Research question: How is young people's pro-environmental orientation related to their parents' pro-environmental values, attitudes, and behaviours? To answer this question, we examine parent-adolescent (aged 16-18) similarities of values, attitudes, and behaviour related to three common household practices: purchasing environmentally friendly products, curtailing electricity use, and handling waste in a sample of 601 Danish families. Findings: We find that adolescents are less environmentally committed than their parents. This 'generation gap' appears in measures at all levels of abstraction: from environmental values to attitudes towards the performance of specific pro-environmental behaviours, and to the performance of these behaviours.

No abstract

Family decision-making still constitutes a niche of consumer research. The preference towards using individualist approaches is even more prevalent in research on environmentally oriented consumer behaviour. However, many green consumer practices involve several family members, who may be able to exert significant influences on household subscription to these practices. The present study used qualitative research methods to examine family member interaction in relation to four topics: organic food, water and energy, waste and transport. Results show that peaceful as well as more conflict-ridden, day-to-day influences between family members are a common phenomenon, even when it comes to inconspicuous, everyday consumer behaviour.

No abstract

In this paper, we present results from a project aiming to develop a new feedback technology to support sustainable living in private households. Against the backdrop of a review of the relevant literature and based on qualitative family interviews and registration of the households' electricity consumption, we evaluate the effects of giving households detailed feedback about their electricity consumption on a small liquid crystal display (LCD) screen. Twenty Danish households participated in the study over a 5‐month period. A new feedback system was developed in a user‐involved innovation process. The average electricity saving in participating households is estimated to 8.1%, compared with a 0.8% saving in the control group. The qualitative interviews revealed that the feedback made household electricity consumption more visible and salient, and empowered electricity consumers to take action with respect to lowering their energy consumption. In addition, the feedback stimulated social influences processes related to energy savings between spouses as well as between (teenage) children and their parents. Notably, families with teenage children appear to be particularly receptive to this type of feedback.