THESIS
2018
viii, 109, that is, x, 109 pages : illustrations ; 30 cm
Abstract
In the literature, researchers often assume that climate change belief has the direct
potential to promote people’s behavioral intention and actual engagement in mitigation behavior.
However, empirical evidence casts doubt on this assumption, as climate change belief sometimes
fails to influence behavioral intention. The gap between climate change belief and behavioral
intention represents a significant obstacle to climate change mitigation. This dissertation
addresses this belief-intention gap by using the goal perspective. Specifically, I propose that
mitigation behavior is a set of means choices for individuals to achieve the goal of mitigating
climate change. When they consider this goal to be important (i.e., goal importance), they
develop an intention to engage in a set of...[
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In the literature, researchers often assume that climate change belief has the direct
potential to promote people’s behavioral intention and actual engagement in mitigation behavior.
However, empirical evidence casts doubt on this assumption, as climate change belief sometimes
fails to influence behavioral intention. The gap between climate change belief and behavioral
intention represents a significant obstacle to climate change mitigation. This dissertation
addresses this belief-intention gap by using the goal perspective. Specifically, I propose that
mitigation behavior is a set of means choices for individuals to achieve the goal of mitigating
climate change. When they consider this goal to be important (i.e., goal importance), they
develop an intention to engage in a set of goal-directed behaviors (i.e., mitigation behavior).
Accordingly, the relationship between climate change belief and behavioral intention can be
regarded as a goal attainment process, which can be broken down into the goal adoption process
and the means selection process. I propose that a gap may arise when (1) climate change belief
does not promote the adoption of climate change mitigation goals and (2) individuals do not
prefer certain kinds of mitigation behavior in pursuing this goal. With data from three sets of
empirical studies, I present evidence to support these two accounts. Study 1 confirmed the
mediating mechanism of goal importance in explaining the relationship between climate change
belief and behavioral intention. Study 2 demonstrated that experience of goal conflict and lack of
faith in climate change mitigation hindered the association between climate change belief and
goal importance, in turn widening the belief-intention gap. Finally, Study 3 indicated that
behavioral intention varied across both types of behavior and individuals; individuals preferred
instrumental and normative behavioral choices when they considered the goal to be highly
important and had a strong need for cognitive closure. Findings from the present research
contribute to understanding the gap between belief and intention as well as the factors that
enlarge or reduce this gap. It also offers insight into pro-environmental behavior and the attitude-behavior
gap. Finally, it bears practical implications for encouraging people to engage in climate
change mitigation.
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