Encouraging pro-environmental behaviour: An integrative review and research agenda

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Abstract

Environmental quality strongly depends on human behaviour patterns. We review the contribution and the potential of environmental psychology for understanding and promoting pro-environmental behaviour. A general framework is proposed, comprising: (1) identification of the behaviour to be changed, (2) examination of the main factors underlying this behaviour, (3) design and application of interventions to change behaviour to reduce environmental impact, and (4) evaluation of the effects of interventions. We discuss how environmental psychologists empirically studied these four topics, identify apparent shortcomings so far, and indicate major issues for future research.

Section snippets

A systematic approach to encourage pro-environmental behaviour

Various environmental problems pose a threat to environmental sustainability, among which global warming, urban air pollution, water shortages, environmental noise, and loss of biodiversity. Many of these problems are rooted in human behaviour (DuNann Winter and Koger, 2004, Gardner and Stern, 2002, Vlek and Steg, 2007), and can thus be managed by changing the relevant behaviour so as to reduce its environmental impacts. Changes in human behaviour are believed to be needed because technical

Selection and assessment of environmental behaviour

This section first discusses criteria for selecting behaviours that could best be targeted in behaviour change programs. Next, we briefly elaborate on the measurement of environmental behaviour.

Factors influencing environmental behaviour

The effectiveness of behavioural interventions generally increases when they are aimed at important antecedents of the relevant behaviour and at removing barriers for change. Therefore, it is important to understand which factors promote or inhibit environmental behaviour. Factors underlying environmental behaviour have been studied from different theoretical perspectives (see, e.g., Vining & Ebreo, 2002). In Section 3.1, we first elaborate on three lines of research that focus on individual

Interventions

When the environmental behaviour has been selected and its causal factors identified, intervention strategies can be targeted on the relevant factors. For example, when behaviour is strongly related to attitudes, one can try to promote attitude changes towards particular pro-environmental behaviour. When contextual factors inhibit particular behaviours, one can try to remove those barriers.

Various strategies for behaviour change have been identified, each focusing on a different set of

Evaluating the effectiveness of interventions

For researchers and policy-makers alike, it is important to systematically evaluate the effects of interventions. So far, most evaluation studies were focused on informational strategies, while the workings and effectiveness of structural strategies have been studied far less (see Abrahamse et al., 2005, Dwyer et al., 1993, Schultz et al., 1995, for reviews). This is regrettable, because to the extent that society's organisational and incentive structures strongly influence environmental

Conclusions

Environmental psychologists have an important role to play in the management of environmental problems by the promotion of behavioural changes. Behavioural interventions are generally more effective when they are systematically planned, implemented and evaluated. Four key issues to be addressed are: (1) identification of the behaviour to be changed, (2) examination of the main factors underlying this behaviour, (3) application of interventions to change the relevant behaviours and their

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