The influence of anticipated pride and guilt on pro-environmental decision making

PLoS One. 2017 Nov 30;12(11):e0188781. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0188781. eCollection 2017.

Abstract

The present research explores the relationship between anticipated emotions and pro-environmental decision making comparing two differently valenced emotions: anticipated pride and guilt. In an experimental design, we examined the causal effects of anticipated pride versus guilt on pro-environmental decision making and behavioral intentions by making anticipated emotions (i.e. pride and guilt) salient just prior to asking participants to make a series of environmental decisions. We find evidence that anticipating one's positive future emotional state from green action just prior to making an environmental decision leads to higher pro-environmental behavioral intentions compared to anticipating one's negative emotional state from inaction. This finding suggests a rethinking in the domain of environmental and climate change messaging, which has traditionally favored inducing negative emotions such as guilt to promote pro-environmental action. Furthermore, exploratory results comparing anticipated pride and guilt inductions to baseline behavior point toward a reactance eliciting effect of anticipated guilt.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Decision Making*
  • Environmental Monitoring*
  • Female
  • Guilt*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Young Adult

Grants and funding

Funding was provided under the cooperative agreement NSF SES-0951516 from the National Science Foundation awarded to the Center for Research on Environmental Decisions (author initials: EUW, URL: https://www.nsf.gov/). Funding was also provided by the Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies (author initials: EMM, URL: http://piirs.princeton.edu/). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.