Adoption of Pro-Environmental Behaviors, Deferral, and Back Again
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Utah State University DigitalCommons@USU All Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies 8-2021 It Isn't Easy Speaking Green: The Influence of Moral Factors on the (Non-) Adoption of Pro-Environmental Behaviors, Deferral, and Back Again Alexi Elizabeth Lamm Utah State University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd Part of the Environmental Health and Protection Commons Recommended Citation Lamm, Alexi Elizabeth, "It Isn't Easy Speaking Green: The Influence of Moral Factors on the (Non-) Adoption of Pro-Environmental Behaviors, Deferral, and Back Again" (2021). All Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 8114. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/8114 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies at DigitalCommons@USU. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@USU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. IT ISN’T EASY SPEAKING GREEN: THE INFLUENCE OF MORAL FACTORS ON THE (NON-) ADOPTION OFPRO-ENVIRONMENTAL BEHAVIORS, DEFERRAL, AND BACK AGAIN by Alexi Elizabeth Lamm A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in Environment & Society Approved: ______________________ ____________________ Roslynn McCann, Ph.D. Christopher Lant, Ph.D. Major Professor Committee Member ______________________ ____________________ Jesse Graham, Ph.D. Jordan Smith, Ph.D. Committee Member Committee Member ______________________ ____________________ Peter Howe, Ph.D. D. Richard Cutler, Ph.D. Committee Member Interim Vice Provost of Graduate Studies UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY Logan, Utah 2021 ii Copyright © Utah State University 2021 All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT It Isn’t Easy Speaking Green: The Influence of Moral Factors on the (Non-) Adoption of Pro-Environmental Behaviors, Deferral, and Back Again by Alexi Elizabeth Lamm, Doctor of Philosophy Utah State University, 2021 Major Professor: Dr. Roslynn McCann Department: Environment & Society Climate change is one of the major issues humans face in the 21st century. This decade is critical in shaping the future of Earth and the way humans live on it (IPCC, 2018). Changes in human behavior are necessary to mitigate and adapt to climate change. This series of studies explored factors important in communicating and implementing environmental behavior. The first study tested the effects of a carbon calculator with moral foundations-based interventions on three self-reported measures and one objective measure of behavior over a period of weeks. The interventions resulted in small changes in self-reported behavior and no change in electricity usage. Given participants adopted relatively few additional behaviors, the next study investigated the predictors of adoption and non-adoption of specific pro-environmental behaviors more in-depth. Participants were also asked whether they, businesses, non-profits, or governments were responsible for spearheading efforts to perform a behavior when they as individuals could perform the behavior but did not. Although the results indicate that most participants attributed responsibility to themselves and that self-efficacy is important to behavioral decisions, predictors vary between behaviors. (173 pages) iv PUBLIC ABSTRACT It Isn’t Easy Speaking Green: The Influence of Moral Factors on the (Non-) Adoption of Pro-Environmental Behaviors, Deferral, and Back Again Alexi Lamm Climate change is one of the major issues humans face in the 21st century. This decade is critical in shaping the future of Earth and the way humans live on it (IPCC, 2018). Changes in human behavior are necessary to mitigate and adapt to climate change. This series of studies explored factors important in communicating and implementing environmental behavior. The first study tested the effects of an online, interactive carbon calculator with moral interventions on three self-reported measures and one objective measure of behavior over a period of weeks. The interventions resulted in small changes in self-reported behavior and no change in electricity usage. Given participants adopted relatively few additional behaviors, the next study investigated the predictors when people perform or do not perform specific pro-environmental behaviors more in-depth. Participants were also asked whether they, businesses, non-profits, or governments were responsible for spearheading efforts on a behavior when they, as individuals, could perform the behavior but did not. The results indicate that most participants attributed responsibility to themselves. However, belief in one’s own ability to perform the behavior is important to behavioral decisions, and predictors vary between behaviors. v ts Alyson Gill for n Research telling me I need to get e assistants for out of town and Jordy m being everywhere meaning it enough Guth and my g when I could not: Austin to find me a way. colleagues in Facilities for d Brooksby, Chris Kinsey, You helped me discover supporting me and e Lizzie Heninger, Kaden l Susan Florence, being quick with w Durham McArthur, Katie Luxor, a talk show host Alexandra for always being Kinsey, Matthew o Athens, name before I Bobella, who sensible about Stevenson, and and my deserved it. knows exactly n statistics and still willing Aurora Taylor. life. when to celebrate k to swap reviews of the latest with a glow stick bike community theater production c ride or ice cream break. when I kept her past dinner time. She also has an uncanny A Mahdi Shafiei for saving the last e ability and timing to study’s statistics when I was ready f e recruit just the right i h y t l to move on to a new and better life person to a cause. L l k as a drop-out. a r n f Jaime Gongora, e a t i h Finch, l Angela Emily Chris Lant for seeing my project go o t , Malik, Jill Kelley, Crista around the world and back again y e and sticking around to see it. k Sorenson, Catherine i e m l Jordan Smith for seriously helpful, e Emard, Michael Wiess, d d conversations about how I'm doing l Dan Zamecnik and a m u c things wrong, but I can get better. It’s o Jeannie Sur for continuing a been a while. We need to talk. a w to take my calls, pretending I that someday I would Peter Howe for being quick to Molly G finish, and venturing respond, and wise enough to know O’Connor which rabbit holes to leave unexplored. out around my & Jocylin Pierro schedule. Jesse Graham for having enough for demonstrating that experience and good humor that I completing PhDs in believed I could finish this proj- My completely different fields ect and maybe someday parents of study, across the coun- have experience and brothers, try, can be done grace- to pass on with a Rob, Martha, fully but still not smile and if I am easily. You John & Mark, and family, good, a inspire who my wonderful grandpar- joke. me. ents ensured would be more fitting for Genesis than an acknowledgments section. You taught me to measure my risks. START You support even my worst ideas, often through calls on a long walk but Ros also a lifelong commit- McCann for ment to last-minute helping me through proofreading. the process while getting married, having and raising two children, making tenure, taking a sabbatical, and supporting a first USU Ecoreps PhD student, me. By the way, & Sustainability Corps I have some news too: students are the reason I’m I’m graduating. writing this—That and the belief that becoming a student again would make me friends. An undergrad on a swing set showed up to a club I observed my first semester became a friend and found me others. With that, we’ll call this endeavor a success. This research was funded in part by The Nature Conservancy and a USU Graduate Research and Creative Opportunity (GRCO) grant. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS vi CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................................... iii PUBLIC ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................................................ v List of Tables .............................................................................................................................................. viii List of Figures ............................................................................................................................................... ix CHAPTER 1 .................................................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................... 1 Background and Literature review ........................................................................................................ 5 Research Objectives and Overview of Studies ................................................................................... 12 CHAPTER 2 .................................................................................................................................................. 14 Moral Foundations in Environmental Behavior: Objective and Subjective Measures ...................... 14 Abstract ....................................................................................................................................................