Should environmentalists be concerned about materialism? An analysis of attitudes, behaviours and greenhouse gas emissions

Andersson, D., & Nässén, J. (2016). Should environmentalists be concerned about materialism? An analysis of attitudes, behaviours and greenhouse gas emissions. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 48, 1–11.

Platform
Gothenburg
Publication type
Scientific article (peer-reviewed)
DOI Title
Should environmentalists be concerned about materialism? An analysis of attitudes, behaviours and greenhouse gas emissions
Journal
Journal of Environmental Psychology
ISSN/ISBN
0272-4944
DOI
10.1016/j.jenvp.2016.08.002
Author(s)
David Andersson Jonas Nässén
Published year
Subject
Applied Psychology Social Psychology
Tags
Materialistic values Greenhouse gas emissions Consumption patterns Air travel sustainable consumption

 

External link

Abstract

This study analyses the relationships between materialistic values, environmental concerns, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in a sample of 1004 Swedish residents. The previously established material values scale (MVS) is employed along with detailed measurements of the respondents' GHG emissions from travel behaviour, residential energy use, diet, and other consumption. The developed structural model reveals a weak but significant association between high MVS scores on the one hand and low environmental concern and high GHG emissions on the other hand. In further analysis, however, the correlation between high MVS scores and high GHG emissions is shown to be traceable to the domain of air travel in the first place, with no correlation found, for example, between MVS scores and size of accommodation and spending on  cars, both traditional status commodities. Instead of possessions, the status-oriented materialists in the sample thus appeared to focus more on other aspects of their lifestyle.

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