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Psychological standing: The influence of perceived
environmental behaviour on psychological standing
Master Thesis Defense
By: G.J.W. Borgesius
June 27, 2019
First supervisor: dr. M.H. van Dijk
Second supervisor: Dr. S.A.E.G. Albalooshi
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“We have to understand the emergency
of the situation. Our leadership has failed
us. Young people must hold older
generations accountable for the mess
they have created. We need to get angry,
and transform that anger into action.”
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Relevance
›
-The growing interest in the environment by the general
public (Kotler, 2011)
›
-Shift towards more sustainable ways of behaving (Datta,
2011)
›
-Who ought to be counted culpable is difficult to say
(Verweij et al., 2006
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Theoretical Foundation
Relevant drivers for psychological standing
-Moralization (Effron & Miller, 2012)
-Category Membership (Sherf, Tangirala &
Weber, 2017)
Social norms
-Human social behaviour is partially explainable
by looking at social norms (Fishbein & Ajzen,
1975)
-Salient social norms directly influence human
behaviour (Cialdini, Reno, & Kallren, 1990)
Having a healthy favourable attitude towards a cause does not automatically reflect in actions (Ratner & Miller, 2001).
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Research Question:
What is the effect of positive personal environmental feedback (relative to
negative feedback) on psychological standing and how is this effect moderated by the use of
(descriptive) normative messages?
Hypothesis 1:
People whose personal environmental
feedback is positive will show more
psychological standing for
environmental activism.
Hypothesis 2:
Descriptive normative messages
strengthen the relation between
personal environmental feedback and
psychological standing.
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Design:
Collection: Convenience sample: personal connections, online and snowballing
Manipulations: All respondents were being exposed to the same set of questions regarding their
environmental behaviour. Yet, outcomes were manipulated
Methodology
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Variable overview
Measured
Dependent variables:
Personal signing intention
3 Items
Personal sharing intention
3 Items
Feeling of signing standing
3 Items
Feeling of sharing standing
3 Items
7-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 “Not at all” to 7 “Very much”.
Control variables:
Age & Gender
Non-measured/Manipulated
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Results
Hypothesis 1:
REJECTED
People whose personal environmental feedback is positive will show more psychological
standing for environmental activism.
Hypothesis 2
:
REJECTED
Descriptive normative messages strengthen the relation between personal environmental
feedback and psychological standing.
Yet, respondents that were shown normative messages do express more psychological standing
(M=3,46, SD=1,96) than respondents that were not shown any normative message (M=3,01,
SD=2,03
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Results: Control variables
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Results: additional analyses
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Discussion
Interesting finding:
No direct effect of environmental personal feedback and no
moderating effect is found. Yet, a strong direct effect of normative messages on
psychological standing is found.
Academic contributions:
Manipulated environmental feedback can be used instead of
“real” measurements , A new way of looking at psychological standing (splitting it up)
Implications for practice:
Organizations should use normative messages to harvest
psychological standing -> environmental activism, Women tend to show more
psychological standing -> Target this audience.
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References
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Cialdini, R. B., Kallgren, C. A., & Reno, R. R. (1991). A focus theory of normative conduct: A theoretical refinement and reevaluation of the role of norms human behavior. Advances in experimental social psychology, 24(20), 1-243.›
Datta, S. K. (2011). Pro-environmental concern influencing green buying: A study on Indian consumers. International Journal of Business and Management, 6(6),124.
›
Fishbein, M., & Ajzen, I. (1975). Belief, attitude, intention and behavior: An introduction to›
theory and research. Reading, United States: Addison-Wesley.›
Kotler, P. (2011). Reinventing marketing to manage the environmental imperative. Journal of Marketing, 75(4), 132-135.›
Miller D.T., & Effron D.A. (2010). Psychological license: When it is needed and how it›
functions. Zanna MP, Olson JM, eds. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology (Elsevier, San Diego), 115–155.›
Sherf, E.N., Tangirala, S., & Weber K.C. (2017). It Is Not My Place! Psychological Standing and Men’s Voice and Participation in Gender-Parity Initiatives.Organization Science, 28(2):193-210.
