Breaking Bad: Existential Threat Decreases Pro-Environmental Behavior

ABSTRACT

Why is it that people do not change their behavior in the face of global threats? We hypothesized that when people who have been encouraged to engage in pro-environmental behavior are threatened, they fall back into their (bad) habits instead of exhibiting behavioral change; existential threats may thereby counteract pro-environmental norms. We tested this hypothesis in two field studies in which participants were encouraged to reduce paper use. Although the requests initially resulted in decreased paper use, this pro-environmental behavior ceased when an existential threat was induced. We discuss theoretical and practical implications for social psychology theorizing and behavioral change.

Acknowledgments

Benjamin Buttlar and Marc Latz contributed equally to the article and share first authorship. We are grateful to Katarina Blask, Georg Halbeisen, and Jörg Wolter for their constructive comments on an earlier draft of this article. Moreover, we thank Lisa Born, Leonie Bäumler, Leyla Frig, and Nora Frings for their efforts regarding the conduction of Study 2.

Notes

Used with kind permission by Thomas Donath, Nordlight Research GmbH, Hilden, Germany.