Experiences of pride, not guilt, predict pro-environmental behavior when pro-environmental descriptive norms are more positive

By M. J. Bissing-Olson, Kelly S. Fielding, A. Iyer. 2016

283 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Emotions can greatly influence behavior, yet research on links between incidental emotions and pro-environmental behavior is limited. The present study uses an experience sampling design to examine how pride and guilt relate to daily pro-environmental behavior. Ninety-six university students recorded their engagement in specific pro-environmental behaviors, and their feelings of pride and guilt about these behaviors, at four time points each day for three consecutive days. Results showed that pro-environmental behavior during a 2.5-h time period was positively related to pride, and negatively related to guilt, during that same time period. Pride about environmental behavior was positively related to subsequent engagement in pro-environmental behavior (i.e., during the following 2.5-h time period), but only for people who perceived more positive pro-environmental descriptive norms. Guilt was not related to subsequent pro-environmental behavior. We discuss implications for further research on the complex associations between daily experiences of moral emotions and pro-environmental behavior.

Subfields: Applied Psychology, Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law, Sociology and Political Science

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/a76b12f11598f1938257d43c25a1b16a4c3a9273

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Citations in the corpus

The value–belief–emotion–norm model: investigating customers’ eco-friendly behavior (2017, background): “According to Bissing-Olson, Fielding, and Iyer (2016) and Han et al. (2015), if individuals think that something they will do is environmentally valued, they are likely to anticipate a feeling of pride about the behavior.”
From Awe to Ecological Behavior: The Mediating Role of Connectedness to Nature (2018, background): “Specifically, emotions (such as fear, pride) and exposure to nature are considered to affect environmentally related behavior [40,41].”
Knowing What It Makes: How Product Transformation Salience Increases Recycling (2019, background): “…has shown that evoking the positive social emotion of pride can increase the likelihood of engaging in sustainable behavior (Peter and Honea 2012), at least relative to guilt-inducing messages (Antonetti and Maklan 2014; Bissing-Olson, Fielding, and Iyer 2016; Peloza, White, and Shang 2013).”
Don't be satisfied, identify! Strengthening positive spillover by connecting pro-environmental behaviors to an “environmentalist” label (2016, background): “This behavioral reflection and/or environmentalist label may also boost feelings of pride, which can strengthen their environmental self-identity and instigate further proenvironmental actions (Bissing-Olson et al., 2016; Harth et al., 2013).”
Bringing habits and emotions into food waste behaviour (2017, background): “Others (e.g., Bissing-Olson et al., 2016) have shown that pride in relation to a behaviour positively predicts future behaviour.”
Emotions predict policy support: Why it matters how people feel about climate change (2018, background): “Current research shows that emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt can motivate climate change action (Bamberg and Möser, 2007; Bissing-Olson et al., 2016; Ferguson and Branscombe, 2010; Harth et al., 2013; Lu and Schuldt, 2016; Mallett et al., 2013; Rees et al., 2015).”
An Investigation of Pro-Environmental Behaviour and Sustainable Development in Malaysia (2020, background): “, double-sided printing), and buying and/or consuming green products [48].”