Causal effect of consideration of future consequences on pro-environmental intention
| Název práce v češtině: | Kauzální vliv časového zaměření na budoucí dopady na záměr proenvironmentálního chování |
|---|---|
| Název v anglickém jazyce: | Causal effect of consideration of future consequences on pro-environmental intention |
| Klíčová slova: | Časové zaměření na budoucí dopady, pro-environmentální chování, pro-environmentální intence, časová perspektiva, randomizovaný experiment |
| Klíčová slova anglicky: | Consideration of future consequences, pro-environmental behavior, pro-environmental intention, time perspective, randomized experiment |
| Akademický rok vypsání: | 2022/2023 |
| Typ práce: | bakalářská práce |
| Jazyk práce: | angličtina |
| Ústav: | Katedra sociologie (23-KS) |
| Vedoucí / školitel: | Mgr. Jan Urban, Ph.D. |
| Řešitel: | skrytý - zadáno vedoucím/školitelem |
| Datum přihlášení: | 25.09.2023 |
| Datum zadání: | 25.09.2023 |
| Datum odevzdání elektronické podoby: | 29.04.2024 |
| Seznam odborné literatury |
| Arnocky, S., Milfont, T. L., & Nicol, J. R. (2014). Time Perspective and Sustainable Behavior: Evidence for the Distinction Between Consideration of Immediate and Future Consequences. Environment and Behavior, 46(5), 556–582. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013916512474987
Cheng, Y.-Y., Shein, P. P., & Chiou, W.-B. (2012). Escaping the impulse to immediate gratification: The prospect concept promotes a future-oriented mindset, prompting an inclination towards delayed gratification: Prospect and delayed gratification. British Journal of Psychology, 103(1), 129–141. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8295.2011.02067.x Henry, H., Zacher, H., & Desmette, D. (2017). Future Time Perspective in the Work Context: A Systematic Review of Quantitative Studies. Frontiers in Psychology, 08. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00413 Minton, A. P., & Rose, R. L. (1997). The Effects of Environmental Concern on Environmentally Friendly Consumer Behavior: An Exploratory Study. Journal of Business Research, 40(1), 37–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0148-2963(96)00209-3 Rabinovich, A., Morton, T., & Postmes, T. (2010). Time perspective and attitude-behaviour consistency in future-oriented behaviours. British Journal of Social Psychology, 49(1), 69–89. https://doi.org/10.1348/014466608X401875 Strathman, A., Gleicher, F., Boninger, D. S., & Edwards, C. S. (1994). The consideration of future consequences: Weighing immediate and distant outcomes of behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66(4), 742–752. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.66.4.742 Tate, K., Stewart, A. J., & Daly, M. (2014). Influencing green behaviour through environmental goal priming: The mediating role of automatic evaluation. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 38, 225–232. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2014.02.004 Urban, J., Braun Kohlová, M., & Bahník, Š. (2021). No Evidence of Within-Domain Moral Licensing in the Environmental Domain. Environment and Behavior, 53(10), 1070–1094. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013916520942604 Urban, J., & Vačkářová, D. (2020). Egoists like climate adaptation but not climate mitigation [Preprint]. PsyArXiv. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/c45ya Wang, S., Hurlstone, M. J., Leviston, Z., Walker, I., & Lawrence, C. (2019). Climate Change From a Distance: An Analysis of Construal Level and Psychological Distance From Climate Change. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 230. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00230 Zaval, L., Markowitz, E. M., & Weber, E. U. (2015). How Will I Be Remembered? Conserving the Environment for the Sake of One’s Legacy. Psychological Science, 26(2), 231–236. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797614561266 |
| Předběžná náplň práce |
| In this bachelor thesis, I aim to experimentally study the causal effect of a person's time perspectives (consideration of future consequences, CFC) on his or her engagement in pro-environmental behavior. While several studies demonstrated the statistical association between CFC and pro-environmental behavior (Arnocky et al., 2014; Wang et al., 2019), none of the existing studies demonstrated a causal effect of CFC on pro-environmental intentions. Several studies also showed that people’s attitudes to the future can be experimentally manipulated (Arnocky et al., 2014; Rabinovich et al., 2010; Zaval et al., 2015) but none of these studies show that such manipulations alter people’s average CFC scores. This study will build on the two types of literature and will attempt to unravel the causal effect of a person's time perspective on his or her pro-environmental behavior.
Several experimental studies manipulated people to increase their pro-environmental behavior. The first approach was presented by Tate et al. (2014). For the manipulation, they used a priming method consisting of a text with particular facts about the overproduction of waste in the United Kingdom and its negative impact on the environment. Another approach was examined by Zaval et al. (2015). They used the concept of legacy motives. As a priming method, they utilized a short writing task about how the respondents want to be remembered by future generations. Yet another approach was used by Rabinovich et al. (2010). They directly asked the respondents to describe what they think the environmental situation will look like in a month or in ten years. Finally, as presented by Arnocky et al. (2014), the consideration of future consequences can be manipulated by giving the respondents short reading tasks that make them think about their typical day in the present or in four years. This manipulation of time perspectives will be used in this study. The first type of literature that this thesis will build on examines the consideration of future consequences (Arnocky et al., 2014; Strathman et al., 1994) and similar constructs. Consideration of future consequences as first presented by Strathman et al. (1994) is a construct that refers to the changing of people´s behavior while considering the possible events and outcomes in the future. It is affected by a dilemma of considering the immediate costs associated with embracing pro-environmental behavior (e.g. saving water, recycling). It is observed that future time perspective plays an important role in sustainable behavior by increasing pro-environmental behavior more than past or present time perspectives (Arnocky et al., 2014). However, there are no studies that examined the effect of time perspectives on pro-environmental intentions. The second type of literature review observes the concept of pro-environmental behavior with a focus on pro-environmental intentions. As stated by Minton and Rose (1997) the pro-environmental behavioral intentions can be influenced by the effect of environmental concern, by personal norms, or partially by injunctive norms that had the lowest effect. The general pro-environmental behavior was also overall influenced by all of these three factors but with different intensities than in the case of pro-environmental intentions. Nevertheless, Minton´s and Rose´s (1997) concept of pro-environmental intentions was never tested in the context of consideration of future consequences. The main goal of this bachelor thesis aims to lead to further clarification of the causal effect of the consideration of future consequences on pro-environmental behavior while connecting the concept of CFC manipulation and pro-environmental intentions. Only several studies examined the topic of people’s attitudes to the future and pro-environmental behavior and none of these studies demonstrated the effect of manipulation of CFC on the pro-environmental intentions experimentally. There are also no studies examining this topic in the context of the Czech Republic. This thesis aims to use Arnocky et al. (2014) priming task and to test the effect of this manipulation on the pro-environmental intentions measured on the pro-environmental behavioral intention scale taken from Minton and Rose (1997). This thesis will be based on an experimental study (randomized experiment). I will use Arnocky et al. (2014) approach to manipulate participants’ time frames. The study will use a manipulation check (12-item CFC scale adopted from Strathman et al., 1994; the Czech version is adopted from Urban and Vačkářová, 2020). An example of an item: ”I only act to satisfy immediate concerns, figuring that I will take care of future problems that may occur at a later date.” The scale captures how focused on the future or on the present participants are by asking them to rate how characteristic the presented statements were on a five-point scale (1 = extremely uncharacteristic, 5 = extremely characteristic). I will use the pro-environmental intention scale adopted from Minton and Rose (1997); the Czech version is available in Urban et al. (2021). Each item depicted a hypothetical situation where a respondent had an opportunity to engage in environmentally-friendly behavior. An example of an item: “I would be willing to sign a petition to support an environmental cause.” Participants indicate their answers on a seven-point Likert scale (1 = completely disagree 6 = completely agree ). I will recruit a convenience sample of Czech-speaking adults using snowball sampling for my study. I will determine the sample size needed using power simulation. In my work, I will propose and test the following hypotheses. H1: Participants in the experimental group future have higher average CFC scores than those in the control condition (manipulation check). H2: Participants in the experimental group future have higher average pro-environmental intention scores than those in the control condition. To test both hypotheses, I will use independent-sample t-tests (one-sided, alpha = .05). Together with my classmates and the supervisor, we have conducted a pilot study. This study (Ntotal = 271 respondents, Ncontrol = 151 respondents, Nexperimental = 120 respondents) revealed a small effect of time frame manipulation of CFC (d = 0.14., p > .05) and a negligible effect on environmental intention (d = 0.19, p > .05; for details, see https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/NFPZ3). The study has a negligible risk for participants comparable to Internet browsing and office work. The manipulation of CFC has only a short-term effect. No personal or sensitive data will be collected. All data will be anonymous. The study will be reviewed by the Institutional review board of the Charles University Environment Center. |
| Předběžná náplň práce v anglickém jazyce |
| In this bachelor thesis, I aim to experimentally study the causal effect of a person's time perspectives (consideration of future consequences, CFC) on his or her engagement in pro-environmental behavior. While several studies demonstrated the statistical association between CFC and pro-environmental behavior (Arnocky et al., 2014; Wang et al., 2019), none of the existing studies demonstrated a causal effect of CFC on pro-environmental intentions. Several studies also showed that people’s attitudes to the future can be experimentally manipulated (Arnocky et al., 2014; Rabinovich et al., 2010; Zaval et al., 2015) but none of these studies show that such manipulations alter people’s average CFC scores. This study will build on the two types of literature and will attempt to unravel the causal effect of a person's time perspective on his or her pro-environmental behavior.
Several experimental studies manipulated people to increase their pro-environmental behavior. The first approach was presented by Tate et al. (2014). For the manipulation, they used a priming method consisting of a text with particular facts about the overproduction of waste in the United Kingdom and its negative impact on the environment. Another approach was examined by Zaval et al. (2015). They used the concept of legacy motives. As a priming method, they utilized a short writing task about how the respondents want to be remembered by future generations. Yet another approach was used by Rabinovich et al. (2010). They directly asked the respondents to describe what they think the environmental situation will look like in a month or in ten years. Finally, as presented by Arnocky et al. (2014), the consideration of future consequences can be manipulated by giving the respondents short reading tasks that make them think about their typical day in the present or in four years. This manipulation of time perspectives will be used in this study. The first type of literature that this thesis will build on examines the consideration of future consequences (Arnocky et al., 2014; Strathman et al., 1994) and similar constructs. Consideration of future consequences as first presented by Strathman et al. (1994) is a construct that refers to the changing of people´s behavior while considering the possible events and outcomes in the future. It is affected by a dilemma of considering the immediate costs associated with embracing pro-environmental behavior (e.g. saving water, recycling). It is observed that future time perspective plays an important role in sustainable behavior by increasing pro-environmental behavior more than past or present time perspectives (Arnocky et al., 2014). However, there are no studies that examined the effect of time perspectives on pro-environmental intentions. The second type of literature review observes the concept of pro-environmental behavior with a focus on pro-environmental intentions. As stated by Minton and Rose (1997) the pro-environmental behavioral intentions can be influenced by the effect of environmental concern, by personal norms, or partially by injunctive norms that had the lowest effect. The general pro-environmental behavior was also overall influenced by all of these three factors but with different intensities than in the case of pro-environmental intentions. Nevertheless, Minton´s and Rose´s (1997) concept of pro-environmental intentions was never tested in the context of consideration of future consequences. The main goal of this bachelor thesis aims to lead to further clarification of the causal effect of the consideration of future consequences on pro-environmental behavior while connecting the concept of CFC manipulation and pro-environmental intentions. Only several studies examined the topic of people’s attitudes to the future and pro-environmental behavior and none of these studies demonstrated the effect of manipulation of CFC on the pro-environmental intentions experimentally. There are also no studies examining this topic in the context of the Czech Republic. This thesis aims to use Arnocky et al. (2014) priming task and to test the effect of this manipulation on the pro-environmental intentions measured on the pro-environmental behavioral intention scale taken from Minton and Rose (1997). This thesis will be based on an experimental study (randomized experiment). I will use Arnocky et al. (2014) approach to manipulate participants’ time frames. The study will use a manipulation check (12-item CFC scale adopted from Strathman et al., 1994; the Czech version is adopted from Urban and Vačkářová, 2020). An example of an item: ”I only act to satisfy immediate concerns, figuring that I will take care of future problems that may occur at a later date.” The scale captures how focused on the future or on the present participants are by asking them to rate how characteristic the presented statements were on a five-point scale (1 = extremely uncharacteristic, 5 = extremely characteristic). I will use the pro-environmental intention scale adopted from Minton and Rose (1997); the Czech version is available in Urban et al. (2021). Each item depicted a hypothetical situation where a respondent had an opportunity to engage in environmentally-friendly behavior. An example of an item: “I would be willing to sign a petition to support an environmental cause.” Participants indicate their answers on a seven-point Likert scale (1 = completely disagree 6 = completely agree ). I will recruit a convenience sample of Czech-speaking adults using snowball sampling for my study. I will determine the sample size needed using power simulation. In my work, I will propose and test the following hypotheses. H1: Participants in the experimental group future have higher average CFC scores than those in the control condition (manipulation check). H2: Participants in the experimental group future have higher average pro-environmental intention scores than those in the control condition. To test both hypotheses, I will use independent-sample t-tests (one-sided, alpha = .05). Together with my classmates and the supervisor, we have conducted a pilot study. This study (Ntotal = 271 respondents, Ncontrol = 151 respondents, Nexperimental = 120 respondents) revealed a small effect of time frame manipulation of CFC (d = 0.14., p > .05) and a negligible effect on environmental intention (d = 0.19, p > .05; for details, see https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/NFPZ3). The study has a negligible risk for participants comparable to Internet browsing and office work. The manipulation of CFC has only a short-term effect. No personal or sensitive data will be collected. All data will be anonymous. The study will be reviewed by the Institutional review board of the Charles University Environment Center. |