Influential factors of environmental behavior to reduce air pollution: integrating theories of planned behavior and psychological distance

Abstract

Exploring the incentive mechanism of public participation is the key to the implementation of sustainable policies in China. This study related the constructs of psychological distance (PD), the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and willingness to pay (WTP) to examine the influential factors of environmental behaviors to prevent air pollution. The contingent valuation method was applied to demonstrate pro-environmental endeavors by measuring WTP and the structural equation model was used to clarify the effects between PD, TPB and WTP. The results showed that different dimensions of PD from air pollution have overlapping influences. Participants judged the air pollution as psychologically closer tend to have positive attitudes and stronger subjective norms, and the reduced PD can translate into increased WTP. The PD-TPB-WTP model correctly predicts up to 17.6% of WTP and 82.6% of behavioral intention. Environmental policymakers are suggested to draft policies according to individuals’ internal thinking.

Keywords:

• air pollution
• psychological distance
• theory of planned behavior
• willingness to pay

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Supplemental data

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/09640568.2021.1973972.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author.

Notes

1 CNY: currency of China, 1 CNY = 0.1542USD.

2 According to the Heilongjiang statistical yearbook in 2018, the average annual income of Harbin residents is 4,224.16 USD.

Additional information

Funding

This study was financed by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (71874026).