Basic Psychological Needs and Self-Determined Motivation as Drivers of Voluntary Simplistic Clothing Consumption Practices in South Africa

Abstract

Consumers’ clothing consumption is the cause of many social and environmental consequences, especially in emerging economies where consumption continues to escalate. It is therefore vital that consumers adopt more voluntary simplistic lifestyles with sustainable clothing practices. This study relies on the self-determination theory to explore the influence of basic psychological needs (i.e., competence, autonomy, and connectedness) and self-determined motivation (i.e., identified- and integrated regulation as well as intrinsic motivation) on female consumers’ voluntary simplistic clothing practices. Data were derived from 469 online questionnaires and structural equation modeling was employed to test the hypotheses. Competence was identified as the most influential basic psychological need, followed by the need for connectedness and autonomy. Moreover, intrinsic motivation is the strongest predictor of voluntary simplistic clothing practices, while integrated regulation is deemed insignificant and identified regulation has a negative association with the practices in question. In summary, it would seem that female consumers are keen on adopting voluntary simplistic clothing behaviors. This may be due to their intrinsic motivation and competence rather than their exposure to extrinsic influences. This study provides valuable insight into the motivational determinants of voluntary simplistic clothing consumption in South Africa and may thus serve as a platform for further investigation into other emerging markets.

Can reflective diary-writing increase sufficiency-oriented consumption? A longitudinal intervention addressing the role of basic psychological needs, subjective well-being, and time affluence

“…As predicted, people who reported higher sufficiency orientation also reported more basic psychological need satisfaction, especially satisfaction of autonomy and competence, across all time points. This is in line with previous studies showing a positive relationship between basic psychological need satisfaction and pro-environmental behaviors, such as reduced clothing consumption (Taljaard & Sonnenberg, 2019) and higher well-being in voluntary simplifiers (Rich et al, 2017). Furthermore, we expected this relation based on the literature on materialism and need frustration (Kasser, 2016).…”

“…This finding fits nicely into literature showing a positive relation between well-being and different facets of a sufficiency-oriented lifestyle, such as a voluntarily simple lifestyle (Rich et al, 2017), sufficiency-oriented clothing consumption (Taljaard & Sonnenberg, 2019) or decreased materialism (Dittmar et al, 2014;Kasser, 2016;Speck & Hasselkuss, 2015).…”

“…For example, basic psychological need satisfaction is associated with lower individual environmental impact (Cooke et al, 2016) and increased persistence in difficult ecological behaviors (Aitken et al, 2016;Green-Demers et al, 1997) in different contexts (e.g., in schools Darner, 2012Darner, , 2014Kaplan & Madjar, 2015; or in the family home Grønhøj & Thøgersen, 2017). Furthermore, need satisfaction predicted intentions for voluntary simplistic sustainable clothing consumption (Taljaard & Sonnenberg, 2019) and mediated SWB in voluntary simplifiers (Rich et al, 2017). In turn, people who prioritize materialistic values experienced lower levels of need satisfaction and showed less pro-environmental behavior (Kasser, 2016).…”

Voluntary simplicity: A literature review and research agenda

“…Conceptual papers 33 Read et al (2018), Buell (2005), Elgin and Mitchell (1977), Alexander (2013), Olsen (1981), Haenfler et al (2012), Connolly and Shaw (2006), Kasser (2009), Etzioni ( 2004), Alexander (2012), Gambrel and Cafaro (2010), Romano (2012), Alexander (2011), Hall (2011, Kronenberg andIida (2011), Garcia-Ruiz andRodriguez-Lluesma (2014), Librova (2008), Meier (2000), Feola (2014), Rudmin (1990), Leisinger (1998), Leipämaa-Leskinen et al (2016), Friedman andFriedman (2010), Whitney Sanford (2013), Kannisto (2018), Van Steenbergen and Feller (1979), Nefat (2016), Alexander (2014, Fraňková and Johanisová (2013), Kaynak and Eksi (2013), Hellöre (2008), Little (1995), Williams (1984) Quantitative studies Surveys 31 Kuanr et al (2020), Peifer et al (2020, Lee (2019), Balderjahn and Hüttel (2019), Taljaard and Sonnenberg (2019), Kropfeld et al (2018), Bayat and Sezer (2018), Chowdhury (2018), …”

Can Reflective Diary-Writing Increase Sufficiency-Oriented Consumption? A Longitudinal Intervention Addressing the Role of Basic Psychological Needs, Subjective Well-Being, and Time Affluence

“…For example, basic psychological need satisfaction is associated with lower individual environmental impact [58] and increased persistence in difficult ecological behaviors [59,60] in different contexts (e.g., in schools [61][62][63] or in the family home [64]). Furthermore, need satisfaction predicted intentions for voluntary simplistic sustainable clothing consumption [65] and mediated SWB in voluntary simplifiers [66]. In turn, people who prioritize materialistic values experienced lower levels of need satisfaction and showed less proenvironmental behavior [44].…”