How to Cope with Perceived Tension towards Sustainable Consumption? Exploring Pro-Environmental Behavior Experts’ Coping Strategies

TY - JOUR

T1 - How to Cope with Perceived Tension towards Sustainable Consumption?

T2 - Exploring Pro-Environmental Behavior Experts’ Coping Strategies

AU - Torma, Gabriele

PY - 2020/11/1

Y1 - 2020/11/1

N2 - Pro-environmental behavior experts (PEBEXs) encounter tensions associated with sustainable consumption, just like other individuals. What distinguishes them is their high level of knowledge, motivation, and reflection on climate change topics, as intended by many downstream policy interventions targeting individual consumption behavior. Based on 31 problem-centered interviews with PEBEXs, we found two general coping strategies: contributing to maximizing sustainable consumption and accommodating to the minimization of perceived tension. These coping strategies offer a promising source of information for individuals in general on how to drive personal consumption behavior in more sustainable directions and how to deal with accompanying barriers and tensions. Because coping strategies can be trained, the introduced strategies can support the design of interventions targeting individual consumption decisions. Furthermore, we emphasize the importance of accompanying upstream interventions, such as structural changes, to support individual behavior changes.

AB - Pro-environmental behavior experts (PEBEXs) encounter tensions associated with sustainable consumption, just like other individuals. What distinguishes them is their high level of knowledge, motivation, and reflection on climate change topics, as intended by many downstream policy interventions targeting individual consumption behavior. Based on 31 problem-centered interviews with PEBEXs, we found two general coping strategies: contributing to maximizing sustainable consumption and accommodating to the minimization of perceived tension. These coping strategies offer a promising source of information for individuals in general on how to drive personal consumption behavior in more sustainable directions and how to deal with accompanying barriers and tensions. Because coping strategies can be trained, the introduced strategies can support the design of interventions targeting individual consumption decisions. Furthermore, we emphasize the importance of accompanying upstream interventions, such as structural changes, to support individual behavior changes.

KW - climate change

KW - coping strategies

KW - ecological coping

KW - experts

KW - pro-environmental behavior

KW - sustainable consumption

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85094211481&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.3390/su12218782

DO - 10.3390/su12218782

M3 - Journal article

SN - 2071-1050

VL - 12

SP - 1

EP - 27

JO - Sustainability

JF - Sustainability

IS - 21

M1 - 8782

ER -