The effects of social desirability on self-reported environmental attitudes and ecological behaviour

Milfont, Taciano L.

doi:10.1007/s10669-008-9192-2

Cited by 203 publications

(126 citation statements)

References 37 publications

(39 reference statements)

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“…He interpreted this result as a hint that self-deception and not others deception was measured and that it was easier to adapt attitude as a consequence of perceived pressure due to SDB than to adapt behaviour. A similar pattern of social desirability effect in adults was found by Milfont (2009) who analysed psychology students in a study like ours, using different Preservation, Utilisation, and ecological behaviour measures as well as an impression management scale for adults.…”

Section: Impact Of Social Desirability On Environmental Values and Gebsupporting

confidence: 85%

“…Neither a masking of the relationship between GEB and Utilisation by SDB nor any moderator effect of the Lie scores was found. That is, the impact of social desirability on ecological behaviour is the same for people with low, as well as high, agreement with Preservation or Utilisation items, which is consistent with Schahn (2002) as well as with Milfont (2009).…”

Section: Removing the Effects Of Sdb: Impact On The Attitude-behaviousupporting

confidence: 84%

“…Stern, Dietz, & Guagnano, 1995). Using higher-order factor analysis on the basis of a large pool of items, Bogner and Wiseman (1999;Wiseman & Bogner, 2003) produced a higher-order two-factor model of Environmental Values that has been replicated by Milfont andDuckitt (2004, 2006). The term 'value' is employed following a convention established by Rokeach (1968Rokeach ( , 1973 to indicate a set of closely related attitudes: first-order factors are labelled 'attitudes', higher order factors 'values'.…”

Section: Measurement Of Environmental Attitudesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Social Desirability, Environmental Attitudes, and General Ecological Behaviour in Children

Oerke

Bogner

2013

International Journal of Science Education

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Socially desirable responses have been widely discussed as potentially biasing self-reported measures of environmental attitude and behaviour assessment. The direct and moderating effect of social desirability on children has not been analysed before. By applying a Lie scale together with a two-factor environmental attitude set measure and a scale of self-reported General Ecological Behaviour (GEB) to 198 pupils, we found a moderate impact of Lie scores on only one of both attitude measures and a small impact on GEB. In a multiple regression analysis general behaviour was predicted by attitude, social desirability, and the interaction of both. Social desirability had no moderating effect on the relationship between environmental attitudes and behaviour. Implications of these outcomes for research on environmental issues with children are discussed. This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden.The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae, and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand, or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material. Socially desirable responses have been widely discussed as potentially biasing self-reported measures of environmental attitude and behaviour assessment. The direct and moderating effect of social desirability on children has not been analysed before. By applying a Lie scale together with a two-factor environmental attitude set measure and a scale of self-reported General Ecological Behaviour (GEB) to 198 pupils, we found a moderate impact of Lie scores on only one of both attitude measures and a small impact on GEB. In a multiple regression analysis general behaviour was predicted by attitude, social desirability, and the interaction of both. Social desirability had no moderating effect on the relationship between environmental attitudes and behaviour. Implications of these outcomes for research on environmental issues with children are discussed.

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Section: Impact Of Social Desirability On Environmental Values and Gebsupporting

confidence: 85%

Section: Removing the Effects Of Sdb: Impact On The Attitude-behaviousupporting

confidence: 84%

Section: Measurement Of Environmental Attitudesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Social Desirability, Environmental Attitudes, and General Ecological Behaviour in Children

Oerke

Bogner

2013

International Journal of Science Education

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“…Second, pro-environmental behavior and awareness were assessed using self-report measures, which are susceptible to effects of social desirability. Although it has been demonstrated that effects of social desirability on self-reported pro-environmental behavior and awareness are weak at most (Milfont, 2009), a more direct and implicit measure of pro-environmental behavior might have provided additional insights. It would therefore be interesting to further investigate the association of testosterone and cortisol with pro-environmental behavior in a laboratory or field setting where it is possible to directly observe different indicators of pro-environmental behavior such as donating, recycling, or consumer behavior.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Salivary testosterone and cortisol are jointly related to pro-environmental behavior in men

Sollberger

Bernauer

Ehlert

2015

Social Neuroscience

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Recently, cortisol has been suggested to moderate the positive relationship between testosterone and antisocial behavior. More precisely, high testosterone levels have been found to be related to aggressive or dominant behavior especially when cortisol levels were low. In the present study, we aimed to extend these findings to pro-environmental behavior as an indicator of prosocial behavior. In a first step, 147 male participants provided information on their everyday pro-environmental behavior by completing an online questionnaire on various energy-saving behaviors. In a second step, subjects provided two saliva samples for the assessment of testosterone and cortisol on two subsequent mornings after awakening. We found that testosterone was negatively related to pro-environmental behavior, but only in men with low cortisol. In conclusion, our findings provide first evidence for the joint association of testosterone and cortisol with everyday pro-environmental behavior. These results further reinforce the importance of considering interdependent hormone systems simultaneously rather than focusing on a single hormone.

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“…Chao et al [5] reported that there was a certain difference between self and other reporting in answering environmental behavior; he advised researchers to be careful in interpreting results of only self-reported behavior as these results are usually higher than the actual turnout. Kaiiser et al [6] and Milfont [7] assumed that social desirability is among the factors explaining the high attitude-behavior gap. They concluded that a socially-desirable response had only a weak direct effect on environmental attitudes and self-reported behaviors.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental Consciousness in Daily Activities Measured by Negative Prompts

2015

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Abstract:The gap between people's attitude and action as regards environmental issues has been pointed out even while surveys registered an increase in people's environmental awareness. Among the possible reasons is that people tend to automatically answer "yes", as most surveys on environmental consciousness use positively-phrased questions or prompts. To remove the "yes-bias" in previous surveys, this present study conducted in Japan a large-scale questionnaire survey on environmental consciousness using negative prompts and free-answered prompts on which behaviors people feel good/bad/uncertain for the environment. This study also investigated peoples' psychological factors and concrete pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs) in daily life. The results of the questionnaire with negative prompts showed that the rate of people's consciousness to the environment was lower compared with other surveys. Through factor analysis, five psychological factors were extracted as the explanatory factors of environmental attitude. Demographic effects on the consciousness and PEBs were also observed. Comparison of free-answers on concrete daily behaviors among five different environmentally conscious groups showed there were certain phases in the perception of PEBs based on consciousness level. Similar common behaviors were highly ranked as both PEB and doubtful behaviors, indicating that people were worried about actions that involve a trade-off relationship from diversified standpoints.

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The effects of social desirability on self-reported environmental attitudes and ecological behaviour

Cited by 203 publications

References 37 publications

Social Desirability, Environmental Attitudes, and General Ecological Behaviour in Children

Social Desirability, Environmental Attitudes, and General Ecological Behaviour in Children

Salivary testosterone and cortisol are jointly related to pro-environmental behavior in men

Environmental Consciousness in Daily Activities Measured by Negative Prompts

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