title: Values determine the (in)effectiveness of informational interventions in promoting pro-environmental behavior.
abstract: Informational interventions (e.g., awareness campaigns, carbon footprint calculators) are built on the assumption that informing the public about the environmental consequences of their actions should result in increased pro-environmental intentions and behavior. However, empirical support for this reasoning is mixed. In this paper, we argue that informational interventions may succeed in improving people's knowledge about the negative environmental consequences of one's actions, but this knowledge will not gain motivational force if people do not consider protecting the environment an important personal value. In an experiment, we measured individual differences in value priorities, and either presented participants a movie clip that portrayed the negative environmental consequences of using bottled water, or a control movie. As predicted, we found that the environmental movie improved recipients' knowledge of the negative environmental impact of bottled water, but this knowledge only resulted in concomitant changes in intentions and acceptability of related policies among participants who strongly endorsed biospheric (i.e. environmental) values, while having no effect on those who care less about the environment. Interestingly, the results suggest that although informational interventions are perhaps not always successful in directly affecting less environmentally-conscious recipients, they could still have beneficial effects, because they make those who strongly care about the environment more inclined to act on their values.
authors.affiliation: Department of Marketing, University of Groningen, Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Jan Willem
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Bolderdijk
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Madelijne
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gorsira
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Kees
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Keizer
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Steg
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001519:Behavior; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D060766:Drinking Water; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D033182:Intention; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D012945:Social Values; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D060766:Drinking Water