Spillover Benefits: Emphasizing Different Benefits of Environmental Behavior and Its Effects on Spillover

Werff, Ellen van der; Steg, Linda

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02347

Cited by 23 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Broader identity categories, such as those related to gender or culture, may be salient across contexts, whereas more specific identities such as being a consumer, rely on more specific contextual details to become salient [24]. Individuals behave in ways consistent with their self-identity because they are motivated to be consistent with how they see themselves [25,26], because doing so feels meaningful and significant [27], and because not doing so can lead to feelings of guilt [28].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Influence of Environmental Self-Identity on the Relationship between Consumer Identities and Frugal Behavior

et al. 2021

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The need to reduce consumption is evident, and a way of achieving this is through austerity and frugal practices. The aim of this research was to advance the understanding of frugal behavior and its relation to consumer identities, and to analyze any possible mediating effects of environmental self-identity. In Study 1 (n = 492), the factor structure of the consumer identities scale was tested and three distinct identities were defined: moral, wasteful, and thrifty consumer identities. In Study 2 (n = 500), the influence of consumer identities on frugal behavior was studied and the possible mediating effect of environmental self-identity was analyzed. Environmental self-identity completely mediated the relationship between moral identity and frugal behavior and partially mediated the relationships of both wasteful and thrifty identities with frugal behavior. The model was able to predict 27.6% of the variance of environmental self-identity and 47.9% of the variance of frugal behavior, with a strong influence by the thrifty consumer identity. This emphasizes the economic dimension of frugal consumption patterns and the importance of considering how people view themselves, both as individuals and as consumers, in order to more effectively engage and maintain long-term sustainable frugal actions.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Influence of Environmental Self-Identity on the Relationship between Consumer Identities and Frugal Behavior

et al. 2021

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“…Other studies, however, show that most people do desire to behave consistently (Thøgersen, 2004). Van der Werff and Steg (2018), for example, describe that when people realize they engaged in PEB, their environmental self-identity is likely to be strengthened, thus increasing the likelihood of performing other PEBs. In this case the first behavior leads to the second behavior.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rationalizing Inconsistent Consumer Behavior. Understanding Pathways That Lead to Negative Spillover of Pro-environmental Behaviors in Daily Life

2021

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Ideally, pro-environmental consumer behavior leads to a lower impact on the environment. However, due to negative behavioral spillovers environmentally friendly behavior could lead to an overall higher environmental impact if subsequent environmentally unfriendly behavior occurs. In this exploratory interview study we focused on two pathways leading to negative spillover: a psychological path (perceived effort, moral licensing) and an economic path (rebound effects). We wanted to gain insight into people’s motivations to behave environmentally unfriendly and to explore people’s level of awareness of both pathways. Our results indicate that pro-environmental behaviors that are associated with higher effort are performed less frequently, and that when people do not perform these behaviors they associate them with higher effort levels. When people perceive behaviors as more effortful they increasingly seem to use arguments to motivate and rationalize why performing the behavior is difficult or impossible. Moreover, we found that although some people can imagine that moral licensing and rebound effects could occur and can provide examples from their own lives, most people assess these concepts as not rational. People seem unaware of the relation between a first pro-environmental behavior (PEB) and a subsequent behavior, and therefore inconsistencies in behavior go unnoticed. As people are good at rationalizing why they do not perform specific PEBs, they in general feel satisfied with their own pro-environmental actions. In order to discourage negative spillovers, we describe a number of approaches and research ideas aimed at taking away the grounds for rationalization.

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“…The moral licensing concept assumes that past morally positive behavior increases the probability that people will subsequently show potentially less moral behavior (Mazar and Zhong, 2010 ; Mullen and Monin, 2016 ). For behavioral spillovers, social and environmental identity have also been investigated (Elf et al, 2018 ; van der Werff and Steg, 2018 ; Verfuerth et al, 2019 ). Overall empirical research on these types of factors is rare so far, even more so in respect of renewable energy.…”

Section: Conceptual Approach and State Of Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rebound and Spillovers: Prosumers in Transition

Dütschke

Galvin²,

Brunzema

2021

Front. Psychol.

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Generating energy by renewable sources like wind, sun or water has led to the emergence of “clean” energy that is generally available at low cost to the environment and is generated from seemingly unbounded resources. Many countries have implemented schemes to support the diffusion of renewable energies. The diffusion of micro-generation technologies like roof-top photovoltaics is one of the success stories within the energy transition and has been significantly driven—at least in countries such as Germany—by households. As these households usually not only generate energy but also consume it they are often called “prosumers.” How does it influence the energy behavior of households if they become prosumers? Are these behavioral changes in line with further goals of the energy transition, e.g., reducing demand? What shapes individual behaviors of prosumers? The paper introduces a conceptual framework based on the existing literature on rebound and spillover effects. It systematizes possible behavioral consequences as well as mechanisms behind them. This framework is then used to code and analyze data from 48 in-depth interviews with prosumer households. These interviews reveal a broad variety of behavioral responses which have their roots in economic conditions and their evaluation by the prosumers, psychological mechanisms like central guiding principles and a clear conscience as well as sociotechnical context and legislative frameworks.

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Spillover Benefits: Emphasizing Different Benefits of Environmental Behavior and Its Effects on Spillover

Cited by 23 publications

References 30 publications

The Influence of Environmental Self-Identity on the Relationship between Consumer Identities and Frugal Behavior

The Influence of Environmental Self-Identity on the Relationship between Consumer Identities and Frugal Behavior

Rationalizing Inconsistent Consumer Behavior. Understanding Pathways That Lead to Negative Spillover of Pro-environmental Behaviors in Daily Life

Rebound and Spillovers: Prosumers in Transition

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