Care and Commitment in Ethical Consumption: An Exploration of the ‘Attitude–Behaviour Gap’

Abstract

In this paper we argue that greater attention must be given to peoples' expression of ''care'' in relation to consumption. We suggest that ''caring about'' does not necessarily lead to ''care-giving,'' as conceptualising an attitude-behaviour gap might imply, but that a closer examination of the intensity, morality, and articulation of care can lead to a greater understanding of consumer narratives and, thus, behaviour. To examine this proposition, a purposive sample of self-identified ethical consumers was interviewed. Care is expressed by the study's participants in a variety of ways and linked to behaviour through diverse patterns that includes consumption and abstention. We find significant correspondence between the academic literature on the 'ethics of care' and our participants' articulation of their ethical consumption behaviours. We suggest, therefore, that a close understanding of an ethics of care among consumers is important both in providing insight into the attitude-behaviour gap challenge evident in the literature and to the continued development of an ethical consumption discourse.

A psycho-social approach to consumer ethics

“…In doing so, our study aligns with an emerging stream of consumer research (see Shaw, McMaster & Newholm, 2016;Shaw, McMaster, Longo & Özçaglar-Toulouse, 2017) that conceptualises moral decisions as issues of care and commitment rather than individual choices based on calculated outcomes. Second, we corroborate a model of consumer morality that moves beyond both psychological and socio-cultural traditions to point instead to how the psychic and the social are mutually constitutive.…”

Model of Chinese Household Kitchen Waste Separation Behavior: A Case Study in Beijing City

“…It appears that households do not like to engage in KW separation programs even when they believe in such programs and view the outcomes positively. According to the behavioral economics, this phenomenon can be explained by Retain the Status Quo [66][67][68], Knowledge-Action Gap [67,69], and Attitude-Action Gap [67,70]. People tend to resist change and go with the flow of pre-set options, even where alternatives may yield better (e.g., more financially rewarding) personal or collective outcomes.…”

Encouraging Vietnamese Household Recycling Behavior: Insights and Implications

“…Personal morality is a key facilitator of various ethical and environmentally sustainable behaviors [4,[63][64][65]. A survey by Davies et al [23] reveals that respondents perceive a moral obligation to recycle their household waste.…”

“…The growing awareness that human activity challenges the environment quality and natural resources has led to the prominence of sustainability research and recognition of the urgent need to encourage more responsible consumption [1][2][3][4]. Households are the key contributor to the alarmingly increasing rate of the quantity of solid wastes which cause environmental degradation [5,6].…”