Psychological and socio-demographic factors in the pre-decision stage for the purchase of e-cars

In these times of intense political debate about climate change, it is more important than ever to understand which factors are central to adopting environmentally friendly behavior, such as buying an electric car instead of a conventional one. The stage model of self-regulated behavioral change (SS...

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Main Authors: Franziska Anna Schroter, Markus Siebertz, Philipp Hofmann, Petra Jansen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2022-01-01
Series:Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666622722000399
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author Franziska Anna Schroter
Markus Siebertz
Philipp Hofmann
Petra Jansen
author_facet Franziska Anna Schroter
Markus Siebertz
Philipp Hofmann
Petra Jansen
author_sort Franziska Anna Schroter
collection DOAJ
description In these times of intense political debate about climate change, it is more important than ever to understand which factors are central to adopting environmentally friendly behavior, such as buying an electric car instead of a conventional one. The stage model of self-regulated behavioral change (SSBC) offers a promising explanatory approach in which explicit attitudes, which are connected to factors such as mindfulness, play an essential role. So far, the role of implicit attitudes regarding environmental behavior was neglected in this model. Accordingly, the present study investigated if the (goal) intention to buy an electric car can be predicted by established variables like explicit attitudes, personal and social norms, and the perceived usefulness of electric vehicles and implicit attitudes. Besides, it was investigated if attitudes depend on socio-demographic variables and mindfulness aspects. For this purpose, 168 participants completed questionnaires and performed an explicit rating and an implicit affective priming task with pictures of electric vs. conventional cars. The results showed that while explicitly, electric cars were rated more positively, implicitly, this difference could not be shown. Furthermore, mindfulness was not significantly associated with attitudes or goal intention. However, goal intention was significantly predicted by explicit and implicit attitudes, personal norms, and perceived usefulness, while explicit attitudes mediated the effects of the last two variables. Accordingly, we concluded that implicit attitudes should be integrated into existing models of behavioral change and further predictors need to be identified.
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spelling doaj.art-cca984718ff842ad97e9387f815653192022-12-22T04:20:34ZengElsevierCurrent Research in Ecological and Social Psychology2666-62272022-01-013100072Psychological and socio-demographic factors in the pre-decision stage for the purchase of e-carsFranziska Anna Schroter0Markus Siebertz1Philipp Hofmann2Petra Jansen3Corresponding author.; Faculty of Human Sciences, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstraße 31, Regensburg 93053, GermanyFaculty of Human Sciences, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstraße 31, Regensburg 93053, GermanyFaculty of Human Sciences, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstraße 31, Regensburg 93053, GermanyFaculty of Human Sciences, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstraße 31, Regensburg 93053, GermanyIn these times of intense political debate about climate change, it is more important than ever to understand which factors are central to adopting environmentally friendly behavior, such as buying an electric car instead of a conventional one. The stage model of self-regulated behavioral change (SSBC) offers a promising explanatory approach in which explicit attitudes, which are connected to factors such as mindfulness, play an essential role. So far, the role of implicit attitudes regarding environmental behavior was neglected in this model. Accordingly, the present study investigated if the (goal) intention to buy an electric car can be predicted by established variables like explicit attitudes, personal and social norms, and the perceived usefulness of electric vehicles and implicit attitudes. Besides, it was investigated if attitudes depend on socio-demographic variables and mindfulness aspects. For this purpose, 168 participants completed questionnaires and performed an explicit rating and an implicit affective priming task with pictures of electric vs. conventional cars. The results showed that while explicitly, electric cars were rated more positively, implicitly, this difference could not be shown. Furthermore, mindfulness was not significantly associated with attitudes or goal intention. However, goal intention was significantly predicted by explicit and implicit attitudes, personal norms, and perceived usefulness, while explicit attitudes mediated the effects of the last two variables. Accordingly, we concluded that implicit attitudes should be integrated into existing models of behavioral change and further predictors need to be identified.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666622722000399Explicit attitudesImplicit attitudesElectric carsMindfulnessBehavioral change
spellingShingle Franziska Anna Schroter
Markus Siebertz
Philipp Hofmann
Petra Jansen
Psychological and socio-demographic factors in the pre-decision stage for the purchase of e-cars
Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology
Explicit attitudes
Implicit attitudes
Electric cars
Mindfulness
Behavioral change
title Psychological and socio-demographic factors in the pre-decision stage for the purchase of e-cars
title_full Psychological and socio-demographic factors in the pre-decision stage for the purchase of e-cars
title_fullStr Psychological and socio-demographic factors in the pre-decision stage for the purchase of e-cars
title_full_unstemmed Psychological and socio-demographic factors in the pre-decision stage for the purchase of e-cars
title_short Psychological and socio-demographic factors in the pre-decision stage for the purchase of e-cars
title_sort psychological and socio demographic factors in the pre decision stage for the purchase of e cars
topic Explicit attitudes
Implicit attitudes
Electric cars
Mindfulness
Behavioral change
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666622722000399
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