Beyond self-reports: A call for more behavior in environmental psychology

Lange, Florian; Berger, Sebastian; Byrka, Katarzyna; Brügger, Adrian; Henn, Laura; Sparks, Aaron C.; Nielsen, Kristian Steensen; Urban, Ján

doi:10.1016/j.jenvp.2023.101965

Cited by 25 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Therefore, the results shown here provide clear evidence of the validity of the ECT as a direct measure of actual pro-environmental behavior. As such, it is anticipated that the ECT can be a valuable addition to the existing canon of experimental measures of pro-environmental behaviour which answers the call within the literature for more such measures in environmental research and, by virtue of utilising the novel domain of sustainable email usage, the ECT can allow researchers in future to understand a broader range of pro-environmental behaviors (Lange, 2022;Lange et al, 2023;Lange & Dewitte, 2019). Subsequently these findings can contribute to recent considerations of the THE EMAIL CONSERVATION TASK strength of associations between behavioral and self-report measures of pro-environmental behavior (Delcourt et al, 2024) and also between the behavioral measures themselves (Deltomme et al, 2023).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Measures of actual (rather than self-reported) pro-environmental behavior have been recognised as being of the required high standard for future environmental psychological research (Lange, 2022;Lange et al, 2023;Lange & Dewitte, 2019). Such measures can include observing actual pro-environmental behaviour as it occurs naturally, for example turning off car engines when stationary (Meleady et al, 2017), leaving recycling bins for kerbside collection (Gamba & Oskamp, 1994) and reusing hotel towels (Goldstein et al, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Email Conservation Task: Testing the validity of an online measure of direct pro-environmental behavior

Farrelly,

Bhogal,

Badham

2024

Preprint

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There is a need for valid measures of pro-environmental behavior, in particular ones measuring actual behavior. In response, a number of such measures have been introduced recently, however each faces limitations such as high costs, practical use and/or only measure indirect environmental behavior, limiting their scope, accessibility and inclusivity. In response, this study introduces the easily administered and low cost Email Conservation Task (ECT), which measures direct pro-environmental behaviour (in this case, email use). Here, participants chose between personal costs (time spent on trivial tasks) or environmental costs (receiving unnecessary emails leading to CO2 emissions) across multiple trials. In a pre-registered study testing the validity of the ECT, it was found (as hypothesized) that participants scored higher on the ECT (incurred more personal costs rather than receiving unnecessary emails) when personal costs to them were lower, and also scored higher when the environmental costs of receiving unnecessary emails were higher. Finally, total scores on the ECT significantly correlated with scores on three self-reported indicators pro-environmentalism. Overall the results of this study support all three hypotheses, indicating that the ECT is a valid measure of pro-environmental behavior that can be implemented across a diverse range of research areas.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Email Conservation Task: Testing the validity of an online measure of direct pro-environmental behavior

Farrelly,

Bhogal,

Badham

2024

Preprint

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“…To partly mitigate self‐reporting bias, we adopted paper diaries to help owners keep track of their behaviors. Although direct observation is more accurate, self‐monitoring can contribute to pro‐environmental behavioral changes (e.g., Lange et al, 2023; Marrocoli et al, 2018). Future studies should aim for improved ways to measure owners' behavior directly or indirectly (e.g., photo diaries).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Committing to behavior change: How to prevent dogs from visiting Atlantic Forest remnants?

Tostes Ribeiro,

Pardini,

Morsello

2023

Conservat Sci and Prac

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Behavioral interventions have been applied to induce multiple pro‐environmental changes, yet testing their effects on biodiversity conservation is novel. For certain behaviors, a promising tool is changing the context within which people make decisions through nudges. One such behavior is dog restraining to prevent visits to natural areas, a worldwide source of negative impacts on wildlife. In this preliminary study, we experimentally tested the effects of two interventions (i.e., an informative video on conservation and an informative video plus commitment nudge) on changing dog management among rural owners. We then assessed interventions' effects on owners' behavior change (n = 52) and intention to keep the restraining practice in the future (n = 50). Both interventions promoted a momentary change in owners' behavior, but their effect sizes did not differ. Yet, neither treatment increased the owners' intention to maintain the restraining practices. Although nudges alone may not be the most appropriate solution to reduce the severe dog impacts on wildlife, they might be of practical relevance to conservation stakeholders who deal with threats that are not prone to mitigation through more traditional strategies (e.g., command and control).

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“…Future studies should stronger focus on pro-environmental motives of shared mobility, as the potential of confounding motives such as financial benefits is high (Hunecke et al, 2021;Standing et al, 2019). Also, we measured behavior only with self-reports and only crossectionally, which is not exact and can lead to validity problems (Kormos & Gifford, 2014;Lange et al, 2023). We faced a highly skewed distribution of shared mobility behaviors as most participants reported only little or no experience at all using shared mobility.…”

Section: Limitations and Future Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond private-sphere pro-environmental action: Explaining shared mobility using the Theory of Planned Behavior and solidarity-oriented variables

Richter¹,

Hunecke²,

Blumenschein³

2023

Preprint

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Shared mobility behaviors potentially decrease negative environmental effects of the transport sector. Models such as the Theory of Planned Behavior have been widely used to explain primarily individual private-sphere pro-environmental behaviors (PEB). However, as shared mobility behaviors are not completely limited to the private-sphere, but require social collaboration, it is an open question if the TPB-variables are sufficient in explaining shared mobility behaviors. Solidarity-focused variables that put a stronger focus on social interactions may complement the TPB-variables meaningfully. In two university samples (Study 1: N = 261, Study 2: N = 1411), we tested associations between the TPB-variables and shared mobility behavioral intention using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). Both studies confirmed attitude and social norms as significant predictors. However, perceived behavioral control was not related to shared mobility intention. Study 2 additionally investigated whether social responsibility, collective response efficacy and social identity are related to shared mobility. Results showed that social responsibility as well as collective response efficacy positively predicted shared mobility intention. In Logistic regressions, the psychological variables showed no consistent connections to self-reported shared mobility behavior. We discuss the scope of solidarity-oriented variables to complementarily explain PEB beyond the private-sphere that need social collaboration.

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Beyond self-reports: A call for more behavior in environmental psychology

Cited by 25 publications

References 32 publications

The Email Conservation Task: Testing the validity of an online measure of direct pro-environmental behavior

The Email Conservation Task: Testing the validity of an online measure of direct pro-environmental behavior

Committing to behavior change: How to prevent dogs from visiting Atlantic Forest remnants?

Beyond private-sphere pro-environmental action: Explaining shared mobility using the Theory of Planned Behavior and solidarity-oriented variables

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