Dataset Information

They Are Just Light Bulbs, Right? The Personality Antecedents of Household Energy-Saving Behavioral Intentions among Young Millennials and Gen Z.

ABSTRACT: Small individual behaviors such as household energy-saving behaviors may have major environmental impacts. Individuals may combat global warming by replacing traditional light bulbs with more energy-efficient light bulbs such as LED bulbs, which save electricity and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Guided by the integrative model of behavioral prediction, the current study explored the effects of five individual personality differences (i.e., consideration of future consequences, environmental value orientation, individualism and collectivism, regulatory focus, and self-monitoring) on young Millennials' and Gen Z's attitudes, perceived norms, perceived control, and intention to switch light bulbs. The results of a survey indicated that environmental value orientation, individualism and collectivism, regulatory focus, and self-monitoring all significantly predicted attitudes, perceived norms, and perceived control, which predicted behavioral intention. The findings suggested the complex psychological nuance of environmental protection behaviors, even among the "greenest" generations. Implications and directions for future studies were discussed.

SUBMITTER: Dai M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8701355 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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They Are Just Light Bulbs, Right? The Personality Antecedents of Household Energy-Saving Behavioral Intentions among Young Millennials and Gen Z.

Dai Minhao M Chen Tianen T

International journal of environmental research and public health 20211212 24

Small individual behaviors such as household energy-saving behaviors may have major environmental impacts. Individuals may combat global warming by replacing traditional light bulbs with more energy-efficient light bulbs such as LED bulbs, which save electricity and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Guided by the integrative model of behavioral prediction, the current study explored the effects of five individual personality differences (i.e., consideration of future consequences, environmental v ...[more]

PMID: 34948713

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Project description:Applicants use faking in selection interviews to create a favorable impression and to increase their chances for a job offer. Theoretical models assume that such a behavior is influenced by situational and dispositional variables. However, previous research has mainly focused on dispositional variables whereas research about situational variables is sparse. To address this gap, we conducted three studies in which we examined how competition for a job and warning interviewees that information from their answers will be verified can influence faking intentions. Furthermore, we wanted to know whether these situational variables are able to explain additional variance in faking intentions beyond dispositional variables and whether there are interactions between situational and dispositional variables. In Study 1, we only found that high competition led to slightly higher faking intentions than low competition in a student sample. In Study 2, only a warning about the verification of applicants' answers led to slightly lower faking intentions compared to no warning concerning verification in a working sample. Furthermore, faking intentions were lower in Study 2 than in the student sample in Study 1. In Study 3, we found no impact of our situational variables in a combined sample of students and non-students. We only found slightly higher honest impression management intentions in the high competition and the verification warning condition. We also found hardly any support for interaction effects between the situational and dispositional variables. Furthermore, the situational variables did not explain additional variance beyond the dispositional variables in any of the three studies. Possible reasons for the non-significant or small effect sizes for the situational variables can be found in a qualitative analysis of answers to an open-ended question in Study 3. However, we found that Honesty-humility und all facets of the Dark Triad were related to faking intentions. These results indicate that dispositional variables in particular have an impact on faking intentions.

Project description:BackgroundThe study of climate change through a generational lens is meaningful when one considers the distinct attitudes, behaviors, values, and motivations of each generation. Individuals born between 1980 and 1999, referred to as the Millennial Generation (Millennials) and individuals born up to five years before or after 2000, referred to as Generation Z (Gen Z), may differ widely in their views, values, attitudes, and behaviors. This may lead to conflicts between these two cohorts. As Gen Z enters the labor market, their first-level supervisors will be, in many cases, the Millennials, who may view the topic of climate change-health concern nexus very differently than their Gen Z subordinates. Considering the perspectives of each generation may offer insights on how to engage them to act in an environmentally responsible way to counteract climate change effects.ObjectiveThe study reveals similarities and differences in how Millennials and Gen Z perceive the climate change-health concern nexus, which illuminates the understanding of the potential generational conflicts and the critical points where intervention is needed.MethodInterview data from 41 participants were analyzed via thematic analysis using the Quirkos software program. Reporting is in accordance with the COREQ guidelines.ResultsThe interview questions elicited responses related to five dimensions: (i) Views of individual and community health; (ii) Knowledge around climate change; (iii) Perceived health impact; (iv) Attitudes towards climate change; (v) Behaviors related to climate change. The findings revealed a set of commonalities and differences in understanding the climate change-health concern nexus between the participants representative of each of the generations examined. One main result is that while most interviewees perceived changes in summer and winter temperatures, they failed to articulate how climate change affected their health.ConclusionThematic analysis revealed that the commonalities of views outweigh the differences between the two generations. A relevant remark is that participants can be described rather as "observers" than "players" since they do not tend to see themselves (through their behavior and their contribution) as active participants in the goal to fight climate change. Consequently, both generations undergo what Stephen Gardiner [1] called "intergenerational buck-passing."

Dataset Information

They Are Just Light Bulbs, Right? The Personality Antecedents of Household Energy-Saving Behavioral Intentions among Young Millennials and Gen Z.

Publications

They Are Just Light Bulbs, Right? The Personality Antecedents of Household Energy-Saving Behavioral Intentions among Young Millennials and Gen Z.

Similar Datasets

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