms
Beliefs, values,
identities
Material conditions
Material conditions
HEN5972014
65
EXAMPLE: MOVING FROM NORWAY TO
FRANCE
HEN5972014
66
EXAMPLE OF FIELDS OF RATIONALITY:
CONSUMERS VERSUS CITIZENS
Sagoff (1988), Sen (1985) and Nyborg (2000)
Rationalities exist in paralell
Ex. Parents picking up children in the kindergarten
(Gneezy and Rustchini 2000)
Policies may change the ”logic” for behaviour: field of
rationality
HEN5972014
67
EXAMPLE: APPEAL TO ”THE CITIZEN”:
RENEWABLE CERTIFICATES, BARENTS
ENERGI
Treatment A Five sentences + link to NVE
Confusion, suspicions
Treatment C Emissions = car use
”Bad consciousness, good”
Treatment E The story of a role model
”I think she has a point”
HEN5972014
68
08.04.2014
18
STRATEGIES FOR CHANGE
Regulations: shifts in norms and relevant values
(incandescent light, smoking)
Taxes: know how they co-work with other factors
Information: potential shift in field of rationality, but
requires clear ”translation”
Policies must take into account the logic with which
people act (made up of more factors than material
constraints)
HEN5972014
69
RESEARCH PROJECT (NFR 2009-2011):
DO CUSTOMER INFORMATION PROGRAMS INFLUENCE
ENERGY CONSUMPTION?
:Westskog, Winther and Strumse 2011): ”Addressing fields of
rationality: A policy for reducing household energy consumption?”
In Markandya, A. et al.: Handbook of Sustainable Use of Energy.
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd.
HEN5972014
70