Compensation and consistency effects in proenvironmental behaviour: The moderating role of majority and minority support for proenvironmental values

Abstract

Western citizens perceive human behaviour as a significant cause of climate change and increasingly adopt proenvironmental behaviours. However, such positively connoted behaviours can either increase (consistency) or decrease (compensation) the probability that one acts in a similar way in the future. Drawing from social influence and social identity literatures, we propose that numerical support for proenvironmental values (majority vs. minority) moderates the effect of past behaviour on intention to adopt proenvironmental behaviour. Across three studies (N = 500), past behaviour, either measured (Study 1) or manipulated (Studies 2 and 3) interacted with numerical support, manipulated (Studies 1 and 2) or measured (Study 3), to predict proenvironmental intention and behaviour. Results showed that majority support results in balancing dynamics, whereas minority support results in a consistency effect. These findings highlight the importance of the normative context for proenvironmental behaviour adoption and offer leads for developing behaviour change strategies.