Community Perceptions and Pro-Environmental Behavior: The Mediating Roles of Social Norms and Climate Change Risk

Adapting to climate change in Canada will require collective action, and as such, gaining a better understanding of the social factors predicting pro-environmental behaviors is vital. In the current study, using theory from the organizational psychology domain, we examined whether individuals' attachment to their community and perceptions of their community's resilience were related to the extent to which individuals perceived norms related to pro-environmental action within close others, and in turn, whether these social norms are associated with perceptions of climate change risk and subsequent willingness to engage in pro-environmental behavior. Findings from 1,156 Canadian citizens or permanent residents supported the hypotheses. Mediation analyses indicated that, first, descriptive and prescriptive norms for pro-environmental behavior, and then perceptions of climate change risk, serially mediated the association between community attachment and resilience and willingness to engage in social advocacy and tax support to adapt to climate change in their community. In the face of a rapidly changing climate across Canadian communities, this contextual understanding of pro-environmental activism and influence, as well as implications pertaining to the importance of community identification, culture, norms, and leadership, has implications for future research and practice.

Automated summary

The study found that individuals' attachment to and perception of their community's resilience are related to the perceived norms of pro-environmental behavior, which in turn affect individuals' perception of climate change risk and willingness to engage in environmental actions. The influence of the community on individuals is serially mediated through behavioral norms and risk perception.