The complex role of attitudes toward science in pro-environmental consumption in the Nordic countries

Annukka Vainio and Riikka Paloniemi

Ecological Economics, 2014, vol. 108, issue C, 18-27

Abstract: Applying system justification theory, we studied the role of attitudes toward science in pro-environmental consumption among the adult population of the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden). We analyzed International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) data from 2010 using structural equation modeling (SEM). Attitudes toward science were found to play a complex role in pro-environmental consumption. First, a positive general attitude toward science was indirectly associated with pro-environmental consumption through increased environmental concern and knowledge. Second, the belief that science makes pro-environmental behavior unnecessary was indirectly associated with the avoidance of pro-environmental consumption through reduced environmental concern and knowledge. When these indirect associations were taken into account, a positive general attitude toward science was directly associated with the avoidance of pro-environmental behavior, and the belief that science makes pro-environmental behavior unnecessary was directly associated with increased pro-environmental consumption. The associations between the main variables were similar in all Nordic countries. These results increase our understanding about the ways in which attitudes toward science are related to pro-environmental consumption.

Keywords: Attitude toward science; Pro-environmental consumption; System justification; Environmental concern; Knowledge; Political orientation; Nordic countries (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (13)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800914002973
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:108:y:2014:i:c:p:18-27

DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2014.09.026

Access Statistics for this article

Ecological Economics is currently edited by C. J. Cleveland

More articles in Ecological Economics from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().