Consumption and climate change: Why we say one thing but do another in the face of our greatest threat

Abstract

There is clear evidence that human beings have contributed to climate change through their patterns of consumption, and since we are part of the problem then we must be part of the solution. People say that they are prepared to adapt their behaviour to ameliorate the effects of climate change, but numerous studies have found that little behaviour change actually occurs. This experimental study investigates this issue, by focussing on explicit (self report) attitudes, and implicit (automatic) attitudes to various consumer brands with differing environmental consequences in a behavioural choice task. We found firstly, in line with previous research, that human beings have reflective attitudes and more unconscious and automatic attitudes that are 'dissociated'.In terms of consumer choice of brands, we found that consumers were particularly sensitive to both big brand information and value in their selection of products, particularly under time pressure. Organic/eco brands were,

Environmentally Sustainable Food Consumption: A Review and Research Agenda From a Goal-Directed Perspective

“…This is especially the case for local food because it may take more time to buy these products (Feldmann and Hamm, 2015). When more automatic processes prevail (for example, when people experience time pressure), consumers are particularly sensitive to both brand information and brand value and are less prone to choose organic/eco brands (Beattie and McGuire, 2016).…”

“…Some future research ideas can be formulated concerning the measurement of ESFC. Beattie and McGuire (2016) argue that human beings have a "divided self " when it comes to the environment and climate change, and this underlying "dissociation" in attitude (implicit versus explicit) might be critical to their behavior as consumers. Future research could investigate the specific relation between implicit and explicit attitudes and ESFC.…”

“…Future research could investigate the specific relation between implicit and explicit attitudes and ESFC. Implicit and explicit measures toward sustainable products have often been found to be related (Greenwald et al, 2009), although some studies show no correlation (Beattie and McGuire, 2016). Mixed results exist on the predictive nature of implicit and explicit measures (Songa et al, 2019).…”

“…Mixed results exist on the predictive nature of implicit and explicit measures (Songa et al, 2019). For example, implicit (rather than explicit) attitudes have been found to influence the use of color-coded carbon footprint information in choosing products while explicit attitudes were not predictive of behavior (Beattie and McGuire, 2016). On the other hand, Panzone et al (2016) found that Implicit Association Test scores do not significantly predict sustainability of food baskets.…”

Visual Design Cues Impacting Food Choice: A Review and Future Research Agenda

“…Mixed results exist on the predictive nature of implicit and explicit measures. Implicit attitudes, for example, have been found to influence the use of colour-coded information in choosing products while explicit attitudes were not predictive of behaviour [ 357 ]. Future research should use implicit as well as explicit measures to investigate psychological processes and behavioural outcomes and investigate the specific relation between implicit and explicit attitudes regarding visual design cues, and its impact on food choices (FR 74).…”