abstract: This study investigates how well prominent behavioral theories from social psychology explain green purchasing behavior (GPB). I assess three prominent theories in terms of their suitability for GPB research, their attractiveness to GPB empiricists, and the strength of their empirical evidence when applied to GPB. First, a qualitative assessment of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), Norm Activation Theory (NAT), and Value-Belief-Norm Theory (VBN) is conducted to evaluate a) how well the phenomenon and concepts in each theory match the characteristics of pro-environmental behavior and b) how well the assumptions made in each theory match common assumptions made in purchasing theory. Second, a quantitative assessment of these three theories is conducted in which r2 values and methodological parameters (e.g., sample size) are collected from a sample of 21 empirical studies on GPB to evaluate the accuracy and generalize-ability of empirical evidence. In the qualitative assessment, the results show each theory has its advantages and disadvantages. The results also provide a theoretically-grounded roadmap for modifying each theory to be more suitable for GPB research. In the quantitative assessment, the TPB outperforms the other two theories in every aspect taken into consideration. It proves to 1) create the most accurate models 2) be supported by the most generalize-able empirical evidence and 3) be the most attractive theory to empiricists. Although the TPB establishes itself as the best foundational theory for an empiricist to start from, it's clear that a more comprehensive model is needed to achieve consistent results and improve our understanding of GPB. NAT and the Theory of Interpersonal Behavior (TIB) offer pathways to extend the TPB. The TIB seems particularly apt for this endeavor, while VBN does not appear to have much to offer. Overall, the TPB has already proven to hold a relatively high predictive value. But with the state of ecosystem services continuing to decline on a global scale, it's important for models of GPB to become more accurate and reliable. Better models have the capacity to help marketing professionals, product developers, and policy makers develop strategies for encouraging consumers to buy green products. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Sustainability 2012

Antalet flygresor har ökat markant i världen de senaste decennierna. Detta har medfört en ökning av flygets koldioxidutsläpp som därmed har gett en ökad påverkan på klimatet. Forskning angående människors syn på och uppfattning om flyget är relativt ny och forskning rörande ämnet är mer förekommande idag än för ett decennium sedan. Tidigare undersökningar är dock i stort sett eniga om att människor, både miljömedvetna och icke-miljömedvetna personer, inte tänker ändra på sina flygvanor och flyga mindre på grund av flygets klimatpåverkan. Denna studie undersöker klimatengagerade personers flygvanor och vad de har för syn på flyget och flygets påverkan på klimatet. Resultatet i studien skiljer sig från tidigare forskning genom att de klimatengagerade personerna i undersökningen antingen försöker begränsa sina flygresor eller inte längre flyger alls på grund av den klimatpåverkan en flygresa innebär. The low-cost hypothesis har använts som ett teoretiskt ramverk för att undersöka om det finns ett attitude-behavior gap. Det framkom att the low-cost hypothesis endast delvis kan appliceras och att det finns ett litet attitude-behavior gap hos de respondenter som flyger. Det finns inget attitude-behavior gap hos respondenterna som inte flyger. Det framkom även att sociala normer till viss del påverkar valet att flyga eller inte flyga.

Esta dissertação identifica contribuições da Psicologia Ambiental para Programas de Educação Ambiental descritos em dissertações do Mestrado em Ciências Ambientais da Universidade de Taubaté, defendidas no período 2001-2006. Das 125 dissertações foram identificadas 15 que apresentaram programas de Educação Ambiental. As categorias de análise foram: palavras-chave, objetivos propostos, sujeitos da pesquisa, e procedimentos utilizados. A análise evidenciou que: a Psicologia Ambiental implicitamente esteve presente em todos os trabalhos analisados; que Comportamentos Pró-ambientais foram explicitamente identificados nos procedimentos executados. Os Programas não relataram propostas de manutenção que possibilitassem a manutenção desses comportamentos. Programas de Educação Ambiental foram conduzidos em trabalhos de todas as áreas temáticas do mestrado e com populações diversificadas; confirmando o caráter multidisciplinar das Ciências Ambientais possibilitando a diferentes profissionais atuarem no campo da Educação Ambiental. Se visam principalmente a mudança de hábitos, atitudes e valores, e, em última instância, fazer que o sujeito se comporte de maneira pró-ambiental, Programas de Educação Ambiental visam portanto influenciar variáveis psicológicas. Discutiu-se assim a contribuição possível da Psicologia Ambiental para os Programas de Educação Ambiental. Esta disciplina pode instrumentalizar futuros pesquisadores na construção de metodologias adequadas ao fortalecimento e manutenção de comportamentos de cuidado com o ambiente e da promoção da identificação e interpretação de indicadores individuais e sociais como reforçadores desses comportamentos, e ainda criar condições para quantificar e qualificar Comportamentos Pró-ambientais. Conclui-se que a utilização dos conhecimentos produzidos pela Psicologia Ambiental poderá contribuir para a melhoria de Programas de Educação Ambiental, norteando seu planejamento e suas práticas. / This dissertation the contribution of Environmental Psychology to Environmental Education Activities and Programs described in dissertations of the Graduation Course in Environmental Sciences of the University of TaubatÃ, presented in the period from 2001 to 2006. Of 125 dissertations, 15 were identified as presenting Environmental Education Programs. The analysis categories were: keywords, proposed objectives, research subjects, and procedures utilized. The analysis evidenced that Environmental Psychology was implicitly present in all the works analyzed and that Pro-Environmental Behaviors were explicitly identified in the procedures executed. The Programs did not report any maintenance proposals for these behaviors to be kept. Environmental Education Programs were conducted in works of all thematic areas of the masters degree program and with diverse populations, confirming the multidisciplinary character of the Environmental Sciences that has made it possible for many professionals to act in the field of Environmental Education. The goal is mainly the change of habits, attitudes, and values, and, ultimately, to make the subject behave in a pro-environmental manner, therefore Environmental Education Programs seek to influence the psychological variables. Thus the possible contribution of Environmental Psychology for the Environmental Education Programs was discussed. This discipline can give some tools for the future researchers in the construction of methodologies that are appropriate for the strengthening and maintenance of caring behaviors towards the environment, and for the promotion of the identification and interpretation of individual and social indicators which reinforce these behaviors and create conditions to quantify and qualify Proenvironmental Behaviors. The conclusion is that the utilization of knowledge produced by Environmental Psychology can contribute to the betterment of Environmental Education Programs, guiding their planning and practices.

Consumption is a major contributor to environmental harm, and also one area where the Swedish performance is in urgent need of improvement. While it is well known that changes are needed on all societal levels for sustainability to be realized, it is unclear whether the population is aware of which changes that refers to, since the impacts from individual consumption remain high. Previous research has identified psychological, cultural, social, and economic determinants as barriers to change, however, removing those barriers will not be sufficient if it results in changes entailing only marginal environmental benefits. The question that initiated this research is whether common people in Sweden can identify which changes are efficient enough to provide visible results, or if the current environmental discourse generates misperceptions, hindering concrete change. Meeting the objective to contribute to the identification of obstacles to sustainability by studying the perception of pro-environmental consumption among potential adopters, a qualitative interview-based case study was conducted on students at Linnaeus University in Växjö, Sweden. The research followed an abductive approach, whereby primarily the Diffusion of Innovations theory was used for structure and interpretation. The findings reveal several barriers to sustainability associated with individual perceptions, including perceptions of the concept of pro-environmental consumption as complex, a perceived lack of trustworthy information from authorities, a perceived abundance of misleading information from profit-driven actors, as well as some controversy on where to place responsibility. Alongside this, misperceptions of environmental impacts from consumption were revealed, whereby accurate perceptions and environmental education were somewhat correlated. While highlighting an unrecognized but concrete issue, this research involves a small sample, suggesting that further research is required.

Klimatförändringarnas stora problematik är ett av de mest diskuteradeämnena idag och är högst avgörande för framtiden och kommandegenerationer. Dagens ungdomar anser att klimatet är den viktigastesamhällsfrågan och ungdomar en viktig grupp att lägga fokus på vidforskning. Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur unga motiveras att ageramer klimatvänligt utifrån tillit till klimatforskare, känslan av att kunnapåverka samt oro för klimatförändringarna. Tidigare forskning på vuxna harhittat signifikanta samband mellan alla dessa aspekter vilket denna studieockså gjorde. I studien fann vi även att oro för klimatförändringarna var denunikt viktigaste faktorn för att förklara det klimatvänliga handlandet när mankontrollerade för de andra variablerna. Studien genomfördes med hjälp av enwebb-enkät som distribuerades till gymnasieelever i Göteborg och Rönninge(N=106). Aktuell studie utfördes med en tvärsnittsdesign där måtten vartillförlitliga och väl validerade. Resultaten har bidragit till både praktiskaimplikationer såväl som intressanta teoretiska frågor för framtida forskning. / Climate change and the major problems it brings is the most discussed topictoday and are crucial for the future and future generations. Today'sadolescents consider the climate changes to be the most important societalissue and young people are an essential group to focus on when it comes toresearch. The aim with this study was to examine how young people getmotivated to act more pro-environmental based on trust in climate scientists,efficacy and climate change concern. Previous research with adults has foundsignificant correlations between all these aspects, so did this study. The studyalso found that climate change concern was the sole most important factor inexplaining pro-environmental behavior when controlling for the othervariables. The study was executed with a web survey that was distributed tohigh school students in Göteborg and Rönninge (N=106). The study wasconducted with a cross-sectional design where the measurements werereliable and well validated. The results have both practical implications aswell as it has aroused interesting theoretical questions for future research.

Rock climbing has become a popular adventure activity, yet it poses a threat to the environment, particularly to the rare species that inhabit the lower vegetation density of rock faces. To address this concern, effective evironmental communication is necessary to provoke environmentally responsible behavior among climbers. This study explores what the most effective form of environmental communication is, that elicits a positive response from rock climbers. Regulatory Focus Theory as well as the nature values distinction (intrinsic, instrumental, and relational) are employed to assess the effect of value-based messages on rock climbers' environmental behavior. Moreover, this research investigates how personal values of rock climbers (biospheric, altruistic, and egoistic) impact their response to messages that highlight different nature values. Environmental messaging that resonates with the personal values of rock climbers can influence their response positively. Thus, crafting messages that are aligned with the target audience's environmental dispositions is essential for effective environmental communication. While the findings did not yield definitive results, the study indicates that messages emphasizing the instrinsic value of nature coupled with prevention-oriented foucus may be more effective for rock climbers. Moreover, altruistic and biospheric values significantly moderated climbers' response to environmental messages framed with nature values. Regulatory focus was not found to significantly influence rock climbers' environmental behavior. The study also shows that demographic characteristics such as age and gender can influence the environmental behavior of rock climbers. The study's insights provide a baseline for future research in persuasive messaging for adventure tourists. The research opens up new directions in tourism studies and identifies environmental values most relevant to the rock climbing community, providing guidance to climbing area managers and other stakeholders invested in safeguarding natural habitats. By shedding light on possible environmental communication strategies for the promotion of pro-environmental behavior among rock climbers, this research offers an important contribution to the protection of vulnerable ecosystems and the preservation of natural habitats.

Participatory monitoring of ecological and socioeconomic effects of harvesting and trading natural resources is advocated as a promoter of natural resource conservation and local communitiy empowerment. Nevertheless, the strategys success depends upon peoples willingness and availability to participate. Yet little is known about the factors that drive local communities to volunteer in participatory monitoring, particularly in relation to small-scale communities living in remote locations. This thesis investigated whether a number of candidate factors were able to predict peoples participation in monitoring. To do so, we conducted a study in a forest community of the Brazilian Amazon that harvested and traded Carapa guianensis (andiroba), a non-timber forest product (NTFP). Two methods of data gathering were employed: (i) an interview-based survey of 166 adults ( 18 y.o.; 51 households) to estimate peoples self-stated intention to participate and the drivers of their participation, and (ii) experimentally-implemented monitoring tasks of the effects of harvesting and trading C. guianensis to measure peoples actual participation. Results are presented in three chapters. In Chapter 1, we evaluated whether economic benefits received from the NTFP trade or, alternatively peoples cooperativeness, were more important in predicting peoples participation. Results indicated that both variables raised peoples intention and actual levels of participation in monitoring, but cooperativeness was a stronger and better predictor across monitoring tasks. In Chapter 2, we investigated the psychology of engaging in monitoring, departing from the theoretical framework of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) for understanding whether the variables in the model were appropriate to predict the willingness to volunteer in monitoring tasks. We found that the TPB model, in general, was able to predict peoples intention to volunteer in monitoring tasks. Specifically, one of the attitude indicators (attitude pleasure) explained the intention to engage in all monitoring tasks assessed. Subjective norms were also important to predict the intention to collect data on natural resource populations and to interview community inhabitants, whereas perceived behavioral control predicted the intention to collect data on natural resources and to deal with data management and storage. Finally, in Chapter 3 we hypothesized that the awareness of ecological and socioeconomic impacts of NTFP harvest and trade should explain peoples participation in monitoring. Results indicated that both factors were important, particularly regarding to peoples actual participation, although factors such as gender, age and schooling were occasionally stronger predictors. Nevertheless, there is evidence that combining monitoring of ecological and socioeconomic factors will boost the practices success. The study conclusions contribute to lessons aimed at stimulating participation in monitoring. Among those, we highlight the importance of strategies to increase levels of cooperativeness among people, spreading information about the possible negative effects of natural resource harvest and trade, and granting financial compensations equivalent to the opportunity costs of participation. / O monitoramento participativo dos efeitos ecológicos e socioeconômicos da coleta e do comércio de recursos naturais é uma estratégia considerada promotora tanto da conservação ambiental, quanto do empoderamento das comunidades locais. O sucesso da estratégia, todavia, depende, sobretudo, da disponibilidade e disposição dos indivíduos em participarem. Apesar disso, sabe-se pouco sobre os fatores que determinam a participação voluntária no monitoramento, especialmente em comunidades de pequena escala habitantes de áreas remotas. Sendo assim, esta tese teve por objetivo investigar o efeito de determinantes da participação no monitoramento. Para tal, foi estudada uma comunidade da Amazônia brasileira que coleta e comercializa Carapa guianensis (andiroba), um produto florestal não madeireiro (PFNM). Dois métodos de coleta de dados foram utilizados: (i) survey por meio de entrevistas a 166 adultos ( 18 anos; 51 unidades domésticas) para estimar a intenção de participar e os determinantes da participação, e (ii) implementação de monitoramento experimental dos efeitos da coleta e do comércio de C. guianensis para quantificar a participação real no monitoramento. Os resultados são apresentados em três capítulos. No Capítulo 1, avaliamos se os benefícios econômicos obtidos com o comércio de PFNM ou, alternativamente, o comportamento cooperativo são determinantes mais importantes da participação. Os resultados indicaram que as duas variáveis aumentam a intenção e a participação real no monitoramento. Porém, o comportamento cooperativo foi um indicador mais forte da participação entre as diferentes atividades de monitoramento avaliadas. No Capítulo 2, investigamos os fatores psicológicos que afetam a participação, utilizando como base a Teoria do comportamento planejado (TCP) e avaliando o efeito das variáveis deste modelo sobre a probabilidade da participação voluntária no monitoramento. Os resultados indicaram que, em geral, o modelo da TCP é adequado para prever a intenção de participar em diferentes etapas do monitoramento avaliadas. Em particular, um dos indicadores de atitude (prazer) é capaz de explicar a participação nas quatro etapas de monitoramento. Normas subjetivas também foram importantes preditores da intenção de participar da coleta de dados da população de andiroba e entrevistar outros moradores da comunidade. Já o controle comportamental percebido previu a intenção de participar da coleta de dados sobre a população do recurso natural e a entrada e armazenamento de dados. No Capítulo 3, partimos da hipótese de que a percepção dos impactos ecológicos e socioeconômicos da coleta e do comércio de PFNM pode explicar a participação no monitoramento. Os resultados indicaram que a percepção dos dois tipos de impactos é importante, sobretudo para a participação real. Porém, outros fatores como gênero, idade e escolaridade são determinantes mais fortes da participação em algumas atividades. Ademais, encontramos evidências de que aliar o monitoramento de impactos ecológicos e socioeconômicos aumenta o sucesso da prática. As conclusões do estudo contribuem com lições práticas para aumentar a participação no monitoramento. Destacamos, dentre elas, a importância de estratégias para aumentar a cooperação entre os comunitários, a disseminação de informações sobre os possíveis impactos negativos da coleta e do comércio de recursos naturais, e o fornecimento de compensações financeiras equivalentes ao custo de oportunidade de participação

Two studies explored individual difference moderators of spillover. Positive spillover occurs when one prosocial behavior leads to an increase in subsequent prosocial behavior, whereas negative spillover or moral licensing occurs when one prosocial behavior leads to a decrease in prosocial behaviors. The moderators of interest were internal motivation, external motivation, and preference for consistency. It was predicted that those who exhibit high external motivation would demonstrate negative spillover, those who exhibit internal motivation would demonstrate positive spillover, and those with high preference for consistency would demonstrate positive spillover. Although these moderation predictions were not supported, Study 1 replicated previous work demonstrating moral licensing, or negative spillover. Participants who completed an initial non-prejudiced act later donated less money to a charity supporting racial equality than participants in the neutral control condition. The results of Study 2 demonstrated positive spillover. Participants who completed an initial pro-environmental act were more likely to help a local environmental organization compared to those who completed a neutral initial task. Future research is needed to understand the cause of the differing results, including measuring potential mediators in future studies.

Participatory monitoring of ecological and socioeconomic effects of harvesting and trading natural resources is advocated as a promoter of natural resource conservation and local communitiy empowerment. Nevertheless, the strategys success depends upon peoples willingness and availability to participate. Yet little is known about the factors that drive local communities to volunteer in participatory monitoring, particularly in relation to small-scale communities living in remote locations. This thesis investigated whether a number of candidate factors were able to predict peoples participation in monitoring. To do so, we conducted a study in a forest community of the Brazilian Amazon that harvested and traded Carapa guianensis (andiroba), a non-timber forest product (NTFP). Two methods of data gathering were employed: (i) an interview-based survey of 166 adults ( 18 y.o.; 51 households) to estimate peoples self-stated intention to participate and the drivers of their participation, and (ii) experimentally-implemented monitoring tasks of the effects of harvesting and trading C. guianensis to measure peoples actual participation. Results are presented in three chapters. In Chapter 1, we evaluated whether economic benefits received from the NTFP trade or, alternatively peoples cooperativeness, were more important in predicting peoples participation. Results indicated that both variables raised peoples intention and actual levels of participation in monitoring, but cooperativeness was a stronger and better predictor across monitoring tasks. In Chapter 2, we investigated the psychology of engaging in monitoring, departing from the theoretical framework of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) for understanding whether the variables in the model were appropriate to predict the willingness to volunteer in monitoring tasks. We found that the TPB model, in general, was able to predict peoples intention to volunteer in monitoring tasks. Specifically, one of the attitude indicators (attitude pleasure) explained the intention to engage in all monitoring tasks assessed. Subjective norms were also important to predict the intention to collect data on natural resource populations and to interview community inhabitants, whereas perceived behavioral control predicted the intention to collect data on natural resources and to deal with data management and storage. Finally, in Chapter 3 we hypothesized that the awareness of ecological and socioeconomic impacts of NTFP harvest and trade should explain peoples participation in monitoring. Results indicated that both factors were important, particularly regarding to peoples actual participation, although factors such as gender, age and schooling were occasionally stronger predictors. Nevertheless, there is evidence that combining monitoring of ecological and socioeconomic factors will boost the practices success. The study conclusions contribute to lessons aimed at stimulating participation in monitoring. Among those, we highlight the importance of strategies to increase levels of cooperativeness among people, spreading information about the possible negative effects of natural resource harvest and trade, and granting financial compensations equivalent to the opportunity costs of participation. / O monitoramento participativo dos efeitos ecológicos e socioeconômicos da coleta e do comércio de recursos naturais é uma estratégia considerada promotora tanto da conservação ambiental, quanto do empoderamento das comunidades locais. O sucesso da estratégia, todavia, depende, sobretudo, da disponibilidade e disposição dos indivíduos em participarem. Apesar disso, sabe-se pouco sobre os fatores que determinam a participação voluntária no monitoramento, especialmente em comunidades de pequena escala habitantes de áreas remotas. Sendo assim, esta tese teve por objetivo investigar o efeito de determinantes da participação no monitoramento. Para tal, foi estudada uma comunidade da Amazônia brasileira que coleta e comercializa Carapa guianensis (andiroba), um produto florestal não madeireiro (PFNM). Dois métodos de coleta de dados foram utilizados: (i) survey por meio de entrevistas a 166 adultos ( 18 anos; 51 unidades domésticas) para estimar a intenção de participar e os determinantes da participação, e (ii) implementação de monitoramento experimental dos efeitos da coleta e do comércio de C. guianensis para quantificar a participação real no monitoramento. Os resultados são apresentados em três capítulos. No Capítulo 1, avaliamos se os benefícios econômicos obtidos com o comércio de PFNM ou, alternativamente, o comportamento cooperativo são determinantes mais importantes da participação. Os resultados indicaram que as duas variáveis aumentam a intenção e a participação real no monitoramento. Porém, o comportamento cooperativo foi um indicador mais forte da participação entre as diferentes atividades de monitoramento avaliadas. No Capítulo 2, investigamos os fatores psicológicos que afetam a participação, utilizando como base a Teoria do comportamento planejado (TCP) e avaliando o efeito das variáveis deste modelo sobre a probabilidade da participação voluntária no monitoramento. Os resultados indicaram que, em geral, o modelo da TCP é adequado para prever a intenção de participar em diferentes etapas do monitoramento avaliadas. Em particular, um dos indicadores de atitude (prazer) é capaz de explicar a participação nas quatro etapas de monitoramento. Normas subjetivas também foram importantes preditores da intenção de participar da coleta de dados da população de andiroba e entrevistar outros moradores da comunidade. Já o controle comportamental percebido previu a intenção de participar da coleta de dados sobre a população do recurso natural e a entrada e armazenamento de dados. No Capítulo 3, partimos da hipótese de que a percepção dos impactos ecológicos e socioeconômicos da coleta e do comércio de PFNM pode explicar a participação no monitoramento. Os resultados indicaram que a percepção dos dois tipos de impactos é importante, sobretudo para a participação real. Porém, outros fatores como gênero, idade e escolaridade são determinantes mais fortes da participação em algumas atividades. Ademais, encontramos evidências de que aliar o monitoramento de impactos ecológicos e socioeconômicos aumenta o sucesso da prática. As conclusões do estudo contribuem com lições práticas para aumentar a participação no monitoramento. Destacamos, dentre elas, a importância de estratégias para aumentar a cooperação entre os comunitários, a disseminação de informações sobre os possíveis impactos negativos da coleta e do comércio de recursos naturais, e o fornecimento de compensações financeiras equivalentes ao custo de oportunidade de participação

This M.A. thesis aims at investigating the socio-psychological motivations and demographic factors related to how individuals perform energy conservation behavior in the household domain. For this reason, two approaches to this sociological issue, the Theory of Planned Behavior and Norm Activation Model, were comprehensively examined to be adequately combined into one experimental model that would determine and help to explain the motivations on the energy conservation behaviors in households. In total, 303 respondents were surveyed who have a residency in Prague by sharing an online-based questionnaire in various Facebook groups between April 28, 2021, and July 3, 2021. In order to test the created hypotheses according to the developed model of the research study, structural equation modeling and ANOVA analysis were employed. As a result, the findings show that combining the Theory of Planned Behavior and the Norm Activation Model gives promising results in explaining the socio-psychological motivations of household energy conservation behaviors. The author of the thesis concludes that social norms have a positive influence on personal norms, and further the personal norms have a positive impact on intentions, and therefore the intentions directly impact the household energy conservation behavior....