Explaining the Paradox: How Pro-Environmental Behaviour can both Thwart and Foster Well-Being

The Intrinsic Experience of Tourism Autobiographical Memory on Environmentally Responsible Behavior: A Self-Expansion Perspective

The existing literature on environmentally responsible behavior in tourists focuses primarily on the factors that influence this behavior, such as tourists' attitudes and negative feelings. However, the intrinsic benefits of conservation for individual and societal well-being are often overlooked. Under the theoretical lens of self-expansion theory, this study examined the influence of Chinese tourists' tourism autobiographical memory on their environmentally responsible behavior using a questionnaire survey (N = 434) with partial least squares structural equation modeling. The result attested that tourists' self-expansion and psychological richness serially mediate the association between their tourism autobiographical memory and environmentally responsible behavior as a tourist. In addition, the implicit theories of personality moderate the prediction of tourist autobiographical memory on self-expansion. The results provide an additional explanation for environmentally responsible behavior in tourists, with practical implications for marketers and operators in the industry.

Beyond sustainable consumption practices: Linking organic food consumption to hedonic and eudaimonic well-being

The organic food industry has significantly gained currency due to consumers being increasingly health conscious. However, more insight is needed to decipher the impact of organic food consumption on consumer well-being. Quantitative methods using a cross-sectional design were applied to collect data from 578 organic food consumers residing in South Africa. The results revealed that organic food consumption plays a central role in providing pleasure, positive emotions, a sense of accomplishment and personal growth to consumers. Moreover, the findings indicate that consumers' health consciousness significantly influences the interplay between dimensions of well-being. These findings shed important light on the scholarly debate around the influence of sustainable consumption on well-being. The study also provides crucial insights into new strategies that actors in the organic food industry as well as policymakers will use to effectively promote sustainable consumption and a healthy lifestyle.

Pro-Environmental Behaviors and Well-Being in Adolescence: The Mediating Role of Place Attachment

Adolescents represent the future generation, so it is important to pay attention to behaviors that involve them as actors in social activities and constitute the expression of an adequate growth path. Engaging in pro-environmental behaviors leads adolescents to do something good for themselves, for their own community, and for the place in which they live, and this type of conduct increases their levels of well-being and place attachment. This study examines the association between pro-environmental behavior and personal and social well-being in a sample of 1925 adolescents aged 14 to 20 years. Structural equation analyses showed a direct positive effect of pro-environmental behavior on personal and social well-being as well as place attachment. The latter partially mediated the relationship between pro-environmental behaviors and personal and social well-being. This study is significant in that it provides new data on how pro-environmental behaviors enhance adolescents' personal and social well-being by potentially ensuring long-term benefits, thereby suggesting that it is important to stimulate, motivate, and recommend these kinds of actions.

Psychology of Climate Change

Human behavior plays a critical role in causing global climate change as well as in responding to it. In this article, I review important insights on the psychology of climate change. I first discuss factors that affect the likelihood that individuals engage in a wide range of climate actions. Next, I review the processes through which values affect climate actions and reflect on how to motivate climate actions among people who do not strongly care about nature, the environment, and climate change. Then I explain that even people who may be motivated to engage in climate actions may not do so when they face major barriers to act. This implies that to promote wide-scale climate actions, broader system changes are needed. I discuss relevant factors that affect public support for system changes that facilitate and enable climate action. Finally, I summarize key lessons learned and identify important questions for future research.

The Experience of Self-Transcendence in Social Activists

Every day the wellbeing of disadvantaged individuals and communities is being transformed through the activities of self-transcendent social activists. The positive contagion generated by their actions is felt globally through influence, replication, leadership training and education. These people are visionary, brave, and describe their lives as joyful, deeply fulfilled, and impactful. Seeking no personal recognition or accolade, born from a deep feeling of connectedness and a vision of how life could be better, participants describe the factors that influenced their decision to dedicate their lives to serving the greater good. Using Constructivist Grounded Theory, in-depth semi structured interviews were carried out with eight participants who self-identified as self-transcendent social activists, who have initiated non-mandated and not-for-profit community action. Data was analyzed to explore each participant's personal experiences of self-transcendence and how being self-transcendent has manifested their life choices. The findings present a definition of 'self-transcendent social activism' and a theoretical model that explains the development of participants' activism: trigger, activate, maintain and sustain, resulting in an impact experienced at three levels - individual, community and global. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

People's wellbeing, civic capital and sustainable practices: Evidence from the European Values Study survey

The climate change issue is showing an unprecedented level of awareness in the political realm. Changing occasional sustainable practices into stable behaviors is the challenge that policymakers face. However, what makes people environmentally aware is an unsolved question, and research on this direction is in evolution. This paper examines factors that promote environmentally responsible behaviors. The study tests the hypothesis that people's wellbeing (SWB) predisposes individuals toward environmentalism. The mechanism of social and civic capital may underlie this association since people reporting higher wellbeing levels show empathy, solidarity, and greater civic engagement. This hypothesis is examined in the context of the European Union using micro-data from the European Values Study-EVS (wave 2017-2022). Results support the hypothesis that people's life satisfaction is compatible with the environmental mindset, given that those who report higher wellbeing express civicness and share pro-environmental beliefs and values. Evidence from this research suggests that supporting SWB growth may offer a fertile ground for promoting ecological awareness and developing more sustainable societies.

Does meditation training promote pro-environmental behavior? A cross-sectional comparison and a randomized controlled trial

Meditation training may promote pro-environmental behavior and related variables, though limited research has tested this experimentally. We investigated whether short- or long-term meditation training were associated with pro-environmental behavior, environmental attitudes, and sustainable well-being (i.e., well-being per unit consumption). In a cross-sectional comparison, long-term meditators (n=31; mean=9,154 meditation hours) displayed greater environmental attitudes (d=0.63) but not pro-environmental behavior or sustainable well-being compared to meditation-naïve participants (ds=-0.14-0.27). In a randomized controlled trial (n=125), eight-week training in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction did not significantly improve target variables relative to waitlist or structurally-matched active control (ds=-0.38-0.43). However, relative to waitlist, randomization to either meditation or active control predicted increases in pro-environmental behavior (d=-0.40) and sustainable well-being (d=0.42), although the latter finding was not robust to multiple imputation. While meditation training may promote pro-environmental behavior and its antecedents, the training investigated here does not appear to be uniquely effective.

An Analysis of the Factors behind Rural Residents' Satisfaction with Residential Waste Management in Jiangxi, China

With the increasing environmental and health problems caused by residential solid waste (RSW), upgrading waste disposal services has become a key priority in rural areas of developing countries. Waste disposal services can be improved by incorporating the end-user evaluation of the services and the infrastructure. This study aims to analyze the respondents' satisfaction with waste disposal services and infrastructure in rural China, which has not been well documented in the previous literature. For this purpose, we applied the ordered probit model on survey data of 1064 rural residents of Jiangxi, China. In two separate models, two independent variables, i.e., users' ranking of waste disposal management services and waste disposal management infrastructure, were regressed on five sets of policy, personal, social and demographic, environmental, and village characteristics of the respondents. Our results show that rural residents have relatively high satisfaction (level four out of five) with RSW services. We found a significant correlation between all five investigated characteristics (personal, social and demographic, environmental, and village characteristics) and respondents' satisfaction with RSW management. However, the correlation differs in magnitude and direction among different respondent groups, where gender, minority status, the sanitary condition of household toilets, and treatment of toilet waste at the village level have the largest influence on satisfaction. It was found that male respondents, ethnic minorities, residents with non-farming status, and respondents with more sanitary household toilets have higher satisfaction levels. Our results provide crucial references for decision-makers to effectively promote the further optimization and improvement of rural waste disposal systems in the future.

Predicting Pro-environmental Intention and Behavior Based on Justice Sensitivity, Moral Disengagement, and Moral Emotions – Results of Two Quota-Sampling Surveys

The effects of climate change lead to increasing social injustice and hence justice is intrinsically linked to a socio-ecological transformation. In this study, we investigate whether justice sensitivity motivates pro-environmental intention (PEI) and behavior (PEB) and, if so, to what extent emotions and moral disengagement determine this process. For this purpose, we conducted two quota-sampling surveys (Study 1: N = 174, Study 2: N = 880). Multiple regression analyses in both studies suggest that a higher perception of injustice from a perpetrator’s, beneficiary’s, and observer’s perspective is associated with an increased PEI. However, moral disengagement best predicted PEB and PEI. Guilt and authentic pride were found to be emotional predictors of PEI. Additionally, mediation analyses demonstrated that guilt mediates the connection between both perpetrator and beneficiary sensitivity and PEI. These results suggest that when the predominant originators of climate change (i.e., individuals from industrialized countries) perceive global climate injustice from the perspective of a beneficiary or a perpetrator, they experience guilt and have a higher PEI. Based on this mechanism, it seems promising to render global injustice more salient to those responsible for activities that lead to climate change to motivate them to adapt their behavior. The role of moral disengagement and victim sensitivity as barriers to pro-environmental behavior is discussed in this context.

The Relationship Between Climate Change Issue Engagement, Connection to Nature and Mental Wellbeing

As the threat of climate change becomes increasingly prevalent for people in both the developed and developing world, the impact of climate change on mental wellbeing has become a crucial area of research. In addition to the direct, indirect, and psychosocial impacts of climate change on mental wellbeing, there is also a question of how climate change driven changes to the environment will influence the well-established positive relationship between connection to nature and mental wellbeing. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between climate change issue engagement, connection to nature, and mental wellbeing in English speaking adults over 18 years of age. This study examined the average levels of connection to nature and mental wellbeing in people with different levels of climate change issue engagement, and evaluated whether a person's level of climate change issue engagement uniquely predicted mental wellbeing. The study corroborated positive relationships between wellbeing and various aspects of relatedness to nature in the overall sample. The strength of these relationships, however, depended on the level of climate change issue engagement. More specifically, the level of engagement is inversely linked to mental wellbeing, such that the lower the level of engagement, generally the higher is wellbeing.

Heavy crisis, new perspectives? Investigating the role of consumption, time wealth and meaning construction during countrywide Covid-19 lockdown in Germany

The COVID-19 pandemic profoundly changed the way we live and consume. One open question is whether the crisis provides an opportunity to increase alternatives to materialistic consumption. We characterize these alternatives as sustainable leisure behaviour. Our study aimed to analyse: (i) Changes in behaviour frequency of consumption and sustainable leisure before and during lockdown. (ii) How potential changes in behaviours are appraised and if there are intentions to keep changed behaviour. (iii) Influence of Time Wealth (an alternative model of affluence that potentially promotes low consumption life styles) and Life Reflection (fundamental reflection processes stimulated by the Covid-19 crisis) on consumption and sustainable leisure behaviour during lockdown. We collected data from 947 participants in Germany, using an online survey. Participants reported behaviour frequencies of consumption and sustainable leisure before and during lockdown. Furthermore, participants evaluated potential behaviour changes and rated statements regarding their future intentions. Main findings: (i) Pairwise t-tests revealed reduced consumption behaviour in Electronics and Clothes. All sustainable leisure behaviours increased during lockdown. (ii) Increases in sustainable behaviour received positive evaluation and were intended to extend into the future. Consumption behaviour results were mixed. (iii) In multiple regression analysis, Time Wealth and Life Reflection were positively related to most sustainable leisure behaviour. Sustainable leisure behaviour correlated positively with Life Satisfaction and Presence of Meaning. We discuss future research ideas regarding the promotion of sustainable wellbeing in a post COVID society.

The Problematic Role of Materialistic Values in the Pursuit of Sustainable Well-Being

Strong materialistic values help to maintain consumer capitalism, but they can have negative consequences for individual well-being, for social equity and for environmental sustainability. In this paper, we add to the existing literature on the adverse consequences of materialistic values by highlighting their negative association with engagement in attitudes and actions that support the achievement of sustainable well-being. To do this, we explore the links between materialistic values and attitudes towards sufficiency (consuming "just enough") as well as mindfulness (non-judgmental awareness of the present moment) and flow (total immersion in an activity), which have all been linked to increased well-being and more sustainable behaviours. We present results from three correlational studies that examine the association between materialistic values and sufficiency attitudes (Study 1, n = 310), a multi-faceted measure of mindfulness (Study 2, n = 468) and the tendency to experience flow (Study 3, n = 2000). Results show that materialistic values were negatively associated with sufficiency attitudes, mindfulness, and flow experiences. We conclude with practical considerations and suggest next steps for tackling the problematic aspects of materialism and encouraging the development of sustainable well-being.

Speaking Their Language: Does Environmental Signage Align to Personal Dimensions of Environmentally Responsible Behavior in Undergraduate Residence Halls?

Everyday environmental behaviors within the residential sphere contribute significantly to global carbon emissions. Understanding the factors underlying these behaviors is key to changing behavior. This paper examines undergraduate behavior in on-campus housing as a case study with the following aims: (1) to identify the personal dimensions that underlie undergraduates’ environmentally responsible behaviors (ERBs) and (2) to determine if environmental signage in on-campus housing aligns with these existing personal dimensions. This study involved an online survey of ERBs, values, motivations, and knowledge of students in six residence halls. A content analysis of environmental signage examined how values and motivations were used to frame environmental messages. Comparisons were made to determine how the communications aligned to occupants’ values and motivations. Undergraduate ERBs are supported by subjects’ Biospheric values, Environmental Concern, and motivation to engage with Technology. Female subjects performed significantly more ERBs than male students. Male students placed a significantly higher value on Egoism, which was significantly associated with poorer environmental behaviors. Signage with behavioral appeals is a relatively cost-effective and prevalent intervention strategy. However, signage should be tailored to appeal to a range of values and motivations of the target audience, including students’ desires to interact with technology and the personal benefits of environmental responsibility.

The Effects of Climate Change on Child and Adolescent Mental Health: Clinical Considerations

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

We review recent literature on the effects of climate change on child and adolescent mental health and discuss treatment and engagement by clinicians.

RECENT FINDINGS

Climate change affects child and adolescent mental health in many intersecting ways, including as a social and ecological determinant of health, a threat amplifier, and a source of trauma and distress. Single extreme weather events contribute to significant negative mental health consequences; however, subacute and chronic climate events also have mental health sequelae. Furthermore, awareness of the climate crisis is associated with emotional distress. Young people with pre-existing mental illness and lacking social support may be at elevated risk for climate change-related mental health effects. Climate activism is associated with resilience and positive development, but may also be a source of increased stress, particularly for marginalized youths. Climate change can affect the mental health of children and adolescents in complex and diverse ways. Sources of coping and resilience also vary greatly between individuals. Mental health clinicians must respond to this existential crisis by addressing research gaps in this area, obtaining relevant clinical training, educating their communities, and joining and supporting young people in their advocacy efforts.

A Research Agenda to Better Understand the Human Dimensions of Energy Transitions

The Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) have a key role to play in understanding which factors and policies would motivate, encourage and enable different actors to adopt a wide range of sustainable energy behaviours and support the required system changes and policies. The SSH can provide critical insights into how consumers could be empowered to consistently engage in sustainable energy behaviour, support and adopt new technologies, and support policies and changes in energy systems. Furthermore, they can increase our understanding of how organisations such as private and public institutions, and groups and associations of people can play a key role in the sustainable energy transition. We identify key questions to be addressed that have been identified by the Platform for Energy Research in the Socio-economic Nexus (PERSON, see person.eu), including SSH scholars who have been studying energy issues for many years. We identify three main research themes. The first research theme involves understanding which factors encourage different actors to engage in sustainable energy behaviour. The second research theme focuses on understanding which interventions can be effective in encouraging sustainable energy behaviour of different actors, and which factors enhance their effects. The third research theme concerns understanding which factors affect public and policy support for energy policy and changes in energy systems, and how important public concerns can best be addressed as to reduce or prevent resistance.

Moving Beyond Disciplinary Silos Towards a Transdisciplinary Model of Wellbeing: An Invited Review

The construct of wellbeing has been criticised as a neoliberal construction of western individualism that ignores wider systemic issues such as inequality and anthropogenic climate change. Accordingly, there have been increasing calls for a broader conceptualisation of wellbeing. Here we impose an interpretative framework on previously published literature and theory, and present a theoretical framework that brings into focus the multifaceted determinants of wellbeing and their interactions across multiple domains and levels of scale. We define wellbeing as positive psychological experience, promoted by connections to self, community and environment, supported by healthy vagal function, all of which are impacted by socio-contextual factors that lie beyond the control of the individual. By emphasising the factors within and beyond the control of the individual and highlighting how vagal function both affects and are impacted by key domains, the biopsychosocial underpinnings of wellbeing are explicitly linked to a broader context that is consistent with, yet complementary to, multi-levelled ecological systems theory. Reflecting on the reciprocal relationships between multiple domains, levels of scale and related social contextual factors known to impact on wellbeing, our GENIAL framework may provide a foundation for a transdisciplinary science of wellbeing that has the potential to promote the wellbeing of individuals while also playing a key role in tackling major societal challenges.

Meaning in Life Mediates the Association between Environmental Engagement and Loneliness

Although the positive outcomes of human–environment interactions have been established, research examining the motivation between engagement in pro-environmental activities and psychological well-being is limited. In this mixed-methods study, the relationship between pro-environmental engagement, meaning in life, and well-being, including loneliness and depression, were investigated in a sample of 112 young adults in Canada. It was found that engaging in pro-environmental activities was negatively associated with loneliness. This association was mediated by meaning in life (e.g., an intrinsic motive of caring for future generations). In addition, qualitative analyses explored how engaging in pro-environmental activities has a meaningful impact on meaning in life, and on well-being. A thematic analysis generated three unique themes: (1) responsibility to teach the next generation about the environment, (2) deep appreciation for and connection to nature, and (3) renewed agency through self-directed learning. Overall, findings suggest that meaning in life is a core motive that underlies the association between environmental engagement and loneliness. The present study enriched the relationship between pro-environmentalism and well-being with a mixed-methods perspective.

Determining the role of eudaimonic values in conservation behavior

Values are the fundamental reasons why people engage in conservation behaviors. Recent research has called for a more refined approach to studying values in a way that accounts for the concept of eudaimonia. However, the empirical properties for a eudaimonic value scale have not been tested given that previous investigations have remained at the theoretical level. Drawing from an on-site survey of visitors to Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska, we used a latent profile analysis used a latent profile analysis to better understand the expression of multiple values of nature. Specifically, we segmented respondents by their value orientations with a particular focus on evaluating eudaimonic and hedonic values, alongside the established dimensions of altruistic, biospheric, and egoistic values. We identified 4 distinct subgroups defined by value orientations and validated these subgroups based on measures of conservation behavior and sociodemographic characteristics (e.g., age). These results indicated campaign messaging should harness a combination of eudaimonic, biospheric, and altruistic values to propel individual behavior. We also observed that hedonic and egoistic values defined how people related to nature and played a role, albeit less pronounced, in motivating them to take action. Our study is one of the first efforts to operationalize eudaimonia in a conservation context; thus, we have opened a new avenue for protected-area managers to align their strategies with the underlying values of stakeholders.

The Relative Importance of Values, Social Norms, and Enjoyment-Based Motivation in Explaining Pro-Environmental Product Purchasing Behavior in Apparel Domain

Changing consumption behavior can offer co-benefits in reduction of environmental issues and encouraging improvements to environmentally friendly or sustainable production. We propose a novel value-social norm-enjoyment-based motivation (VSE) model and test the factors that influence individual pro-environmental apparel purchasing behavior. Data were obtained from 353 college students in Korea and analyzed by using SEM. Our results show that individuals who endorse bio-altruistic values who engage in eco-friendly environmental behavior in apparel domain are influenced by descriptive norms and injunctive norms. Further, enjoyment-based motivation was found to be a key mediator among bio-altruistic value, descriptive norms, and injunctive norms on pro-environmental purchasing behavior. However, injunctive norms do not directly influence purchasing behavior, but rather, are integrated to enjoyment-based intrinsic motivation, then indirectly affect purchasing behavior.

The Way Forward in Mindfulness and Sustainability: a Critical Review and Research Agenda

The ecological crisis demands new strategies to rapidly transform our society into a more sustainable one. A growing amount of research points towards the potential of mindfulness to help transform people’s motivations for sustainability. This article reviews 30 years of research in mindfulness and sustainability and disentangles theoretical knowledge from empirical evidence. We identified six leading theoretical links between mindfulness and sustainability which find backing in empirical work: reduced automaticity, enhanced health and subjective well-being, greater connectedness with nature, improved pro-sociality, recognition of intrinsic values and openness to new experiences. Many of the studies involve considerable methodological caveats, most importantly a lack of mindfulness practice indicators and environmental impact measures. To reach the point where policy makers could embrace mindfulness-based policies to promote societal well-being and sustainability, the research must go beyond the present focus on correlative research. The proof of causality posits the greatest challenge for the next decade of research. Inspired by principles from policy evaluation, we propose a research agenda that offers direction for collaborative efforts and innovative interdisciplinary study designs in a logical model: (how) does the practice of mindfulness contribute to individual behaviour change and (how) does this individual change translate into societal change?

Community Supported Agriculture as a Driver of Food-Related Well-Being

Background: There is a growing amount of research interest to understand the role of food in well-being. The demand for community supported agriculture (CSA), bringing people spatially, economically, and socially closer to food, is continuously expanding. CSAs play an important role in both sustainable agriculture practices and influencing consumers’ food-related practices, but yet have received little attention in well-being research. Methods: This study explores food-related well-being among CSA members by using an exploratory, qualitative research design and a thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews. Results: The findings stress the relevance of psychological, social, and spiritual aspects of food-related well-being beyond the nutritional characteristics of food in CSA. Conclusion: The role of sustainable agriculture in contributing to food-related well-being becomes particularly evident based on consumers’ experiences. These results are important in convincing people that their food-related experiences belong to their perceived well-being as well as stimulating people to elevate their multidimensional expectations in relation to food.

Positive psychology as a strategy for promoting sustainable population policies

Demographic stability constitutes a paramount global environmental objective. Yet, decades of efforts, highlighting the perils of overpopulation, have failed to slow the rapid global population growth. In considering an alternative strategy, insights from the field of positive psychology are explored for their potential to inform future demographic policies. After briefly reviewing sustainable advocacy efforts, different theories behind individual fertility decisions are presented. Following, key components of prominent successful family planning interventions are analysed using a 'positive psychology' perspective. Three 'positive psychology' strategies are explored for their potential to inform sustainable population: a "direct" approach that emphasizes individual benefits rather than indirect gains through mitigation of damages; an emphasis on the convergence between the collective and individual benefits of two--child families; and application of behavioral change theories in demographic policies to better facilitate sustainable individual fertility decisions. The paper posits that a positive psychology conceptualization offers a promising way to re-think the design of demographic policies and frame sustainable population interventions.

Threat and Anxiety in the Climate Debate—An Agent-Based Model to Investigate Climate Scepticism and Pro-Environmental Behaviour

In order to meet the challenges of sustainable development, it is of utmost importance to involve all relevant decision makers in this process. These decision makers are diverse, including governments, corporations and private citizens. Since the latter group is the largest and the majority of decisions relevant to the future of the environment is made by that group, great effort has been put into communicating relevant research results to them. The hope is that well-informed citizens make well-informed choices and thus act in a sustainable way. However, this common but drastic simplification that more information about climate change automatically leads to pro-environmental behaviour is fundamentally flawed. It completely neglects the complex social-psychological processes that occur if people are confronted with threatening information. In reality, the defence mechanisms that are activated in such situations can also work against the goal of sustainable development, as experimental studies showed. Based on these findings, we propose an agent-based model to understand the relation between threatening climate change information, anxiety, climate change scepticism, environmental self-identity and pro-environmental behaviour. We find that the exposure to information about climate change, in general, does not increase the pro-environmental intent unless several conditions regarding the individual’s values and information density are met.

Positive associations of optimism-pessimism orientation with pro-environmental behavior and subjective well-being: a longitudinal study on quality of life and everyday behavior

PURPOSE

The aim of the present study was to investigate associations of the balance of optimism and pessimism orientations as personal traits with pro-environmental behavior and subjective well-being, i.e., life satisfaction.

METHODS

A longitudinal questionnaire survey consisting of two waves were conducted with Japanese respondents within an interval of 3 months (N = 770, mean age 49.6 ± 15.23 years). Correlation analyses and structural equation modeling were conducted to identify relationships between pro-environmental behavior and positive and negative psychological states and orientations.

RESULTS

Results of both the two surveys indicated positive correlations of optimism-pessimism orientation (O/P ratio) and subjective well-being with pro-environmental behavior. Negative associations were also confirmed between depression, stress, and sleepiness and pro-environmental behavior. Structural equation modeling using the two-wave data revealed that O/P ratio is positively associated with pro-environmental behavior as longitudinal associations.

CONCLUSIONS

These results suggest that O/P ratio can be related to current and future engagement in pro-environmental behavior and improvement in subjective well-being which could lead to an environmentally sustainable society with enhanced quality of life.

The Easier the Better: How Processing Fluency Influences Self-Efficacy and Behavioral Intention in Pro-Social Campaign Advertising

This study examines how processing fluency influences people’s behavioral intention to perform a pro-social behavior. In particular, we predict that high processing fluency enhances self-efficacy perception which, in turn, increases behavioral intention to participate in a pro-social campaign. Study 1 tested the proposed effect in the context of a pro-environmental campaign. Results showed that individual’s subjective feeling of processing fluency affects the degree of self-efficacy and intention to engage in recycling behavior. Study 2 replicated study 1 in the context of organ donation. In addition, we manipulated the degree of conceptual fluency by differently pairing message framing (gain vs. loss) and background color (blue vs. red). As predicted, participants exposed to campaign advertising with conceptually matching framing-color pairs (blue—gain framing and red—loss framing) expressed a greater level of self-efficacy than those who were exposed to mismatched pairs. In addition, self-efficacy mediated the influence of the color–framing match on the intention to donate organs. Our research contributes to the existing literature by identifying critical drivers that promote actions toward pro-social campaigns. It also provides useful guidelines for marketers who design and implement pro-social campaign communications.

Measuring Values in Environmental Research: A Test of an Environmental Portrait Value Questionnaire

Four human values are considered to underlie individuals’ environmental beliefs and behaviors: biospheric (i.e., concern for environment), altruistic (i.e., concern for others), egoistic (i.e., concern for personal resources) and hedonic values (i.e., concern for pleasure and comfort). These values are typically measured with an adapted and shortened version of the Schwartz Value Survey (SVS), to which we refer as the Environmental-SVS (E-SVS). Despite being well-validated, recent research has indicated some concerns about the SVS methodology (e.g., comprehensibility, self-presentation biases) and suggested an alternative method of measuring human values: The Portrait Value Questionnaire (PVQ). However, the PVQ has not yet been adapted and applied to measure values most relevant to understand environmental beliefs and behaviors. Therefore, we tested the Environmental-PVQ (E-PVQ) – a PVQ variant of E-SVS –and compared it with the E-SVS in two studies. Our findings provide strong support for the validity and reliability of both the E-SVS and E-PVQ. In addition, we find that respondents slightly preferred the E-PVQ over the E-SVS (Study 1). In general, both scales correlate similarly to environmental self-identity (Study 1), energy behaviors (Studies 1 and 2), pro-environmental personal norms, climate change beliefs and policy support (Study 2). Accordingly, both methodologies show highly similar results and seem well-suited for measuring human values underlying environmental behaviors and beliefs.

Is organic food consumption associated with life satisfaction? A cross-sectional analysis from the NutriNet-Santé study

Well-being is often mentioned as an important motive for organic food consumption. Little is known about the relationship between organic food consumption and life satisfaction (a component of well-being). The aim of this study was to investigate the cross-sectional relationship between organic food consumption and life satisfaction.

A total of 17,446 volunteers aged 45 or above, from the NutriNet-Santé cohort filled in an organic food semi-quantitative frequency questionnaire and completed the French validated satisfaction with life scale (range score 5–35). Adjusted means (95% confidence intervals) of the satisfaction with life score across quintiles of contribution of organic food to the diet (total and by food group) were estimated using ANCOVA models.

In multivariable model, life satisfaction among lowest and highest consumers of organic food reached 24.98 (95%CI: 24.78–25.17) and 25.52 (95%CI: 25.33–25.71) respectively (P trend < 0.0001). Life satisfaction was slightly and positively associated with higher contribution of organic food to the diet (overall and in most food groups).

Our findings suggest that high organic food consumption may play a role in life satisfaction of participants over 45 years old through hedonist or eudemonic approaches.

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Life satisfaction was slightly associated with high organic food consumption.

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Organic food may impact life satisfaction by hedonist or eudemonic approaches.

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Longitudinal studies are needed to better characterize the direction of causation.

Why Acting Environmentally-Friendly Feels Good: Exploring the Role of Self-Image

Recent research suggests that engagement in environmentally-friendly behavior can feel good. Current explanations for such a link do not focus on the nature of environmentally-friendly behavior itself, but rather propose well-being is more or less a side-benefit; behaviors that benefit environmental quality (e.g., spending one's money on people rather than products) also tend to make us feel good. We propose that the moral nature of environmentally-friendly behavior itself may elicit positive emotions as well, because engaging in this behavior can signal one is an environmentally-friendly and thus a good person. Our results show that engagement in environmentally-friendly behavior can indeed affect how people see themselves: participants saw themselves as being more environmentally-friendly when they engaged in more environmentally-friendly behavior (Study 1). Furthermore, environmentally-friendly behavior resulted in a more positive self-image, more strongly when it was voluntarily engaged in, compared to when it was driven by situational constraints (Study 2). In turn, the more environmentally-friendly (Study 1) and positive (Study 2) people saw themselves, the better they felt about acting environmentally-friendly. Together, these results suggest that the specific self-signal that ensues from engaging in environmentally-friendly behavior can explain why environmentally-friendly actions may elicit a good feeling.

Effect of technology innovation and spillovers on the carbon intensity of human well-being

In order to enhance sustainability, it is necessary to reduce the carbon intensity of human well-being (CIWB). In this paper, we analyze the impact of technology innovation and spillovers on CIWB using panel data of 30 provinces in China from 2005 to 2010. We find that increasing research and development (R&D) intensity and interregional R&D spillovers can decrease CIWB; R&D intensity has a nonlinear effect on CIWB without incorporating interregional R&D spillovers; economic development has positive effect on CIWB, while manufacturing has negative effect on CIWB.

Understanding the human dimensions of a sustainable energy transition

Global climate change threatens the health, economic prospects, and basic food and water sources of people. A wide range of changes in household energy behavior is needed to realize a sustainable energy transition. We propose a general framework to understand and encourage sustainable energy behaviors, comprising four key issues. First, we need to identify which behaviors need to be changed. A sustainable energy transition involves changes in a wide range of energy behaviors, including the adoption of sustainable energy sources and energy-efficient technology, investments in energy efficiency measures in buildings, and changes in direct and indirect energy use behavior. Second, we need to understand which factors underlie these different types of sustainable energy behaviors. We discuss three main factors that influence sustainable energy behaviors: knowledge, motivations, and contextual factors. Third, we need to test the effects of interventions aimed to promote sustainable energy behaviors. Interventions can be aimed at changing the actual costs and benefits of behavior, or at changing people’s perceptions and evaluations of different costs and benefits of behavioral options. Fourth, it is important to understand which factors affect the acceptability of energy policies and energy systems changes. We discuss important findings from psychological studies on these four topics, and propose a research agenda to further explore these topics. We emphasize the need of an integrated approach in studying the human dimensions of a sustainable energy transition that increases our understanding of which general factors affect a wide range of energy behaviors as well as the acceptability of different energy policies and energy system changes.

Some behavioral aspects of energy descent: how a biophysical psychology might help people transition through the lean times ahead

We may soon face biophysical limits to perpetual growth. Energy supplies may tighten and then begin a long slow descent while defensive expenditures rise to address problems caused by past resource consumption. The outcome may be significant changes in daily routines at the individual and community level. It is difficult to know when this scenario might begin to unfold but it clearly would constitute a new behavioral context, one that the behavioral sciences least attends to. Even if one posits a less dramatic scenario, people may still need to make many urgent and perhaps unsettling transitions. And while a robust response would be needed, it is not at all clear what should be the details of that response. Since it is likely that no single response will fix things everywhere, for all people or for all time, it would be useful to conduct many social experiments. Indeed, a culture of small experiments should be fostered which, at the individual and small group level, can be described as behavioral entrepreneurship. This may have begun, hidden in plain sight, but more social experiments are needed. To be of help, it may be useful to both package behavioral insights in a way that is practitioner-oriented and grounded in biophysical trends and to propose a few key questions that need attention. This paper begins the process of developing a biophysical psychology, incomplete as it is at this early stage.

Green Perspective for a Hopeful Future: Explaining Green Schools’ Contribution to Environmental Subjective Well-Being

This article offers a new perspective on 2 of the most pressing challenges of contemporary society: improving the state of the environment and improving the subjective well-being (SWB) of adolescents, who are not only likely to suffer the severe consequences of environmental degradation but are also society's future leaders. We present an innovative interdisciplinary approach blending positive psychology with environmental education to study the previously unexplored mechanisms by which green schools may promote not only adolescents’ environmental behavior (EB) but also their SWB. Within a new framework of environmental subjective well-being, our explanatory theoretical model posits a potential chain of influence that begins with green schools’ effects on students’ goal-directed environmental hope (a latent cognitive variable indicated by agency thinking, pathway thinking, and trusting other members of society), which in turn contributes to increased levels of EB and SWB. A latent cognitive–behavioral variable, indicated by self-control skills and resistance to peer pressure, is posited as moderator of the relation between environmental hope and actual EB. Implications for research, practice, and policy are proposed.