El yo-lector

4.4 Values and Environmentally Responsible Behaviours

How values transfer into actual pro-environmental behaviour can be complex. As mentioned earlier behaviour is not thought to be linked to values directly; instead values are moderated through a pathway of causal links (Steg & de Groot, 2010). The Norm Activation Model of altruism proposes that an awareness of consequences (AC) and ascription of responsibility (AR) are key factors that explain why a person may act on their personal values. So if a person values the welfare of another, is aware that potential harm may come to that person (AC) and if they have decided that their actions are responsible (AR) for this harm, then they are more likely to act in manner intended to help that person (Schultz et al., 2005).

Stern et al. (1999) have built on this model and have proposed a Value-Belief-Norm (VBN) theory to explain how values influence pro-environmental behaviour. The theory links values to behaviours in a causal chain of five variables: values, the New Environmental Paradigm (NEP), based on work by Dunlap and Van Liere (1978), AC and AR beliefs about the environment, and personal norms for pro-environmental actions (Stern, 2000), see Figure 4.3. The added layer of complexity can offer a deeper explanation of how values translate into behaviour but it also means that values will only have a moderate effect on environmental decisions directly (Dietz et al., 2005).

The causal link between values and behaviour is still not fully understood and continues to be debated in scientific literature. The models mentioned are similar in that the underlying premise of values being indirectly related to behaviour is the same.

There are other models of behaviour that do not explicitly use values, so will not be looked at in this study; most notably though, the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) has also been used to explain environmentally responsible behaviour. The TPB will briefly be mentioned in the methods chapter, as a component of this (attitudes and intentions) has been used in the current research to measure potential outcomes of the treatments studied.

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Figure ^‎4.3 A schematic representation of variables in the VBN theory of environmentalism (Stern, 2000)

There is a significant amount of research that provides evidence of values relating to environmentally responsible behaviours. Research has shown that the

self-transcendence/self-enhancement value dimension is closely linked to positively and negatively influencing pro-environmental behaviour (de Groot & Steg, 2007; Karp, 1996; Nordlund & Garvill, 2002; Schultz et al., 2005). Studies that have looked at environmental concern and self-transcendent values have found positive correlations between these two factors (Schultz et al., 2005; Stern et al., 1999); implying that people with stronger self-transcendence values generally have a higher environmental concern, compared to those with lower levels of self-transcendence values. Other studies have found a similar relationship with self reported pro-environmental behaviour (Karp, 1996; Nordlund & Garvill, 2002). Environmental concern in this instance is defined as a positive attitude toward protecting and preserving the natural world (Minton & Rose, 1997). Given the importance placed on the NEP in the VBN and as a result of the close association between environmental concern and values, the present study will investigate this relationship further in regards to meat consumption and information provision. Environmental concern will be captured through the NEP scale, which has now become the most widely used measure of environmental

concern (Dunlap, 2008). How the NEP is measured is expanded on in the next chapter.

To add strength to the argument that values influence pro-environmental behaviour, Thøgersen and Ölander (2002) have studied the direction of causation and report that

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values do influence environmentally responsible behaviour, rather than pro-environmental behaviour affecting values. The study suggests that people with

stronger self-transcendence values tend to engage more readily in this behaviour. Self-transcendent values like altruism and universalism are thought to be especially

important in promoting these behaviours, whereas their antithesis, self-enhancement or egoistic values have the opposite effect (Nordlund & Garvill, 2002). The relationship here has been understood in the way environmental issues often involve a trade off between immediate individual gains and longer term collective payoffs, meaning that people with values which show concern for non-individual, or altruistic gains will be more likely to want to participate in those mutually beneficial activities (de Groot &

Steg, 2007).

This is not to say egoistic values cannot achieve a positive environmental outcome. For instance, a person may choose to buy a fuel efficient car on the basis that it will save them money through the reduced fuel cost (de Groot & Steg, 2010). However, studies do show that egoistic values are most strongly related to negative environmental attitudes and lower engagement in pro-environmental behaviours (Nordlund & Garvill, 2002; Schultz et al., 2005). Most likely this is because many environmentally

responsible behaviours require individuals to restrain egoistic tendencies (Stern, 2000;

Thøgersen & Ölander, 2002).

While self-transcendent values are often theoretically linked to environmentalism through altruism, the other value dimension, openness to change/traditionalism can also have an influence, albeit a lesser one. Some studies have found that

traditionalism values are negatively correlated with pro-environmental behaviour (Karp, 1996; Schultz & Zelezny, 1999; Stern, Kalof, Dietz, & Guagnano, 1995). However, other research has shown this to be a non-significant relationship, and in fact Schultz (2001) found the opposite result. Openness to change is said to have little effect on environmentalism, but has been found in one instance to be slightly correlated with vegetarianism (this will be discussed further on in the chapter) (Dietz et al., 2005;

Lindeman & Sirelius, 2001).

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Research on the relationship between values and sustainable consumption (here meaning the purchasing of products that are more environmentally responsible) appears to be similar to that of other pro-environmental behaviours. People with self-transcendence values are more likely to purchase products that are environmentally friendly (Sener & Hazer, 2008). More specifically, the value-type universalism has the strongest influence in the decision process, between brands and products (Thøgersen

& Ölander, 2002). A study by Dreezens, Martijn, Tenbült, Kok, and de Vries (2005) which looked at how values influence attitudes on genetically modified and organically grown foods, reveals that respondents who scored highly on the power values tended to have a positive attitude towards genetically modified foods and a negative attitude towards organics. On the other hand, people who scored highly on the universalism value had a positive view on organics and a negative view on genetically modified foods. It is also necessary to note that factors such as, affordability, availability,

convenience, habit, empowerment and identity can also influence a purchase decision (Seyfang, 2006). But when other factors are equal there appears to be a tendency for people with higher levels of self-transcendent values to favour the more

environmentally responsible product or service.