Sustainable Consumption Behavior - Well-being and Meaningfulness

Authors:

Katharina Klik (katharina.klik@univie.ac.at)

Ulrike Lanmueller (ulrike.lanmueller@univie.ac.at)

Cervinka Renate (renate.cervinka@univie.ac.at)

Institute of Environmental Health, University of Vienna

Head: Prof. Dr. Elisabeth Groll-Knapp

http://www.univie.ac.at/umwelthygiene/

© Klik, Lanmüller & Cervinka 2003

Table 1: Examples of items of Sustainble Consumption Behavior:

> I change services (e.g. baby-sitting, computer services, repaires, etc.).> I use energy saving bulbs.> I buy fair-trade products.> If I buy products, I attend to their social production conditions (e.g. child labour, social friendly working conditions).> I use fabric softener with my laundry.*

e =ecological friendly behaviors = socially friendly behavior*variable was recoded

References:

Degenhardt, L. (2002). Why do people orient their toward the criteria of sustainable development? Results of an empirical survey about motivation and development of sustainable lifestyles. In P. Schmuck & W. Schultz (Eds.), The Psychology of Sustainable Development. Kluwer Academic Publishers.Eigner, S. (2001). The relationship between ”protecting the environment” as a dominant life goal and subjective well-being. In P. Schmuck & K. M. Sheldon, Life Goals and Well-Being. Towards a Positive Psychology of Human Striving.Göttingen: Hogrefe.Gattersleben, B., Steg, L. & Vlek, C. (2002). Measurement and determinants of environmentally significant consumer behavior. Environment and behavior, Vol. 34 No. 3 , 335-362.Jakubowicz, D. (2000). Genuß und Nachhaltigkeit. Wien: Promedia.Kaiser, F.G., Frick, J. & Stoll-Kleemann, S. (2001). Zur Angemessennheit selbstberichteten Verhaltens: Eine Validitätsuntersuchung der Skala Allgemeinen Ökologischen Verhaltens. Diagnostica, 47, Heft 2, 88-95. Göttingen: Hogrefe.Misereor (1998). Weltkursbuch – Globale Auswirkungen eines ”Zukunftsfähigen Deutschlands”. Basel: Birkhäuser.Scherhorn, G., Reisch, L. & Schrödel, S. (1997). Wege zu nachhaltigen Konsummustern.

Überblick über den Stand der Forschung und vorrangige Forschungsthemen.Universität Hohenheim. Kurzfassung des Ergebnisberichts des Workshops “Wege zu nachhaltigen

Konsummustern”. Sohr, S. (2001). Eco-activism and well-being: Between flow and burnout. In P. Schmuck & K. M. Sheldon, Life Goals and Well-Being. Towards a Positive Psychology of Human Striving. Göttingen: Hogrefe.WBGU (1997). Nachhaltiges Deutschland. Wege zu einer dauerhaft umweltgerechten Entwicklung. Berlin: Umweltbundesamt.

Objectives:

• Analysis of the relationship between sustainable consumption behavior and well-being.

Background:

• Sustainable consumption behavior is defined as ecological- and socially-friendly behavior*.

• The results of the studies of Sohr (2001) and Eigner (2001) showed that people with high engagement in ecological or social activities reported about high well-being.

• Degenhardt (2002) lightet up Sustainable Lifestyle Pioneers, who achieved to transfer an ecological and social friendly lifestyle into praxis.

A relationship between sustainable behavior and well-being is supposed.

Method (questionnaire):

• Participants: N=282; (fig. 1)

• Well-being was measured according to Becker´s (1989) theory of mental health: Meaningfulness vs. Depression (12 items), Self-obliviousness vs. Self-centeredness (8 items) and Freedom of Distress vs. Nervousness (11 items) (fig.2).

• Sustainable Consumption Behavior was measured with 10 items of the General Ecological Behavior Scale (Kaiser, Frick & Stoll-Kleemann, 2001). 11 items related to socially-friendly consumption behavior were developed according to descriptive literature* on sustainable development. (table 1)

Main results:

• The Sustainable Consumption Behavior Scale shows an internal consistency (Cronbach´s alpha) of 0.86.

• Sustainable Consumption Behavior correlates with Well-being and Meaningfulness vs. Depression statistically significant (fig.3).

• Only a minor proportion of the variance of Sustainable Consumption Behavior is explained by Well-being and Meaningfulness vs. Depression (fig.4).

• People with higher scores in Meaningfulness compared to people with lower scores show a statistically significant difference in Sustainable Consumption Behavior. (fig.5)

Sustainable consumption behavior comes along with...

... higher Well-being, Meaningfulness, higher age and females. (fig. 4)

Discussion & perspectives:

All considered relationships are weak. Among them, Meaningfulness appears to be the strongest predictor of Sustainable Consumption Behavior.

Older respondents and women more often report they act in a sustainable way.

Meaningfulness and Well-being offer new and promising perspectives for the research of sustainable development.

The weak relationship between Sustainable Consumption Behavior and subjective Well-being or Meaningfulness respectively suggests that the scales assess different characteristics of consumers. For further investigations aspects of health-related behavior should be considered as a part of sustainable behavior.

In accordance with Gatersleben, Steg & Vlek (2002) the psychological assessment of sustainable behavior should take the environmental and social impact of products and services into account.

Fig.3: Correlations:

5th Biannual Conference on Environmental Psychology.

Eindhoven, 31.8. - 3.9. 2003

Well-being Meaningfulness Age SexSustainable Consumption 0.124* 0.203** 0.271**0.152*Behavior

Pearson *p < 0,05; **p < 0,01

Fig. 5: Differences between people with higher and lower Meaningfulness respectively

Fig.2: Theory of Mental Health (Becker, 1989):

Fig.1: sample:

45,0%

55,0%

male

female

Age categories

80 to 8970 to 7960 to 6950 to 5940 to 4930 to 3918 to 29

perc

ent

40,0

30,0

20,0

10,0

0,03,2

9,210,3

18,8

26,6

30,5

1,4

SustainableConsumption

-Behavior

Well-being

Meaningfulnessvs.

Depression

Self-Obliviousness

vs.Self-

Centeredness

Freedom fromDistress

vs. Nervousness *p < 0,05

**p < 0,01

age sex

r = 0,149*

r = 0,207**

R²=0.039**

0.271**-0.152*

R²=0.019*

Fig .4: Regression analysis of Sustainable Consumption Behavior and Wellbeing:

SustainableConsumptionBehavior

Mann-Whitney-U

Wilcoxon-W

7717.0

19807.0significance 0.002group variable: Meaningfulness