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Cited by 191Environmental Education and SustainabilityBehavioral Health and InterventionsEnvironmental Sustainability in Business

Direct and mediated impacts of social norms on pro-environmental behavior

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Helferich, Marvin, Thøgersen, John, Bergquist, Magnus·2023·Global Environmental Change
DOI 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2023.102680
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Abstract

The social norm-based intervention is a frequently used tool for encouraging pro-environmental behavior. In designing effective interventions, however, both practitioners and researchers need more knowledge about the relationships between different norm constructs and pro-environmental behavior. In this study, we meta-analyze the predictive strength of injunctive, descriptive, and personal norms using meta-analytical structural equation modeling (MASEM). Data are extracted from 572 studies reported in 534 articles across 56 countries with a total sample size of N = 312,127. We find that internalized (i.e., personal) norms are consistently the strongest predictor of pro-environmental behavior and that personal norms mediate most of the impacts of injunctive and descriptive norms. Both injunctive and descriptive norms predict pro-environmental behavior, uniquely and with similar strengths. We find no significant moderations of collectivism or behavioral cost on the predictive strength of social norms on pro-environmental behavior.

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Authors
Helferich, M., Thøgersen, J., & Bergquist, M.
Affiliations
  • University of Gothenburg (SE)
  • Aarhus University (DK)
Corresponding author
Helferich, Marvin
ORCID
Venue
Global Environmental Change
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2023-05
Volume
80
Pages
102680
ISSN
0959-3780 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2023.102680
OpenAlex
W4372211965
Cited by
191
References
85
Citations by year
2026: 78 · 2025: 60 · 2024: 43 · 2023: 10
FWCI
50.70
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
Global Environmental Change (publishedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
Familjen Kamprads Stiftelse (20200135)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law › Environmental Education and Sustainability
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Behavioral Health and Interventions
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Marketing › Environmental Sustainability in Business
Keywords
social norms, pro-environmental behavior, injunctive norms, descriptive norms, personal norms, norm internalization, mediation, collectivism, behavioral costs

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