How are eco-emotions related to different pro-environmental behaviors among university graduate? A longitudinal study
(2025) 10th Conference of the Consortium of European Research on Emotion (CERE) — Location: Grenoble, France (16.July.2025)
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- Abstract
- One of the main goals of Environmental Education (EE) is to foster the adoption of pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs). It is a suggested way to slow climate change (Stevenson, 2007). However, very little is known about EE effects on PEBs and the few existing studies suggest small effects (Van De Wetering et al., 2022). Eco-emotions could be a lever in this matter (Lundholm, 2019) but its understanding is limited. Firstly, very few researchers have measured the joint effects of several emotions taken simultaneously on different PEBs. Secondly, the majority of studies are cross-sectional, allowing only the investigation of associations and not effects. Therefore, it is unknown whether eco-emotions influence PEBs, if PEBs impact eco-emotions or if they have reciprocal effects. Furthermore, it seems important to consider the multidimensionality of PEBs (Mateer et al., 2022) in order to investigate the specificity of those relationships. This research aims to better understand the specificity and directions of said relationships among university graduates, one of EE’s target audiences. Two studies were conducted. Study 1 was a cross-sectional survey where 599 young people from the Belgian general population responded to an online questionnaire. 17 items assessed several eco-emotions (anger, hope, shame, etc.) and 31 items assessed the frequency of a large variety of PEBs (mobility, activism, social behaviors, etc.). Multiple hierarchical regression analyses were performed. Study 2 involved graduate students from various faculties who were invited to participate in an online survey during one of their lessons. The measurement tools from study 1 were used. The survey had a longitudinal design with three measurement points, each separated by an interval of several months. The first phase was completed by 467 participants between September and October 2024. The second phase was launched in February 2025 via email, with 205 participants responding to the questionnaire. The third phase occurred in May, collecting 189 responses. Preliminary results based on cross-lagged panel model analyses are presented, testing the longitudinal relationships between eco-emotions and dimensions of PEBs.
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Davreux, Z., & Galand, B. (2025). How are eco-emotions related to different pro-environmental behaviors among university graduate? A longitudinal study. 10th Conference of the Consortium of European Research on Emotion (CERE), Grenoble, France. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/267400