Promotion of pro-environmental behaviors across cultures /

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Student Theses

2023

Xia, Weiwei

Hong Kong : The Education University of Hong Kong

Thesis

Climate change is a global issue. However, the study of pro-environmental behaviors, which play a crucial role in mitigating this issue, has not received sufficient attention from a global perspective. This dissertation aims to address the gap in cross-cultural research on pro-environmental behaviors, as their promotion within different social contexts remains relatively unexplored. While significant research exists on personal factors predicting pro-environmental behaviors, there is a lack of investigation into the promotion of these behaviors within family, interpersonal, and intercultural contexts. The present study seeks to expand the existing literature by examining the promotion of pro-environmental behaviors across diverse contexts worldwide. Chapter 2 presents findings from a study exploring the encouragement of pro-environmental behaviors within families. The results reveal a positive correlation between parents' and adolescents' familiarity with climate change and their engagement in pro-environmental actions. This correlation is particularly pronounced in societies characterized by higher levels of individualism and lower power distance. Chapter 3 delves into the promotion of pro-environmental behaviors within interpersonal relationships. Study 1 suggests that observing pro-environmental behaviors in close friends can lead to decreased environmental concern among participants, indicating a negative spillover effect. However, Study 2 does not replicate these findings. The underlying mechanisms of this spillover effect, including vicarious moral credits, moral credentials, and environmental identity, were explored in Study 3, but no significant connections were identified. Importantly, cultural influences on the promotion of pro-environmental behaviors within interpersonal relationships were noted. The mediating role of environmental responsibility in the relationship between relationship conditions and pro-environmental behaviors was more evident in the British sample than in the Chinese sample (Study 4). Chapter 4 investigates how intercultural contact experiences contribute to the promotion of pro-environmental behaviors in intercultural contexts. Through a cross-sectional survey (Study 1) and an environmental study (Study 2), a positive correlation between intercultural contact and pro-environmental behaviors is established, with cosmopolitanism mediating this relationship. Furthermore, Study 3 demonstrates that this relationship is more pronounced in societies characterized by higher levels of individualism and lower power distance. Chapter 5 provides a comprehensive discussion of the dissertation’s key findings and implications

LG51.H43 Dr 2023eb Xiaw

https://educoll.lib.eduhk.hk/records/tZNnG7c8