I Am vs. We Are: How Biospheric Values and Environmental Identity of Individuals and Groups Can Influence Pro-environmental Behaviour

Abstract

Most research in environmental psychology is conducted in individualistic countries and focuses on factors pertaining to individuals. It is yet unclear whether these findings also apply to more collectivistic countries, in which group factors might play a prominent role. In the current paper, we test the individual-focused value–identity–behaviour pathway, in which personal biospheric values relate to pro-environmental actions via environmental self-identity, in an individualistic and a collectivistic country. Furthermore, we test in both countries whether a new group-focused pathway also exists, in which group values relate to pro-environmental behaviour via environmental group identity, particularly in collectivistic countries. Questionnaire studies were conducted among Dutch (N = 161) and Chinese (N = 168) students. Our results indicated that personal biospheric values, mostly via environmental self-identity, predict pro-environmental behaviour in both countries. We also found initial support for our newly proposed value–identity–behaviour pathway at the group level, particularly in China. Yet, in both countries, the association between group-level variables and pro-environmental behaviour was weaker than for personal-level variables, and partly overlapped with personal-level variables. Our findings show the relevance of personal- and group-level factors in understanding pro-environmental behaviour in both individualistic and collectivistic countries, which has strong theoretical and practical implications, particularly for developing international strategies to promote pro-environmental actions across the world.

Antecedents of the Green Behavioral Intentions of Hotel Guests: A Developing Country Perspective

“…The third important finding is related to the insignificant relationship between collectivism and inconvenience. These results are not consistent with the findings of many studies, e.g., [44,[46][47][48]. The context of this study is also important and needs reflection at this stage.…”

“…Kirmani and Khan [48] found collectivism as a predictor of environmental concern in Indian consumers. Similarly, Wang et al [44] found collectivism as a predictor of green purchase attitude and green purchase intentions in Chinese hotel consumers.…”

“…Kim and Choi [40] also found collectivism has an impact on green purchase behavior. The positive and significant impact of collectivism on proenvironmental behavior has been supported by many investigations, i.e., [44,[46][47][48]. Goh and Wahid [47] studied Malaysian consumer behavior and found collectivism as an essential determinant of green purchases.…”

“…People with collectivist orientations are more likely to be involved in proenvironmental behaviors than people with individualistic tendencies [43]. According to Wang et al [44], the collective values of individuals are a significant predictor of their intentions toward green purchases. Similarly, Laroche et al [45] suggested that collectivist-oriented people are friendlier toward the natural environment.…”

Assessing the value orientation impact on the city dwellers’ perception of the ecological situation

“…The researchers show that maximizing individual needs under certain circumstances can lead to environmentally responsible behavior, but they cannot "provide a more stable basis for proenvironmental behavior". In several publications, authors consider personal values through the groups of egoistic, hedonic, altruistic, and biospheric values (WANG et al, 2021). At the same time, most studies on environmental behavior do not show differences "between biospheric and altruistic value orientations" (BARDI, SCHWARTZ, 2003;CORRALIZA, BERENGUER, 2000).…”