Completed NRP 73 research project: The influence of environmental identities

People have a complex relationship with the natural environment, their sustainable behaviour being influenced by two key factors: the extent to which they relate to the natural environment, and whether they factor this relationship into various decisions. “Environmental identity” is a concept that is responsible for a large proportion of identity-based sustainable behaviour. As yet, however, little is understood about the way it works. The project “The influence of environmental identities on sustainable behaviour” shows that people have a stronger environmental identity if their personal values are shaped more by moral and green considerations than by materialistic ones; if they have strong self-esteem and are open to experiences; if they have a positive attitude towards nature; if their behaviour is pro-community and pro-environment; and if they live in a rural rather than in an urban area.

The project used surveys and experiments to investigate the effects of two specific components of identity: the significance of environmental identity (the extent to which someone considers the natural environment in the context of decisions) and the strength of environmental identity (the extent to which someone relates to the natural environment). The results showed that the significance of environmental identity is a consistently stronger predictor of a broad range of behaviour patterns than the strength of that identity. For this reason, measures based on the significance of environmental identity could appeal to broad groups of consumers. Regardless of how strong their environmental identity is, a reminder of their connection to nature would influence consumers’ sustainable behaviour in a range of decision-making situations.

 

More information:

More information on the research project

 

Selected publications:

Rahmani, Leïla; Haasova, Simona; Czellar, Sandor; Clergue, Valentina; Martin, Christian
How Often Do You Think About Your Relationship With Nature? The Measurement of Environmental Identity Salience and Its Relationship With Proenvironmental Behaviors. In Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 2752.

Clayton, Susan; Czellar, Sandor; Nartova-Bochaver, Sonya; Skibins, Jeffrey C.; Salazar, Gabby; Tseng, Yu-Chi; Irkhin, Boris; Monge-Rodriguez, Fredy S.
Cross-Cultural Validation of A Revised Environmental Identity Scale. In Sustainability, 13(4), 2387–2387.

Haasova, Simona; Czellar, Sandor; Rahmani, Leïla; Morgan, Natalie
Connectedness With Nature and Individual Responses to a Pandemic: An Exploratory Study. In Frontiers in Psychology, 11(1), 2215.

 

Contact:

Prof. Dr. Sandor Czellar
Département de Marketing, Université de Lausanne
+41 21 692 34 61
sandor.czellar@unil.ch