Straus, E., Unsworth, K.L. orcid.org/0000-0002-0826-7565 and Korunka, C. (2025) Descriptive Norms, Personal Values, Organizational Pro-Environmental Support: Providing Intrinsic or Extrinsic Attributions to Increase Pro-Environmental Behaviors. Environment and Behavior. ISSN 0013-9165
Abstract
In response to the climate crisis, organizations are encouraging employees to adopt pro-environmental behavior (PEB). While descriptive norm interventions (e.g., many people engaging in PEBs) are generally positive, mixed findings suggest an alternative approach may maximize effects. Using self-concordance theory, we hypothesize that the attribution of normative behavior (intrinsic/extrinsic) interacts with personal values to motivate behavior, especially for those with extrinsic values. In a time-lagged experiment with 1,712 participants, we tested descriptive norms with either intrinsic or extrinsic attributions, a norm-only condition, or no norm. Surprisingly, self-concordant attributions did not increase PEB, and extrinsic attributions led to a greater increase than intrinsic or norm-only conditions. Organizational pro-environmental support correlated independently with PEB but the moderation effect was non-significant. These counterintuitive findings suggest further exploration and implications for future research.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | This is an author produced version of an article accepted for publication in Environment and Behavior, made available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Keywords: | pro-environmental behavior, descriptive norms, goal framing, intrinsic/extrinsic values, self-concordance, organizational pro-environmental support |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Business (Leeds) > Management Division (LUBS) (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 19 Dec 2024 10:43 |
Last Modified: | 05 Feb 2025 15:08 |
Status: | Published online |
Publisher: | SAGE Publications |
Identification Number: | 10.1177/00139165241311490 |
Sustainable Development Goals: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:220999 |