Eco-Guilt Motivates Eco-Friendly Behavior
Citations Over TimeTop 10% of 2012 papers
Abstract
Despite widespread support for environmentalism, few people consistently engage in proenvironmental behavior. The present research investigates the potential of eco-guilt to increase engagement in proenvironmental behavior. Eco-guilt is guilt that arises when people think about times they have not met personal or societal standards for environmental behavior. Highlighting instances when people fail to meet standards for environmental protection should create guilt which should then motivate eco-friendly behavior. Study 1 (n=277) shows that eco-guilt predicts eco-friendly behavioral intentions above and beyond individual differences in trait guilt and proenvironmental attitudes. Study 2 (n=96) shows that eco-guilt mediates the relation between perceptions regarding personal standards about environmentally harmful behavior and both public and private efforts to protect the environment. When college students bring to mind their standards for environmental behavior, ranging from recycling to buying a fuel-efficient car, doing so creates eco-guilt, which motivates efforts to protect the environment.
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