22 research outputs found
Mean or green? Values, morality and environmental significant behavior.
No full textIn most cases, pro-environmental behavior does not maximize individual interests, but mainly benefits other people or the environment. We propose that although acting on the basis of egoistic considerations may result in pro-environmental behavior, altruistic and biospheric considerations provide the most stable basis for pro-environmental behavior. We present two strategies to promote stable pro-environmental behavior. The first way is increasing the saliency of altruistic and biospheric values in specific situations, thereby reducing the relative strength of egoistic values. The second way is making the often “anti-environmental” egoistic values compatible with “pro-environmental” altruistic and biospheric values. We explain these options and translate it to possible interventions, policy implications, and follow-up research to promote “green” behavior
Environment and Quality of Life
No full textThis chapter argues that a purely ecological perspective on sustainability is too limited and that a human perspective should also be considered. It approaches sustainability as well-balanced relationships between humans and their environments. The chapter introduces a measure of quality of life (QoL) as a way to assess social sustainability on the individual level. To assess environmentally determined QoL, objective and subjective measures can be used. Unidimensional measures of QoL describe the relationship between one environmental factor and one QoL aspect. To study multiple relationships between environmental factors and QoL, multidimensional measures of QoL are needed. Various empirical studies have examined relationships between environmental characteristics and individual QoL. The chapter discusses how individual QoL measures have been applied in studies on human-environment relationships. Many of these studies have used a multidimensional instrument for assessing individual QoL.</p
Theories to Explain Environmental Behaviour
No full textThis chapter discusses the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) that focuses on the role of individual costs and benefits, and the protection motivation theory (PMT) that assumes people consider individual and collective costs and benefits of behaviour. The chapter explains two theories that focus on morality: the norm activation model (NAM) theory and the value-belief-norm (VBN) theory of environmentalism. The norm activation model proposes that pro-environmental actions follow from the activation of personal norms, reflecting feelings of moral obligation to perform or refrain from actions. The VBN theory proposes that problem awareness depends on values and ecological worldviews. Goal-framing theory proposes that three general goals govern or ‘frame’ the way people process information and act upon it: the hedonic goal ‘to feel better right now’, the gain goal ‘to guard and improve one’s resources’, and the normative goal ‘to act appropriately’.</p
Persuasive Technology to Promote Pro-Environmental Behaviour
No full textThis chapter discusses the dimensions and scope of persuasive technology and its potential to promote sustainable use of the environment surrounding us. Persuasive technology aims to bridge the gap between technological and psychological contributions to solving environmental problems by intervening in user-system interactions that have environmental consequences. Various approaches to persuasive technology will be introduced including the use of persuasive agents, the provision of new experiences, the use of persuasive ambient technology, and persuasive technology at the group level that acknowledges the social nature of environmental behaviour. A crucial advantage of ambient persuasive technology is that it can continue influencing people, even in daily situations in which cognitive resources are taxed and where interventions that need cognitive attention would not be influential. The use of ambient intelligence decreases the use of cognitive resources which helps to ease behaviour change.</p
Morality and Prosocial Behavior: the Role of Awareness, Responsibility and Norms in the Norm Activation Model
No full textThis paper examines the relationships between variables included in the Norm Activation Model of prosocial behaviour (NAM). Specifically, we evaluate the strength of two commonly used interpretations of this model, namely the NAM as a mediator model and the NAM as a moderator model. Five studies focussing on a variety of prosocial intentions and behaviours provide most support for the NAM as a mediator model. Furthermore, these studies validate past research by showing that variables included in the NAM are powerful in explaining a diversity of prosocial intentions and behaviours in the social as well as in the environmental context
