Values, identity and pro-environmental behaviour
Overall aims
This research explores the link between values, identities and pro-environmental behaviours among a wide range of UK consumers.
Context
The importance of understanding and promoting pro-environmental behaviour among individual consumers in modern Western Societies is generally accepted. Attitudes and attitude change are often examined to help reach this goal. But although attitudes are relatively good predictors of behaviour and are relatively easy to change they only help explain specific behaviours. More stable individual factors such as values and identities may affect a wider range of behaviours. In particular factors which are important to the self are likely to influence behaviour across contexts and situations. Several studies were conducted as part of the RESOLVE project which measured values and identities.
Research methods
Analyses were conducted on survey data from three studies with UK residents, with a total of 2,694 participants. The first was a survey study conducted among English households in 2001 to examine community engagement and attitudes and perceptions in relation to sustainable lifestyles. The second was a survey among a random sample of households in two areas in the UK, one city in the North and one town in the South. The third was an on-line survey was developed in 2007 by a commercial marketing research company on behalf of a major media group in the UK. The analyses explored the relationships of identity and values on pro-environmental behaviour, and their relationship with two existing models of such behaviour: the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB; Ajzen & Fishbein, 1974) and the Norm Activation Model (NAM; Schwartz, 1977). It was hypothesised that identity would mediate the relationship between values and pro-environmental behaviour. Moreover, Study 3 examined whether identity would explain variance in intention towards pro-environmental behaviour over and above attitudes, perceived social norms, perceived behavioural control and personal norms (variables from TPB and NAM).
Findings
Values and identities were good predictors of pro-environmental behaviour in each study and identities explained pro-environmental behaviours over and above specific attitudes. The link between values and behaviours was fully mediated by identities in two studies and partially mediated in one study supporting the idea that identities may be broader concepts which incorporate values. The findings lend support for the concept of identity campaigning to promote sustainable behaviour. Moreover, it suggests fruitful future research directions which should explore the development and maintenance of identities.
Outputs
Gatersleben, B, N Murtagh W and Abrahamse 2012. Values, identities and pro-environmental behaviour. Contemporary Social Science, accepted for publication.
Gatersleben, B, N Murtagh and W Abrahamse 2011. Values, identities and pro-environmental behaviour. Presented at the RESOLVE Conference: Living Sustainably: values policies and practices. London, 15 June 2011.
Gatersleben, B 2011. 21st century living project: Analyses of second value survey and comparative analyses, RESOLVE Working Paper Series 06-11. Guildford: University of Surrey.
