Voluntary or Forced: Different Effects of Personal and Social Norms on Urban Residents’ Environmental Protection Behavior

Abstract

It is well known that environmental protection behaviors are influenced by both individual internal motivation and external environmental pressure, but few studies have looked at the two kinds of factors together. In order to study the influence mechanism of these two kinds of factors on the environmental protection behavior of urban residents, especially the difference between these two kinds of factors, we take personal norms and social norms as independent variables into the theoretical model. Results based on survey data of 731 urban residents revealed that personal norms and social norms both are positively associated with environmental protection behavior. Moreover, environmental protection willingness was found to mediate the relationship of personal and social norms with environmental protection behavior. We also found that the direct and indirect influences of personal norms on environmental protection behavior are greater than that of social norms. Further, the study revealed that cost consciousness moderates the relationship between personal norms, environmental protection willingness, and environmental protection behavior. Our results suggest that personal norms have a greater impact on environmental protection behavior than social norms. Therefore, we need to make greater efforts to promote environmental education and cultivate young people’s sense of environmental responsibility from an early age. At the same time, it is necessary to maintain appropriate environmental pressure and reduce the environmental cost in the daily life of residents.

Viral mitigation and the COVID-19 pandemic: factors associated with adherence to social distancing protocols and hygienic behaviour

“…The finding is further consistent with investigations of voluntary versus forced behaviour in environmental protection behaviour (e.g. Bai & Bai, 2020), identifying that voluntary behaviour based on personal norms and choice has a greater impact on environmental protection behaviour than mandated behaviour. Consequently, the presentation of behaviours as norms combined with nudging techniques may prove useful as an additional technique next to rule-based strategies in increasing adherence.…”

Factors associated with Adherence to Social Distancing Protocols and Hygienic Behavior during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…This finding is consistent with the theory of intrinsic motivation and self-determination (Deci & Ryan, 1985), highlighting that with regards to sustained behavior change, external strategies and motivators have reduced efficiency in the long-term. The finding is further consistent with investigations of voluntary versus forced behavior in environmental protection behavior (e.g., Bai & Bai, 2020), identifying that voluntary behavior based on personal norms and choice have a greater impact on environmental protection behavior than mandated behavior. Consequently, the presentation of behaviors as norms combined with nudging techniques may prove useful as an additional technique next to rule-based strategies in increasing adherence.…”

Can Hotel Companies’ Water Conservation Management and Waste Reduction Measures Influence Hotel Customers’ Willingness to Pay More and Intention to Revisit?

“…Measurement items that have been confirmed reliable and valid in previous studies [5,21,36,42,[48][49][50][51] were adapted for this study, and 23 of them were used. Specifically, four question items, including 'This hotel completely uses low flow toilets and good sanitation practices,' were used to measure its water conservation management.…”

“…Therefore, customers' revisit is a very important factor for generating profits and future growth of the company, and it is perceived as an important success factor of every company [39]. Consequently, the importance and necessity of revisit have been emphasized in many studies because customer revisit plays an absolutely important role in corporate performance [40][41][42]. In particular, many studies have demonstrated a causal relationship between a company's eco-friendly activities and customers' intention to revisit.…”