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Pro-Environmentalism: Environmentalist Social Identity, Environmentalist Stereotypes, and Green Consumerism Engagement

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Pro-Environmentalism: Environmentalist Social Identity, Environmentalist Stereotypes, and Green Consumerism Engagement Pro-environmentalism: Environmentalist Social Identity, Environmentalist Stereotypes, and Green Consumerism Engagement by Annamaria Klas B.A. (Psych, Media) (Psych, Hons) Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Psychology) Deakin University October, 2016 iv Acknowledgements Although this PhD is a culmination of my hard work and dedication, I could not have achieved this milestone without the help and guidance of many others. Therefore it is with great pleasure I offer a number of people with much deserved gratitude and thanks. First and foremost I begin by thanking my current supervision team of Dr Lucy Zinkiewicz and Dr Jin Zhou who although came on to this project late in the game, still treated me like I was with them from the beginning. Thanks especially to Lucy for her guidance and assistance, for her infinite enthusiasm and support, and for her extremely detailed feedback (which only helped me become a better writer). Thanks also to Jin for being so welcoming and friendly, for offering much emotional support and practical advice, and for reading multiple drafts at once (which is a feat in itself). Special thanks also goes to Dr Gery Karantzas who may have not been an ‘official’ supervisor still took me under his wing from the start, and provided me with much support, wisdom, and honesty. Thanks also to Professor Ben Richardson for always making time to provide me with statistical, professional, and common sense advice, even when he moved on to greener pastures. Further thanks to Dr Janine McGuinness, who originally begun this project with me, and to all the academics I have met through SASP. They all helped to nurture my love for social psychology and continuously offered me new and interesting insights for my research. And of course, thanks to the School of Psychology at Deakin for making this project possible, including providing me the funds pursue it. I’ve been blessed to be able to learn so much from such a diverse and talented range of academics and researchers. I must also thank the many PhD students who I have met along the way, especially those from Deakin and SASP, who have only improved this experience. There are too many to personally name each one but I must single out Gemma, Meaghan, Morgana, Michael, the other Michael, and Gill who all provided me with much laughter, kindness, and support. Thanks also to my fellow social psych PhD candidates at Deakin Mathew and Eddie who were always willing to provide me with theoretical and statistical advice. And of course an extra special mention to Jacquie who went through every stage of this PhD with me. She has been a wonderful friend through it all, being both my biggest supporter and constant confidant. v I also cannot forget to thank my family and friends. Firstly, sincere thanks to my mum, dad and brother, for their continuous encouragement, support, and love. My mum and dad’s tenacity provided me the opportunities to pursue this, and looking back on my childhood, their knowledge of politics and social issues begun my love affair with social psychology, long before I even knew what it was. This is their achievement as much as mine. Thanks also to the Gilbert family (including the Males and Wallaces) for being forever helpful, kind, and understanding. Finally, thanks to all my close and cherished friends – especially Adelle, Hayley, Bec, Emma, Michelle, Eloise, Jess, Amy, and Kate – who have been so thoughtful and considerate, and have constantly checked in with me, especially near the end. Your belief in me to get this done was often what I needed the most. Finally, heartfelt thanks and love goes to my partner of 10 years, Seán. I feel that anything I write will never truly convey how much Seán has had to put up with, especially during this PhD, and often with no compliant at all. I don’t feel I could have gotten to this point without his never-ending support, and his pragmatic and down-to- earth attitude. His kind and encouraging words, and his warm and loving gestures, have all been so valued and appreciated, and will never be forgotten. vi I’d like to dedicate this thesis to all those individuals who work tirelessly to make this earth a better place for this generation and for those generations to come. vii Table of Contents Title Page ........................................................................................................................... i Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents ........................................................................................................... vii List of Tables ................................................................................................................ xiii List of Figures ............................................................................................................... xiv Thesis Abstract ................................................................................................................ xv Chapter 1 General Introduction and Thesis Overview ............................................... 1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 1 Aims and Scope of the Present Thesis .............................................................................. 3 Definitions of Major Constructs Used within the Present Thesis ..................................... 7 Structure of the Present Thesis and Organisation of its Studies ...................................... 11 Chapter 2 Literature Review ........................................................................................ 13 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 13 Pro-environmental Behaviour: A General Overview ...................................... 14 Current Conceptualisations of Green Consumerism Within the Pro- environmental Behaviour Literature ............................................................... 17 Clarifying what behaviours are considered to be a part of green consumerism. ............................................................................................... 17 Exploring the mechanisms by which green consumerism is effective in protecting the natural environment. ............................................................. 20 Predictors of Green Consumerism .................................................................. 22 Demographic variables. ............................................................................... 23 Perceptions of green branding and marketing. ............................................ 23 Individual-level psychological variables. .................................................... 24 ‘Green’ or ‘environmental’ identity. ............................................................ 28 Chapter 3 Theoretical Framework: The Social Identity Approach ......................... 34 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 34 viii The Social Identity Approach and its Central Tenets ...................................................... 35 Consequences of Social Identification ............................................................ 43 Employing the Social Identity Approach to Explore the Relationship between Social Identity Processes and Green Consumerism ................................................................... 45 Evidence Supportive of the Role of Social Identification in Pro-Environmental Behaviour ........................................................................................................ 47 Evidence Supportive of the Role of Social Identification in Green Consumerism ................................................................................................... 49 The Importance of the Social Context to Environmentalist Social Identity and Green Consumerism ........................................................................................ 51 The Present Research ...................................................................................................... 54 Chapter 4 Study 1: Making Sense of Green Consumerism and its Relationship to Environmentalism and Social Identity ........................................................................ 58 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 58 Extending Current Conceptualisations of Green Consumerism by Exploring Individuals’ Perceptions .................................................................................. 59 Social Identity Processes and their Relationship to Individuals’ Conceptualisations of Green Consumerism .................................................... 60 The Current Study ........................................................................................... 62 Method ............................................................................................................................. 62 Participants ...................................................................................................... 62 Data Collection ................................................................................................ 63 Data Analysis .................................................................................................
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