Impact of fear appeals on pro-environmental behavior and crucial determinants

Abstract

This study examines the impact of various degrees of fear appeals of climate change on an individual's intention to engage in pro-environmental behavior, and how possible factors that influence an individual's intention to engage in pro-environmental behavior vary in different degrees of fear appeals of climate change. The results indicate that the participants who read the low-fear appeal text exhibit more evoked fearful emotion and have more intentions to engage in pro-environmental behavior than do those who read the high-fear appeal text. In addition, an individual's moral obligations play a crucial role in determining his or her intention to engage in pro-environmental behavior under both low-fear and high-fear appeal conditions. However, under high-fear appeal conditions, an individual's perception of collective efficacy plays a crucial role in determining his or her intention of engaging in pro-environmental behavior. The results of this study contribute to enhancing the intercultural validation of research on fear appeals applied to people's pro-environmental behavior in a collective Chinese cultural social context in response to global warming. In addition, the findings provide implications for applying fear appeals to encourage pro-environmental behavior.

Keywords:

• climate change
• fear appeals
• pro-environmental behavior

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by a grant from the National Science Council, Republic of China (NSC100-2410-H-036-001-MY3).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mei-Fang Chen

Mei-Fang Chen is a professor in Department of Business Management, Tatung University, Taiwan. She received a doctoral degree from the Institute of Business & Management at National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan, in 2004. Her teaching and research interests include consumer behavior research and decision sciences. She had published her academic research works in Journal of Environmental Psychology, Risk Analysis, Health, Risk, & Society, Journal of Applied Social Psychology, Journal of Business Ethics, Environment and Behavior, Ethics & Behavior, Food Quality & Preference, British Food Journal, The Service Industries Journal, Technovation, etc.