How to Solve the Social Norm Conflict Dilemma of Green Consumption: The Moderating Effect of Self-Affirmation

Abstract

Social norms are important social factors that affect individual behavioral change. Using social norms to promote green consumption is receiving increasing attention. However, due to the different formation processes and mechanisms of the behavioral influence of the different types of social norms, using social norms to promote green consumption often has social norm conflict situations (injunctive norms + negative descriptive norms). Thus, it is difficult to attain the maximum utility of social norms. The present research found that social norm conflict weakens the role of injunctive norms in promoting green consumption. Specifically, negative descriptive norms weaken the role of injunctive norms in promoting green consumption. Alienation, which manifests through powerlessness and meaninglessness, plays a mediating role in the relationship between social norm conflict and green consumption. Self-affirmation moderates the mediating role of alienation between social norm conflicts and green consumption. Self-affirmation reduces the alienation caused by social norm conflict, thereby alleviating the weakening effect of social norm conflict on green consumption.

Do Perceived Risk, Perception of Self-Efficacy, and Openness to Technology Matter for Solar PV Adoption? An Application of the Extended Theory of Planned Behavior

“…Another study by [130] found that dwellers' behavior is directly affected by social norms. According to [131], the result of a consumer's product intake is predetermined by social norms. When people have a negative perception of a product, their intake of that product drops dramatically [132].…”

Merging the Social Influence Theory and the Goal-Framing Theory to Understand Consumers’ Green Purchasing Behavior: Does the Level of Sensitivity to Climate Change Really Matter?

“…Personal norms can be activated when buyers become aware of their environmental responsibilities or realize adverse consequences of their behavior ( Schwartz and Howard, 1981 ; Zhang et al, 2013 ; Ge et al, 2020 ). Hafner et al (2019) concluded that normative information is highly persuasive in driving an individual’s pro-environmental behavior.…”

“…Given mounting environmental challenges, people have increasingly become more mindful of environmental concerns ( Liu et al, 2016 ; Wang Y. et al, 2019 ) and the importance of prioritizing sustainable development ( Hosta and Zabkar, 2021 ). Green consumption has become an important issue for governments, businesses, and consumers ( Ge et al, 2020 ), as about 40% of environmental deterioration can be traced directly from residential non-green consumption ( Moon et al, 2019 ). However, many still do not practice green purchasing behaviors (GPBs), especially among apathetic consumers.…”

“…External stimuli and example-setters could shape, reshape, and change individuals’ pro-environmental psychology and behaviors ( Lee, 2011 ; Choi and Kandampully, 2019 ; Yang and Zhang, 2021 ). Some studies have been focused on influencing factors such as consumption value ( Lin and Huang, 2012 ; Biswas and Roy, 2015 ; Wang Y. et al, 2019 ), consumption motivations ( Ofek and Portnov, 2020 ), social norms ( Kiatkawsin and Han, 2017 ; Ge et al, 2020 ), social culture ( Jiang et al, 2020 ), social identity ( Pinto et al, 2014 ), and fear appeals ( Moon et al, 2019 ; Wang L. et al, 2019 ). However, many of these studies fail to explore and determine the formation mechanism of human acquired/complex behavior.…”

Influence of Publicity and Education and Environmental Values on the Green Consumption Behavior of Urban Residents in Tibet

“…Guo (2020) examined the impact of social exclusion (i.e., being rejected, isolated, excluded, or ignored by other individuals or groups in society) on consumers' intention to consume green [10]. Ge (2020) explains the internal influence mechanism between social norm conflict and green consumption [11]. Amatulli (2019) indicates that under the influence of expected shame, negatively framed messages are more effective than positively framed ones in prompting consumers to engage in pro-environmental behaviors [12].…”