On the Determinants of Pro-Environmental Behavior: A Literature Review and Guide for the Empirical Economist

Abstract

This paper provides a systematic review of current economic and psychological studies on the determinants of PEB published up to 2017. Our normative understanding and study of PEB can benefit from an integral review of these research traditions. Consequently, we identify various determinants of PEB that can be classified into four major types: • Socio-demographic factors (personal capabilities) • Attitudinal (psychological) factors • Habits • Contextual factors (individual, social and institutional) Our paper shows that to understand the complex workings of PEB, it is no longer viable to study its determinants individually, but researchers must rather consider an interplay of these factors. In addition to the introduction of this intersectional approach, we show that measuring PEB in an adequate way requires the consideration of more than one or two distinct behaviors (multiple items) as the impact of the determinants differs depending on the analyzed behavior. PEB itself can also be distinguished into types of PEB (private vs public sphere behaviors, environmental activism). Additionally, our review gives an overview of the typical methodological approaches and systematizes the questions used to measure PEB. By combining results from economics and psychology, this work offers a starting point for a more intersectional and interdisciplinary understanding of PEB, and a guide for further empirical investigations.

Education for Sustainable Development in Germany: Not Just Desired but Also Effective for Transformative Action

“…At the same time, the importance "of analyzing the impact of´moral´emotions (author´s note: e.g., contempt, anger, shame, guilt) on pro-environmental intentions in future studies" was indicated [13] (pp. [21][22].…”

“…Besides the predictors on a psychological level, as illustrated above, sociodemographic variables can also be important in predicting pro-environmental and sustainable behavior. Blankenberg and Alhusen [21] provided a systematic review (n = 158) showing a combined influence of psychological and sociodemographic variables, which underscores the importance of multivariate analysis of influencing constructs on different levels. Age displayed a U-shaped progression over lifespan [21] as well as U-shaped progression within adolescence with respect to sustainability consciousness [22,23].…”

“…Blankenberg and Alhusen [21] provided a systematic review (n = 158) showing a combined influence of psychological and sociodemographic variables, which underscores the importance of multivariate analysis of influencing constructs on different levels. Age displayed a U-shaped progression over lifespan [21] as well as U-shaped progression within adolescence with respect to sustainability consciousness [22,23]. Coherent results concerning gender show that across nations, women report higher pro-environmental behavior [21] as well as higher sustainability consciousness (e.g., [16]).…”

“…Age displayed a U-shaped progression over lifespan [21] as well as U-shaped progression within adolescence with respect to sustainability consciousness [22,23]. Coherent results concerning gender show that across nations, women report higher pro-environmental behavior [21] as well as higher sustainability consciousness (e.g., [16]). In addition to analyzing age and gender, the review considered levels of education; education was found to increase pro-environmental behavior [21].…”

Still Green at Fifteen? Investigating Environmental Awareness of the PISA 2015 Population: Cross-National Differences and Correlates

“…Coertjens et al [23] see a reason for this finding in the measure of SES in PISA, as it is comprised of diverse subdomains of SES [20]. Therefore, the typical finding of SES as strong predictor for pro-environmental variables ( [71], for a review, see [65,72]) might be reduced due to the operationalization in PISA.…”