Guilty pleasures: Moral licensing in climate-related behavior

Burger, Axel M.; Schuler, Johannes; Eberling, Elisabeth

doi:10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2021.102415

Cited by 29 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 73 publications

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“…However, the same comparison shows how inducing Consistency increases individuals' perception of having engaged in enough pro-environmental effort so that they don't need to do more ("tokenism"). This is in line with past work on the "licensing effect" (e.g., Burger et al, 2022), which defines a phenomenon where after behaving pro-environmentally, individuals may feel they have acquired a moral license to make less proenvironmental efforts (e.g., Geng et al, 2016). Considering past literature on spillover effects (Elf et al, 2019) as well as the consolidation effect of commitment (Kiesler, 1971;Girandola, 2005), further research should investigate more deeply what are the possible factors determining whether being aware of one's own pro-environmental behaviors result in licensing or spillover effects, such as individuals' concern with the environment.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Consistent or inconsistent? The effects of inducing cognitive dissonance vs. cognitive consonance on the intention to engage in pro-environmental behaviors

Bosone

Chevrier

2022

Front. Psychol.

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How do individuals rationalize the cognitive dissonance between their environmental awareness and the maintenance of environmentally unfriendly behaviors? The main goal is to explore the rationalization strategies used by individuals in order to maintain their current behaviors. The secondary goal is to understand if it is possible to induce cognitive consonance, and how this influences intention to change. We present a study (N = 222) with three experimental conditions: inconsistency, control, and consistency. The method to induce inconsistency and consistency was inspired by the paradigm of induced hypocrisy. Results demonstrated that induced inconsistency elicits two main barriers in participants: considering the change as unnecessary, and perceiving to lack knowledge about how to change. Induced consistency elicits tokenism, resulting in a licensing effect. However, behavioral intentions did not differ among experimental groups. Results are discussed considering methodological limitations and possible intervening variable.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Consistent or inconsistent? The effects of inducing cognitive dissonance vs. cognitive consonance on the intention to engage in pro-environmental behaviors

Bosone

Chevrier

2022

Front. Psychol.

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“…Mentally offsetting behaviours is a reason for negative spillover, that is, the performance of one pro-environmental behaviour inhibiting other behaviours (Truelove et al, 2014 ). In a similar vein, moral licensing refers to the balancing of “good” and “bad” deeds, countering feelings of guilt by emphasizing earlier environmentally friendly actions (Burger et al, 2022 ; Sorrell et al, 2020 ). Following the contribution ethic, a person may make an expected contribution to a common goal such as combating climate change and then feel justified in disengaging from further sustainable action (Nash et al, 2017 ).…”

Section: Compensatory Beliefs In Private Consumptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“I should” Does Not Mean “I can.” Introducing Efficacy, Normative, and General Compensatory Green Beliefs

Penker

Seebauer

2023

J Consum Policy

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Compensatory green beliefs (CGBs) denote beliefs that unsustainable behaviours can be compensated for by performing other sustainable behaviours. We propose to differentiate between efficacy, normative, and general beliefs (ECGBs, NCGBs, GCGBs). ECGBs refer to effectively offsetting previous lapses. NCGBs denote feeling morally obliged to make amends. GCGBs refer to trading off unspecified efforts in overall consumption. Employing survey data from n = 502 high school graduates and an n = 145 longitudinal subsample, we find a three-factor structure of CGBs. ECGBs, NCGBs, and GCGBs intercorrelate moderately, indicating their status as different constructs. NCGBs are positively associated with pro-environmental values, self-identity, and social norms, whereas GCGBs are negatively associated with these constructs. CGBs, in particular NCGBs, have unique explanatory power for sustainable behaviours. NCGBs show substantial temporal stability over one year. CGBs need not be destructive, as NCGBs may encourage sustainable action. Persuasive messages could be tailored to specific CGBs in specific behavioural domains.

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“…Empirical studies on moral licensing in the context of pro-environmental or climate-relevant behavior are scarce (Phipps et al, 2013;Dütschke et al, 2018Dütschke et al, , 2021Reimers et al, 2021). The literature on moral licensing offers fewer studies where the both sequential (im)moral actions are connected to consumption decisions (e.g., Catlin and Wang, 2013;Meijers et al, 2019;Burger et al, 2022) and thus allow to differentiate between same and different categories and contexts (for an extensive literature review, see Sorrell et al, 2020;Reimers et al, 2021). However, different consumption contexts have thus far rather been considered in the literature on behavioral spillover.…”

Section: Literature About Rebound Effects On the Consumer Levelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Moral-psychological mechanisms of rebound effects from a consumer-centered perspective: A conceptualization and research directions

2022

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Rebound effects on the consumer level occur when consumers’ realized greenhouse gas emission savings caused by behaviors that might be beneficial to the environment are lower than their potential greenhouse gas emission savings because the savings are offset by behavioral adjustments. While previous literature mainly studied the economic mechanisms of such rebound effects, research has largely neglected the moral-psychological mechanisms. A comprehensive conceptualization of rebound effects on the consumer level can help fill this void and stimulate more empirical research in this relevant area. To this end, the paper introduces three focal dimensions of rebound effects on the consumer level: mechanism of rebound effects, product category, and consumption context. Based on this conceptualization, and integrating assumptions from the theory of moral licensing, the theory of categorization, and the construal level theory, this paper further refines the conceptualization of the moral component as an explanatory factor for rebound effects and highlights that the moral-psychological mechanisms of indirect rebound effects (i.e., rebound effects that occur across different product categories or consumption contexts) are more complex and diverse than the economic mechanisms. The paper outlines promising directions for future studies considering the different quantification and characteristics of economic and moral currencies that explain rebound effects on the consumer level and the strategic categorization of products and consumption contexts.

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Guilty pleasures: Moral licensing in climate-related behavior

Cited by 29 publications

References 73 publications

Consistent or inconsistent? The effects of inducing cognitive dissonance vs. cognitive consonance on the intention to engage in pro-environmental behaviors

Consistent or inconsistent? The effects of inducing cognitive dissonance vs. cognitive consonance on the intention to engage in pro-environmental behaviors

“I should” Does Not Mean “I can.” Introducing Efficacy, Normative, and General Compensatory Green Beliefs

Moral-psychological mechanisms of rebound effects from a consumer-centered perspective: A conceptualization and research directions

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