If They Are All Green, I Take Responsibility for My Eco-Unfriendly Behaviors: Effects of Injunctive Norm on Sense of Responsibility Following Cognitive Dissonance
Individuals may knowingly engage in eco-unfriendly behaviors even though they endorse the injunctive norm that people should protect the environment. Although they presumably experience cognitive dissonance, they often fail to change either their environment-related behavior or their support for the...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Ubiquity Press
2020-04-01
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| Series: | International Review of Social Psychology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.rips-irsp.com/articles/113 |
| _version_ | 1819024203452514304 |
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| author | Dimitri Voisin Patrick Gosling Camille Amoura Delphine Miraucourt Tiphanie Weber Quentin Dappe |
| author_facet | Dimitri Voisin Patrick Gosling Camille Amoura Delphine Miraucourt Tiphanie Weber Quentin Dappe |
| author_sort | Dimitri Voisin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Individuals may knowingly engage in eco-unfriendly behaviors even though they endorse the injunctive norm that people should protect the environment. Although they presumably experience cognitive dissonance, they often fail to change either their environment-related behavior or their support for the injunctive norm. In the first of two experiments, we compared a low-choice condition (low dissonance arousal) with a standard high-choice condition and a high-choice condition with injunctive norm (high dissonance arousal). Results showed that acting freely in an eco-unfriendly and counterattitudinal manner resulted in less acceptance of responsibility, but responsibility was not denied if the injunctive norm was made salient. We hypothesized that this was driven by a desire to maintain self-integrity. In the second experiment (preregistered study), we sought to test this hypothesis by manipulating self-affirmation and the salience of the injunctive norm in a high-choice situation. Results confirmed that participants protected their self-integrity by denying responsibility or relying on the injunctive norm. Moreover, attitude toward waste recycling was more positive when the injunctive norm was salient, regardless of self-affirmation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T04:51:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c300f743be104a07839c57fe7455f48f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2397-8570 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T04:51:03Z |
| publishDate | 2020-04-01 |
| publisher | Ubiquity Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Review of Social Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-c300f743be104a07839c57fe7455f48f2022-12-21T19:15:26ZengUbiquity PressInternational Review of Social Psychology2397-85702020-04-0133110.5334/irsp.11395If They Are All Green, I Take Responsibility for My Eco-Unfriendly Behaviors: Effects of Injunctive Norm on Sense of Responsibility Following Cognitive DissonanceDimitri Voisin0Patrick Gosling1Camille Amoura2Delphine Miraucourt3Tiphanie Weber4Quentin Dappe5University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne, ReimsUniversity of Paris West Nanterre La Defense, NanterreUniversity of Artois, LiévinUniversity of Reims Champagne-Ardenne, ReimsUniversity of Reims Champagne-Ardenne, ReimsUniversity of Reims Champagne-Ardenne, ReimsIndividuals may knowingly engage in eco-unfriendly behaviors even though they endorse the injunctive norm that people should protect the environment. Although they presumably experience cognitive dissonance, they often fail to change either their environment-related behavior or their support for the injunctive norm. In the first of two experiments, we compared a low-choice condition (low dissonance arousal) with a standard high-choice condition and a high-choice condition with injunctive norm (high dissonance arousal). Results showed that acting freely in an eco-unfriendly and counterattitudinal manner resulted in less acceptance of responsibility, but responsibility was not denied if the injunctive norm was made salient. We hypothesized that this was driven by a desire to maintain self-integrity. In the second experiment (preregistered study), we sought to test this hypothesis by manipulating self-affirmation and the salience of the injunctive norm in a high-choice situation. Results confirmed that participants protected their self-integrity by denying responsibility or relying on the injunctive norm. Moreover, attitude toward waste recycling was more positive when the injunctive norm was salient, regardless of self-affirmation.https://www.rips-irsp.com/articles/113cognitive dissonanceinjunctive normdenial of responsibilityself-affirmationenvironment |
| spellingShingle | Dimitri Voisin Patrick Gosling Camille Amoura Delphine Miraucourt Tiphanie Weber Quentin Dappe If They Are All Green, I Take Responsibility for My Eco-Unfriendly Behaviors: Effects of Injunctive Norm on Sense of Responsibility Following Cognitive Dissonance International Review of Social Psychology cognitive dissonance injunctive norm denial of responsibility self-affirmation environment |
| title | If They Are All Green, I Take Responsibility for My Eco-Unfriendly Behaviors: Effects of Injunctive Norm on Sense of Responsibility Following Cognitive Dissonance |
| title_full | If They Are All Green, I Take Responsibility for My Eco-Unfriendly Behaviors: Effects of Injunctive Norm on Sense of Responsibility Following Cognitive Dissonance |
| title_fullStr | If They Are All Green, I Take Responsibility for My Eco-Unfriendly Behaviors: Effects of Injunctive Norm on Sense of Responsibility Following Cognitive Dissonance |
| title_full_unstemmed | If They Are All Green, I Take Responsibility for My Eco-Unfriendly Behaviors: Effects of Injunctive Norm on Sense of Responsibility Following Cognitive Dissonance |
| title_short | If They Are All Green, I Take Responsibility for My Eco-Unfriendly Behaviors: Effects of Injunctive Norm on Sense of Responsibility Following Cognitive Dissonance |
| title_sort | if they are all green i take responsibility for my eco unfriendly behaviors effects of injunctive norm on sense of responsibility following cognitive dissonance |
| topic | cognitive dissonance injunctive norm denial of responsibility self-affirmation environment |
| url | https://www.rips-irsp.com/articles/113 |
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