Speaker
Description
Environmental issues today are more pertinent than ever, and various ecological challenges require swift interventions. One such intervention, purported to stimulate pro-environmental behaviour, is green nudging. To change people's behaviour and implement green nudges more effectively, though, it is inescapable to understand the psychological processes underlying people's attitudes and decision-making. Extant research shows that people identifying as conservative are less likely to embrace behavioural changes and are less worried about the climate change. This could be because they are more likely to exhibit resistance to change and pro-environmental shifts. Therefore, we hypothesized that the influence of political orientation on pro-environmental behaviour (21 items) and acceptance of green nudges (4 items) is mediated through resistance to change (Resistance to change scale). Because data collection is ongoing in Slovenia and Croatia, we present the pilot results based on responses from 147 students (83% female, Mage = 20.3, SD = 3.11) from a cross-cultural project exploring the attitudes towards and mechanisms of green nudging. Although the correlations between constructs were modest, those positioning themselves more toward the left end of the political spectrum engage in more pro-environmental behaviours (r = .19, p = .029) and are more accepting of green nudges (r = .35, p < .001). The path model, however, failed to support the proposed mediated relationship through resistance to change. While this might suggest we should look for alternative explanations of the links towards “green outcomes”, we should also explore the proposed relationships in larger and (ideologically) more diverse samples.
| Are you currently an Early Career Researcher? | Yes, I am within 6 years of receiving my Ph.D. |
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