About the Journal
In Memory of Professor Jerzy Radecki
Ownership and Management Statement
Editorial Office
Editorial Board
Scope
Impact Factor
Indexed in...
Journal Impact Factor contributing items
Publication Frequency
Revenue Sources & Business Model
Contact
Subscription
Current issue
Online first
Instructions for Authors
Frequently Asked Questions
Editorial policies
Publication Policy Overview
Peer Review Policy
Research Ethics and Malpractice Policy
Plagiarism Policy
Conflict of Interest Policy
Open Access Policy
Instructions for Reviewers
Generative AI and AI-Assisted Technologies Policy
Advertising Policy
Direct Marketing & Manuscript Solicitation
Digital Archiving and Preservation Policy
Archive
Editorial policies
Publication Policy Overview
Peer Review Policy
Research Ethics and Malpractice Policy
Plagiarism Policy
Conflict of Interest Policy
Open Access Policy
Instructions for Reviewers
Generative AI and AI-Assisted Technologies Policy
Advertising Policy
Direct Marketing & Manuscript Solicitation
Digital Archiving and Preservation Policy
ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Effect of Social Class Cognition and Public
Service Satisfaction on Pro-Environmental
Behavior in China
1
Business School, Yangzhou University, Jiangsu 225127, China
2
Research Center for Government Governance and Public Policy, Yangzhou University, Jiangsu 225127, China
Submission date: 2023-12-13
Final revision date: 2024-01-21
Acceptance date: 2024-03-24
Online publication date: 2024-06-28
Publication date: 2025-01-02
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2025;34(1):939-948
KEYWORDS
pro-environmental behaviorssocial class cognitionpublic service satisfactionenvironmental risk perceptionstructural equation model
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Although people have extensively studied the influencing factors of pro-environmental behaviors
(PEBs) on individuals and society, there is still a lack of a unified and reasonable explanation among
individuals, society, and nature. We explore the relationship among social class cognition (SCC), public
service satisfaction (PSS), environmental risk perception (ERP), media use (MU), and citizens’ PEBs.
Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used for evaluating the causal chain from SCC, PSS to citizens’
PEBs in the Chinese General Social Survey 2013 (CGSS2013, n=673), and the mediating role of ERP
in the transition from SCC, PSS to citizens’ PEBs. The results show that SCC and PSS significantly
influence citizens’ PEBs. From the perspective of impact mechanism, ERP plays an important
mediating role in the impact path of SCC and PSS on citizens’ PEBs. ERP is constantly spread, diffused,
and enhanced by MU, and contributes to the formation of citizens’ PEBs. This research is helpful to get
a reasonable explanation of PEBs in individual-society-nature, and thus break the boundary between
the private sphere and the public sphere to form an environmental governance pattern of co-construction,
co-governance, and sharing.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
REFERENCES (55)
1.
SCHEIDEL A., DEL B.D., LIU J., NAVAS G., MINGORRIA S., DEMARÍA F., AVILA S., ROY B., ERTÖR I., TEMPER L. Environmental conflicts and defenders: A global overview. Global Environmental Change-Human and Policy Dimensions, 63, 102104, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloe... PMid:32801483 PMCid:PMC7418451.
2.
SMITH G.S., ANJUM E., FRANCIS C., DEANES L., ACEY C. Climate change, environmental disasters, and health inequities: the underlying role of structural inequalities. Current Environmental Health Reports, 9, 80, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40572... PMid:35338470 .
3.
KNAP A.H., RUSYN I. Environmental exposures due to natural disasters. Reviews on Environmental Health, 31, 89, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1515/reveh-... PMid:26982607 PMCid:PMC4913349.
4.
ROSENMANN A., REESE G., CAMERON J.E. Social identities in a globalized world: Challenges and opportunities for collective action. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 11, 202, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1177/174569... PMid:26993275.
5.
MONIKA B. Association between air pollution and wellbeing. Social and Preventive Medicine, 34, 231, 1989.
6.
KLEIN S.A., HILBIG B.E. How virtual nature experiences can promote pro-environmental behavior. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 60, 41, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenv....
7.
SUN J.X., MA B.L., WEI S.M. Same gratitude, different pro-environmental behaviors? Effect of the dual-path influence mechanism of gratitude on pro-environmental behavior. Journal of Cleaner Production, 415, 137779, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcle....
8.
LU H., ZHANG W.B., DIAO B.D., LIU Y., CHEN H., LONG R.Y., CAI S.H. The progress and trend of pro-environmental behavior research: a bibliometrics-based visualization analysis. Current Psychology, 42, 6912, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144... PMid:34226810 PMCid:PMC8244462.
9.
LIAO Y.H., YANG W.H. The determinants of different types of private-sphere pro-environmental behaviour: an integrating framework. Environment Development and Sustainability, 24, 8566, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668....
10.
LING M.L., XU L. Relationships between personal values, micro-contextual factors and residents' pro-environmental behaviors: An explorative study. Resources Conservation and Recycling, 156, 104697, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resc....
11.
LEE P.S., SUNG Y.H., WU C.C., HO L.C., CHIOU W.B. Using episodic future thinking to pre-experience climate change increases pro-environmental behavior. Environment and Behavior, 52, 60, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1177/001391....
12.
YURIEV A., DAHMEN M., PAILLÉ P., BOIRAL O., GUILLAUMIE L. Pro-environmental behaviors through the lens of the theory of planned behavior: A scoping review. Resources Conservation and Recycling, 155, 104660, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resc....
13.
ATEŞ H. Merging theory of planned behavior and value identity personal norm model to explain pro-environmental behaviors. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 24, 169, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.....
14.
AJZEN I. The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50, 179, 1991. https://doi.org/10.1016/0749-5....
15.
UDALL A.M., JUDITH I.M., SIMON B., SHANKAR A. How do I see myself? A systematic review of identities in pro-environmental behaviour research. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 190, 108, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1002/cb.179....
16.
XING Y.F., LI M.Q., LIAO Y.H. Trust, identity, and public-sphere pro-environmental behavior in China: an extended attitude-behavior-context theory. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 919578, 2022. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.... PMid:35814104 PMCid:PMC9266346.
17.
THIERMANN U.B., SHEATE W.R. Motivating individuals for social transition: The 2-pathway model and experiential strategies for pro-environmental behaviour. Ecological Economics, 174, 106668, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecol....
18.
O'CONNOR P., ASSAKER G. COVID-19's effects on future pro-environmental traveler behavior: An empirical examination using norm activation, economic sacrifices, and risk perception theories. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 30, 89, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1080/096695....
19.
SONG Y., ZHAO C., ZHANG M.G. Does haze pollution promote the consumption of energy-saving appliances in China? An empirical study based on norm activation model. Resources Conservation and Recycling, 145, 220, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resc....
20.
WANG S.Y., WANG J.P., ZHAO S.L., YANG S. Information publicity and resident's waste separation behavior: An empirical study based on the norm activation model. Waste Management, 87, 33, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasm... PMid:31109533.
21.
DONG Y.J., LIU Z.S., ZHANG Y., JIANG J. Perceived descriptive norms strengthen the global human identification-general pro-environmental behavior association: Empirical evidence from survey studies. Journal of Cleaner Production, 418, 138134, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcle....
22.
SILVI M., PADILLA E. Pro-environmental behavior: Social norms, intrinsic motivation and external conditions. Environmental Policy and Governance, 87, 33, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1002/eet.19....
23.
SAMPENE A.K., LI C., WIREDU J., AGYEMAN F.O., BRENYA R. Examining the nexus between social cognition, biospheric values, moral norms, corporate environmental responsibility and pro-environmental behaviour. Does environmental knowledge matter? Current Psychology, 42, 1, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144....
24.
VAN VALKENGOED A.M., ABRAHAMSE W., STEG L. To select effective interventions for pro-environmental behaviour change, we need to consider determinants of behaviour. Nature Human Behaviour, 6, 1482, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562... PMid:36385176 .
25.
SIEGRIST M., ÁRVAI J. Risk perception: Reflections on 40 years of research. Risk Analysis, 40, 2191, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1111/risa.1... PMid:32949022.
26.
BRADLEY G.L., BABUTSIDZE Z., CHAI A., RESER J.P. The role of climate change risk perception, response efficacy, and psychological adaptation in pro-environmental behavior: A two nation study. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 68, 101410, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenv....
27.
CHWIALKOWSKA A., BHATTI W.A., GLOWIK M.O. The influence of cultural values on pro-environmental behavior. Journal of Cleaner Production, 268, 122305, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcle... PMCid:PMC13041319.
28.
MI L.Y., QIAO L.J., XU T., GAN X.L., YANG H., ZHAO J.J., QIAO Y.N., HOU J.X. Promoting sustainable development: The impact of differences in cultural values on residents' pro-environmental behaviors. Nature Human Behaviour, 28, 1539, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.210....
29.
LIU P.H., TENG M.M., HAN C.F. How does environmental knowledge translate into pro-environmental behaviors? The mediating role of environmental attitudes and behavioral intentions. Science of the Total Environment, 728, 138126, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scit... PMid:32361356.
30.
SHAFIEI A., MALEKSAEIDI H. Pro-environmental behavior of university students: Application of protection motivation theory. Global Ecology and Conservation, 22, e00908, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecc....
31.
TSAI C.C., LI X.Y., WU W.N. Explaining citizens' pro-environmental behaviours in public and private spheres: The mediating role of willingness to sacrifice for the environment. Australian Journal of Public Administration, 80, 510, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8....
32.
BAMBERG S., MÖSER G. Twenty years after Hines, Hungerford, and Tomera: A new meta-analysis of psychosocial determinants of pro-environmental behaviour. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 27, 14, 2007. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenv....
33.
LI D., ZHAO L.M., MA S., SHAO S., ZHANG L.X. What influences an individual's pro-environmental behavior? A literature review. Resources Conservation and Recycling, 146, 28, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resc....
34.
GRILLI G., CURTIS J. Encouraging pro-environmental behaviours: A review of methods and approaches. Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, 135, 110039, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser....
35.
DE YOUNG R. Changing behavior and making it stick: The conceptualization and management of conservation behavior. Environment and Behavior, 25, 485, 1993. https://doi.org/10.1177/001391....
36.
SUGANTHI L. Examining the relationship between corporate social responsibility, performance, employees' pro-environmental behavior at work with green practices as mediator. Journal of Cleaner Production, 232, 739, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcle....
37.
KAISER F.G., SCHULTZ P.W. The Attitude-Behavior Relationship: A Test of Three Models of the Moderating Role of Behavioral Difficulty. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 39, 186, 2009. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559....
38.
LARSON L.R., STEDMAN R.C., COOPER C.B., DECKER D.J. Understanding the multi-dimensional structure of pro-environmental behavior. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 43, 112, 2015. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenv....
39.
GOSLING E., WILLIAMS K.J.H. Connectedness to nature, place attachment and conservation behaviour: Testing connectedness theory among farmers. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 30, 298, 2010. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenv....
40.
WHITBURN J., LINKLATER W., ABRAHAMSE W. Meta-analysis of human connection to nature and pro-environmental behavior. Conservation Biology, 34, 180, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.1... PMid:31251416 PMCid:PMC7027494.
41.
TOBLER C., VISSCHERS V.H.M., SIEGRIST M. Eating green. Consumers' willingness to adopt ecological food consumption behaviors. Appetite, 57, 674, 2011. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appe... PMid:21896294.
42.
KAUTISH P., DASH G. Environmentally concerned consumer behavior: evidence from consumers in Rajasthan. Journal of Modelling in Management, 12, 712, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1108/JM2-05....
43.
BLEIDORN W., LENHAUSEN M.R., HOPWOOD C.J. Proenvironmental attitudes predict proenvironmental consumer behaviors over time. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 76, 101627, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenv....
44.
STEG L., VLEK C. Encouraging pro-environmental behaviour: An integrative review and research agenda. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 29, 309, 2009. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenv....
45.
STERN P.C. Psychology and the science of human-environment interactions. American Psychologist, 55, 523, 2000. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-0... PMid:10842433.
46.
NOPPERS E.H., KEIZER K., BOLDERDIJK J.W., STEG L. The adoption of sustainable innovations: Driven by symbolic and environmental motives. Global Environmental Change-Human and Policy Dimensions, 25, 52, 2014. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloe....
47.
PODSAKOFF P.M., MACKENZIE S.B., LEE J.Y., PODSAKOFF N.P. Common method biases in behavioral research: a critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88, 879, 2003. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9... PMid:14516251.
48.
HAIR J.F., SARSTEDT M., RINGLE C.M., MENA J.A. An assessment of the use of partial least squares structural equation modeling in marketing research. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 40, 414, 2012. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747....
49.
FORNELL C., LARCKER D.F. Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18, 39, 1987. https://doi.org/10.2307/315131....
50.
BARRETT P. Structural equation modelling: Adjudging model fit. Personality and Individual Differences, 42, 815, 2007. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid....
51.
GITTELL R., TEBALDI E. Charitable giving: Factors influencing giving in US states. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 35, 721, 2006. https://doi.org/10.1177/089976....
52.
KORNDÖRFER M., EGLOFF B., SCHMUKLE S.C. A large scale test of the effect of social class on prosocial behavior. PLoS One, 10, e0133193, 2015. https://doi.org/10.1371/journa... PMid:26193099 PMCid:PMC4507988.
53.
WITT J.K., STEFANUCCI J.K., RIENER C.R., PROFFITT D.R. Seeing beyond the target: Environmental context affects distance perception. Perception, 36, 1752, 2007. https://doi.org/10.1068/p5617 PMid:18283926.
54.
OH S.H., LEE S.Y., HAN C. The effects of social media use on preventive behaviors during infectious disease outbreaks: The mediating role of self-relevant emotions and public risk perception. Health Communication, 36, 972, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1080/104102... PMid:32064932.
55.
MALECKI K.M.C., KEATING J.A., SAFDAR N. Crisis communication and public perception of COVID-19 risk in the era of social media. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 72, 697, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ci... PMid:32544242 PMCid:PMC7337650.
Share
RELATED ARTICLE
| eISSN: | 2083-5906 |
| ISSN: | 1230-1485 |
We process personal data collected when visiting the website. The function of obtaining information about users and their behavior is carried out by voluntarily entered information in forms and saving cookies in end devices. Data, including cookies, are used to provide services, improve the user experience and to analyze the traffic in accordance with the Privacy policy. Data are also collected and processed by Google Analytics tool (more).
You can change cookies settings in your browser. Restricted use of cookies in the browser configuration may affect some functionalities of the website.
You can change cookies settings in your browser. Restricted use of cookies in the browser configuration may affect some functionalities of the website.
