ENVIRONMENT

10.1177/001391602237244
Nordlund,
Garvill /AND
VALUES
BEHAVIOR
AND PROENVIRONMENTALISM
/ November 2002

VALUE STRUCTURES BEHIND

PROENVIRONMENTAL BEHAVIOR

ANNIKA M. NORDLUND is a Ph.D. candidate in psychology at Ume University,

Sweden. Her dissertation focuses on the effects of different attitudinal factors on general and specific proenvironmental behavior, including travel mode choice.
JRGEN GARVILL received a Ph.D. in psychology from Ume University, Sweden. He is now an associate professor of psychology and the director of the Transportation Research Unit at Ume University. His main fields of expertise are social, environmental, and transport psychology. His current research interests include
environmentally significant behavior and behavioral change in different contexts,
including travel behavior.

ABSTRACT: The purpose of the study was to test a hierarchical model of the effects
of general values, environmental values, problem awareness, and personal norms on
general proenvironmental behavior. The model starts with the effects of the relatively
stable structures of general values and moves toward effects of more specific environmental values, environmental problem awareness, and personal norms. A personal
norm was expected to mediate the effects of values and problem awareness on
proenvironmental behavior. Survey data from a Swedish sample of 1,400 individuals
were used in a path analysis to test the model, which was supported, and the results
showed that the personal norm could be seen as derived from self-transcendent and
ecocentric values and activated by problem awareness. The personal norm mediated
the effects from general values, environmental values, and problem awareness on
proenvironmental behavior.

Many of todays environmental problems are, at least to some extent,

direct or indirect consequences of peoples everyday behaviors. Travel, consumption, waste disposal, and the use of energy in the household are all environmentally significant behaviors that need to be changed in an environAUTHORS NOTE: This research was financially supported by Grant No. AL90-A
98:6969 from the Swedish National Road Authority and was conducted within the
research project Changing to Eco-Friendly Travel: Possibilities and Problems for
ENVIRONMENT AND BEHAVIOR, Vol. 34 No. 6, November 2002 740-756
DOI: 10.1177/001391602237244
2002 Sage Publications

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Nordlund, Garvill / VALUES AND PROENVIRONMENTALISM

741

mentally friendly direction. Although many people view themselves as

environmentalists (Pieters, Bijmolt, van Raaij, & de Kruijk, 1998), they do
not translate their attitudes into proenvironmental behavior. One reason may
be that the choice between acting in a proenvironmental way and not doing so
often involves a conflict between immediate individual and long-term collective interests. The individual benefits obtained from traveling by car, buying
food and other products without consideration of negative environmental
impacts, not recycling, and not conserving energy in the household are immediate, whereas the negative environmental effects of such behaviors are often
uncertain consequences in the future.
Traveling by car saves time and is flexible and comfortable but has substantial negative environmental consequences, such as air pollution, noise,
and a high consumption of nonrenewable energy. In several studies, car owners have been shown to perceive the car as superior to alternative modes of
transport (e.g., bus or bicycle) with regard to individual consequences, but
worse with regard to environmental consequences. They also perceive individual outcomes as more important than collective outcomes (e.g., Garvill,
Laitila, & Brydsten, 1994; Nordlund & Garvill, 1999; Vlek & Michon,
1992).
Recycling household waste is an important form of solid waste management but one often considered as messy and time consuming and therefore
avoided (Ebreo, Hershey, & Vining, 1999; McCarty & Shrum, 1994; Vining
& Ebreo, 1990; Werner & Makela, 1998). Recycling requires a certain
amount of individual effort in sorting the household waste and transporting it
to some recycling facility. Recycling also includes reusing and repairing
materials, such as clothes and furniture, instead of discarding them. Households are spared the extra effort if all household waste is thrown in the same
bin. Recycling, however, has positive long-term societal and environmental
consequences such as a conservation of resources and a reduction in general
waste management (McCarty & Shrum, 1994; Vining & Ebreo, 1990). It has
been shown that nonrecyclers rate reasons against recycling, such as nuisance and household inconveniences, as more important than recyclers do
(Vining & Ebreo, 1990).
Environmentally responsible consumption is another form of environmentally significant behavior (Ebreo et al., 1999; Homer & Kahle, 1988).
The consumer may choose to buy at secondhand stores or to buy ecologically
Households at the Transportation Research Unit, Ume University, Sweden. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Annika M. Nordlund, Department of Psychology, Ume University, SE-90187 Ume, Sweden; phone: + 46 90
786 7830; fax: +46 90 786 6695; e-mail: annika.nordlund@psy.umu.se.

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ENVIRONMENT AND BEHAVIOR / November 2002

produced products. Some products may be avoided because they are considered harmful to the environment. Environmentally responsible consumption
can further reduce the amount of household waste. Being a responsible consumer may, however, involve individual costs because the products are often
more expensive and not always available at regular stores.
Modern society is dependent on the use of energy. We consume energy to
heat our houses and our water and for the electrical appliances in a modern
household. Evidence of overconsumption of nonrenewable energy indicates
a need to reduce the amount of energy consumed (Stern & Gardner, 1981).
However, a reduction of the use of energy might result in what many individuals consider a lower standard of living.
Thus, in everyday life, individuals repeatedly face choices where their
decisions have positive consequences for themselves and negative consequences for the environment, or negative consequences for themselves and
positive consequences for the environment. To stimulate peoples
proenvironmental behavior, a better understanding of psychological factors
that influence their willingness to act in a proenvironmental manner is
important.
Earlier research has studied different psychological determinants of
everyday proenvironmental behavior (for a general overview, see Gardner &
Stern, 1996). Factors such as value orientation, environmental beliefs, and
norms have been shown to influence specific proenvironmental behaviors,
such as recycling (Hopper & McCarl-Nielsen, 1991; McCarty & Shrum,
1994; McKenzie-Mohr, Nemiroff, Beers, & Desmarais, 1995; Thgersen,
1996), consumption (Homer & Kahle, 1988; Widegren, 1998), energy conservation (Stern & Gardner, 1981), choice of travel mode (Garvill, 1999;
Garvill et al., 1994; Nordlund & Garvill, 2001), and general proenvironmental behavior (Grendstad & Wollebaek, 1998; Thompson & Barton,
1994). Some researchers have questioned the validity and usefulness of the
construct of general proenvironmental behavior and have argued that it is
better to describe proenvironmental behavior in terms of separate or distinct
sectors of behaviors (e.g., Bratt, 1999). Other researchers (e.g., Kaiser, 1998;
Kaiser & Biel, 2000) have shown that a general ecological behavior scale can
have an acceptable internal consistency.
When trying to predict or explain proenvironmental behavior, the focus
has often been on predictors on one specific level of abstraction, such as general values, environmental values, attitudes, or norms. The purpose of this
study was to test a hierarchical model of the effects of psychological factors
on different levels of abstraction, such as general values, environmental values, problem awareness, and personal norms, on general proenvironmental
behavior. The model starts with the effects of the relatively stable structures

Nordlund, Garvill / VALUES AND PROENVIRONMENTALISM

743

of general values and moves toward effects of more specific environmental

values, environmental problem awareness, and personal norm. In this study,
personal norm was conceptualized as a feeling of moral obligation to protect
the environment. The personal norm was expected to mediate the effects of
values and problem awareness on proenvironmental behavior. The model
was derived from previous research on general and environmental values and
from Schwartzs (1977) norm-activation theory.
GENERAL VALUES

In this study, general value orientation was assessed using Schwartzs

(1992, 1994) Value Inventory Scale. The scale measures 10 distinct value
types representing underlying motivational structures. The value types
can be described in two dimensions: openness to change versus conservation
and self-transcendence versus self-enhancement. In this study, the selftranscendence versus self-enhancement dimension was used. Selftranscendence combines the value types of universalism and benevolence,
whereas self-enhancement combines the value types of power and achievement. Self-transcendence serves collective interests, as opposed to selfenhancement, which serves individual interests.
Several studies have shown that people who give priority to collective, or
self-transcendent, values are more willing to engage in different forms of
altruistic, cooperative, or proenvironmental behavior than people who give
priority to individual or self-enhancement values (Karp, 1996; Schwartz,
1992; Stern & Dietz, 1994; Stern, Dietz, & Black, 1985-1986; Stern, Dietz, &
Guagnano, 1998; Stern, Dietz, Kalof, & Guagnano, 1995).
Value orientation, measured as self-transcendence and self-enhancement,
was expected to influence the rate of proenvironmental behavior. Selftranscendence should influence proenvironmental behavior positively,
whereas the influence from self-enhancement on proenvironmental behavior
should be negative.
ENVIRONMENTAL VALUES

Several theories have categorized environmental values in similar ways,

for example, shallow versus deep ecology (Naess & Rothenberg, 1989);
homocentric, ecocentric, and egocentric values (Merchant, 1992); socialaltruistic, biospheric, and egoistic values (Stern & Dietz, 1994; Stern, Dietz,
& Guagnano, 1995); and anthropocentric versus ecocentric values
(Eckersley, 1992; Grendstad & Wollebaek, 1998; Thompson & Barton,
1994). Eckersleys (1992) theory of green political thought proposed an

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ENVIRONMENT AND BEHAVIOR / November 2002

anthropocentric-ecocentric dimension, ranging from a pure concern for

human welfare to a concern for all life forms as equally valuable and of intrinsic value. Grendstad and Wollebaek (1998) found that the ecocentric and
anthropocentric orientations to the environment were better described as two
separate factors. Thompson and Barton (1994) constructed a scale assessing
anthropocentric and ecocentric motives for proenvironmental behavior. In
this scale, ecocentrism represents the belief that the ecosystem has an intrinsic value and this alone is reason to protect it, whereas anthropocentrism represents the belief that environmental protection is important because of
natures contribution to human welfare. Both these orientations seem to
imply a positive attitude toward environmental protection but for different
reasons. However, Thompson and Barton argued that the values underlying
anthropocentrism were human centered and utilitarian and that the anthropocentric individual would be less likely to protect the environment if other
human-centered values, such as material quality of life, interfered.
Ecocentric individuals, on the other hand, would protect the environment
even if these actions required the individual to sacrifice some material quality
of life. In two studies, Thompson and Barton found a positive correlation
between ecocentrism and proenvironmental behavior, whereas the correlation between anthropocentrism and proenvironmental behavior was negative
in one study and nonsignificant in another.
In line with the reasoning by Thompson and Barton, ecocentrism was
expected to influence proenvironmental behavior positively, whereas the
influence of anthropocentrism was expected to be negative because many of
the everyday behaviors that were included in our measure of general proenvironmental behavior required the individual to sacrifice some individual
benefits to reduce negative effects on the environment. Also, in line with the
above reasoning, we expected positive relations between self-transcendence
and ecocentrism and between self-enhancement and anthropocentrism, with
negative relations between self-transcendence and anthropocentrism and
between self-enhancement and ecocentrism.
RELATIONS BETWEEN GENERAL VALUES AND PROENVIRONMENTAL BEHAVIOR

It would seem fairly reasonable that there is a relation between general

values and proenvironmental behavior. However, values are abstract in the
sense that they transcend situations, which could explain why relations
between general attitudes or values and behavior are usually weak. One way
to conceptualize the relation between values and behavior is in terms of a
hierarchical model in which more specific factors mediate the effects of values on behavior (Eagly & Kulesa, 1997; Schultz & Zelezny, 1999). The

Nordlund, Garvill / VALUES AND PROENVIRONMENTALISM

745

model tested in this study was a hierarchical model in which factors on a

higher level would be expected to directly influence factors on the next lower
level. Factors on a higher level could also have direct effects on factors further
down in the hierarchy. A similar model has been suggested by Stern (2000).
The model was an extension of Schwartzs (1977) norm-activation theory,
which originally was an explanation of altruistic behavior but has been
extended to proenvironmental behavior (Guagnano, Stern, & Dietz, 1995;
Schultz & Zelezny, 1999; Widegren, 1998). According to the normactivation theory, an important antecedent to proenvironmental behavior is
the activation of a personal moral norm. This activation takes place when the
individual perceives environmental conditions that threaten something the
individual values (nature, other humans well-being, ones own well-being);
that is, the individual is aware of environmental problems. The personal
norm, experienced as a moral obligation to act to protect whatever is threatened, is derived from the individuals relevant general and environmental values. Thus, we expected the individuals general and environmental value
orientations to influence the personal norm. Self-transcendence and ecocentrism were expected to influence the personal norm positively, whereas
self-enhancement and anthropocentrism were expected to influence the personal norm negatively. The individuals value orientation should also influence the individuals problem awareness. According to Stern and Dietz
(1994), a certain value orientation may induce the individual to actively seek
information about valued objects or function as an amplifier of available
information. Several studies have found that the value placed on different targets (the person himself or herself, people in general, or the biosphere) elicits
normative reasoning and willingness to support environmental protection
(e.g., Stern & Dietz, 1994; Stern, Dietz, & Guagnano, 1995; Stern, Dietz, &
Kalof, 1993; Stern, Dietz, Kalof, et al., 1995; Stern et al., 1985-1986). In the
present study, self-transcendence and ecocentrism were expected to increase
problem awareness, whereas the influence from self-enhancement and
anthropocentrism was expected to be negative. The proposed model is similar to Sterns value-belief-norm theory in making the personal moral norm
the main basis for individuals general dispositions for proenvironmental
actions.
According to the proposed model (see Figure 1), general values should
influence environmental values. General and environmental values together
should influence problem awareness. Values and problem awareness should
influence personal norm, and personal norm should influence behavior. As
can be seen in Figure 1, the personal norm was expected to mediate the effects
of values and problem awareness on proenvironmental behavior.

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ENVIRONMENT AND BEHAVIOR / November 2002

SelfTranscendence

Ecocentrism

Problem
Awareness

SelfEnhancement

Personal
Norm

ProEnvironmental
Behavior

Anthropocentrism

Figure 1: Path Diagram Showing Proposed Model of the Influence From General
and Environmental Value Orientations, Problem Awareness, and Personal Norm on Proenvironmental Behavior
NOTE: Exogenous factors were general value orientation: self-transcendence and selfenhancement. Endogenous factors were environmental value orientation: ecocentrism and anthropocentrism, problem awareness, personal norm, and proenvironmental behavior.

METHOD
SAMPLE AND PROCEDURE

The study was conducted as a mail-back survey of 2,500 randomly

selected residents between 18 and 65 years of age in Ume,1 Sweden. After
two reminders, the response rate was 56% (N = 1,429). Respondents with a
large amount of missing data were excluded, leaving 1,414 respondents in the
following data analyses. The gender distribution in the sample was approximately even, with 53% women (50.1% in the general population of Ume
within the same age span), and the mean age was 41.03. The mean age in the
general population of Ume within the same age span was 36.85. Of the
respondents, 41% of the women and 37% of the men had a higher education
(43.4% and 39.1% in the general population in Ume, respectively). Thus,
with regard to general demographic variables, there were no large discrepancies between the respondents and the general population.
QUESTIONNAIRE

The questionnaire consisted of seven parts. Because not all parts were
included in this analysis, the description will focus on the four parts that did.
In the first part, the respondents were asked for background information,
such as age, education, marital status, if they had a drivers license, and if they
had access to a car in the household.

Nordlund, Garvill / VALUES AND PROENVIRONMENTALISM

747

In the second part, a selection of values from a translated version of

Schwartzs (1992) Value Inventory Scale was used to assess the general value
orientation. The respondents were asked to rate to what degree each of 24 values functioned as a guiding principle in their lives. The response was made on
a 9-point scale (1 = opposed to my values, 0 = not important, 1-2
[unlabeled], 3 = important, 4-5 [unlabeled], 6 = very important, 7 = of
supreme importance). The values social power, wealth, social recognition,
authority, self-respect, ambitious, influential, capable, and successful represented self-enhancement. The values equality, a world at peace, unity with
nature, wisdom, a world of beauty, social justice, broad-minded, a protected
environment, mature love, true friendship, loyalty, honesty, helpfulness,
responsibility, and forgiving represented self-transcendence (Schwartz,
1992).
The third part of the questionnaire consisted of 21 statements, assessing
ecocentric and anthropocentric values (Thompson & Barton, 1994), problem
awareness, and personal norm. Three statements each assessed ecocentrism
(e.g., it makes me sad to see natural environments destroyed) and
anthropocentrism (e.g., the thing that concerns me most about deforestation
is that there will not be enough lumber for future generations). Twelve statements assessed awareness of negative consequences for people in general
(social, e.g., health effects from environmental pollution are more serious
than we believe), for the person himself or herself (egoistic, e.g., laws for
environmental protection decrease my freedom of choice), for the biosphere
(biospheric, e.g., during the years to come, thousands of species will
become extinct), or general consequences (e.g., I am worried about environmental problems). Three statements assessed the personal norm regarding environmental protection (e.g., I feel a moral obligation to relieve the
environmental problems). Respondents indicated, for each of the 21 statements, to what extent they agreed on a 7-point scale, ranging from 1 (not at
all) to 7 (totally).
In the fourth part, respondents indicated how often (regularly, sometimes,
rarely, and never) they performed each of 25 different proenvironmental
behaviors. The behaviors represented different domains of everyday behaviors such as recycling/reusing (13 items, e.g., recycling of paper, plastic, and
metal), environmentally responsible consumption (7 items, e.g., buying
environmentally friendly products), energy conservation (3 items, e.g.,
saving hot water in the household), and transportation behavior (2 items,
e.g., using other modes of transportation than automobile).

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ENVIRONMENT AND BEHAVIOR / November 2002

RESULTS

From Schwartzs Social Value Inventory Scale, two index variables were
calculated, self-transcendence and self-enhancement. The mean rating for
each individual was calculated for the 15 items measuring self-transcendence
( = .86). The mean rating for each individual was also calculated for the 9
items measuring self-enhancement ( = .78). Mean ratings were calculated
for each individual for the 3 items measuring ecocentrism ( = .65) and the 3
items measuring anthropocentrism ( = .52). Because only 3 items each measured ecocentrism and anthropocentrism, the values were judged acceptable. Twelve items assessed awareness of environmental consequences for
ones self, for people in general, and for the biosphere. The mean rating for
these 12 items ( = .82) was calculated for each individual and was used as a
measure of problem awareness. An index was computed for the 3 items
assessing personal norm in the same way ( = .77). Proenvironmental behavior was assessed using ratings of 25 environmentally significant behaviors.
The mean for these 25 behaviors was calculated for each individual and represented general proenvironmental behavior ( = .84). An inspection of the
item to scale correlations revealed that the value could not be improved by
deleting any of the 25 items. Internal consistency is a necessary but not sufficient condition for unidimensionality, and therefore a factor analysis was performed. The factor analysis resulted in seven factors. The first nonrotated
factor (eigenvalue = 5.53) explained 22% of the total variance, and the second
factor (eigenvalue = 2.00) only contributed 8%. All 25 items loaded positively on the first factor. The high internal consistency and the results of the
factor analysis suggest that the 25 items are reasonably unidimensional.
Means, standard deviations, and Cronbachs alphas for the index variables
are given in Table 1.
As can be seen in Table 1, the respondents mean ratings for selftranscendence and ecocentrism were higher than for self-enhancement and
anthropocentrism, respectively. As a group, the respondents agreed to a fairly
high degree that there are environmental problems, and they perceived a
moral obligation to act to protect the environment. At the group level, general
proenvironmental behavior was reported rather frequently.
The product moment correlations between the variables are shown in
Table 2. Most of the correlation coefficients were significant and had the
expected sign but should be interpreted with some caution due to the large
sample size. The correlation coefficients between the dependent variable of
proenvironmental behavior and the independent variables of self-transcendence,
ecocentrism, problem awareness, and personal norm were, as expected, positive. The expected negative relation between proenvironmental behavior and

Nordlund, Garvill / VALUES AND PROENVIRONMENTALISM

749

TABLE 1
Mean Values, Standard Deviations, and Scale Reliability (Cronbachs ) for
General Values, Environmental Values, Problem Awareness, Personal Norm,
and General Proenvironmental Behavior
M
5.34a
a
3.64
b
5.30
b
3.18
b
5.65
b
5.62
c
2.85

Self-transcendence
Self-enhancement
Ecocentrism
Anthropocentrism
Problem awareness
Personal norm
Proenvironmental behavior

SD
0.86
1.00
1.28
1.31
0.85
1.04
0.42

.86
.78
.65
.52
.82
.74
.84

a. Judgments were made on a 9-point scale, 1 to 7.

b. Judgments were made on a 7-point scale, 1 to 7.
c. Judgments were made on a 4-point scale, 1 to 4.

TABLE 2
Correlation Matrix for General Values (S-T, S-E), Environmental Values
(ECO, ANT), Problem Awareness (PA), Personal Norm (PN), and General
Proenvironmental Behavior (PEB)

S-E
ECO
ANT
PA
PN
PEB

S-T

S-E

.36**
.40**
.06**
.41**
.47**
.29**

.05*
.17**
.06*
.02
.09**

ECO

.06*
.43**
.48**
.33**

ANT

PA

.14**
.01
.01

.61**
.33**

PN

.47**

NOTE: S-T = self-transcendence; S-E = self-enhancement; ECO = ecocentrism; ANT =

anthropocentrism.
*p < .01. **p < .001.

self-enhancement was weak but significant. Self-transcendence was positively related to ecocentrism, problem awareness, and personal norm,
whereas self-enhancement was positively related to anthropocentrism and
negatively related to problem awareness. The environmental values,
ecocentrism and anthropocentrism, were related to problem awareness,
whereas only ecocentrism was related to personal norm. Problem awareness
was positively related to personal norm.
To test the proposed model in Figure 1, a path analysis was conducted
using Amos 4.0 (Arbuckle, 1997). The predicted path from selftranscendence to anthropocentrism was not significant, and the same was
true for the predicted path from anthropocentrism to personal norm. The

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ENVIRONMENT AND BEHAVIOR / November 2002

.44

S-T

ECO
-.11
.36

.21
.31

PA

.36
-.17

S-E
.17

-.15

.24
.42

PN

.46

PEB

-.06

ANT

Figure 2: Reestimated Path-Analytic Model of the Influence From Value, Problem

Awareness, and Personal Norm on Proenvironmental Behavior
2

NOTE: (8, N = 1,414) = 72.43; goodness-of-fit index = .99; adjusted goodness-of-fit index = .95;
root mean square error of approximation = .075. Exogenous factors were general value orientation:
self-transcendence (S-T) and self-enhancement (S-E). Endogenous factors were environmental
value orientation: ecocentrism (ECO) and anthropocentrism (ANT), problem awareness (PA), personal norm (PN), and proenvironmental behavior (PEB). Percentage explained variances for endogenous factors were ECO, 17%; ANT, 3%; PA, 31%; PN, 46%; and PEB, 22%.

nonsignificant paths were excluded, and the model was reestimated. The 2
difference (3.20) with 2 degrees of freedom was nonsignificant. Standardized
path coefficients, the amount of explained variance for the endogenous factors, and measures of goodness of fit for the reestimated model are shown in
Figure 2.
As can be seen in Figure 2, all expected paths, with the exception of the
paths from self-transcendence to anthropocentrism and from anthropocentrism to personal norm, were significant and had the expected sign.
Several different measurements have been suggested for assessing the
overall fit of a model to data. One such measurement is the 2 value, which for
our reestimated model was significant, 2 = 72.43, df = 8, p < .001. A significant 2 value indicates that the model does not fit the data perfectly. However,
because the 2 test is sensitive to sample size, any model will be rejected if the
sample size is large enough. A variety of alternative indexes for assessing
model fit has been developed (Fan, Thompson, & Wang, 1999; Jreskog &
Srbom, 1993). Alternative goodness-of-fit indexes (GFIs), such as the GFI
and the adjusted goodness-of-fit index (AGFI), assess the degree to which the
reproduced covariance matrix, based on the specified model, accounts for the
original sample covariance matrix. These indexes can be conceptualized as
the multivariate counterpart of the coefficient of determination (R2), as in
regression analysis or analysis of variance (Fan et al., 1999; Hu & Bentler,
1995). GFIs indicate a close fit between data and proposed model with values
larger than .90. The root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) is

Nordlund, Garvill / VALUES AND PROENVIRONMENTALISM

751

another often-used measure. The minimum value of the fit function decreases
when parameters are added to the model, and RMSEA is a measure of the discrepancy per degree of freedom. An RMSEA value less than .05 indicates a
close fit, and a value less than .08 represents reasonable errors of approximation (Brown & Cudeck, 1993). For the model tested, GFI (.99) and AGFI
(.95) indicated a close fit between the model and the data. The RMSEA value
(.075) indicated that the model is a reasonable approximation of data. Finally,
the residuals that resulted when the model was fitted to the data were
inspected. The average of the absolute values of discrepancy between the
observed correlations and the reproduced correlations was .015, which
means that the model explains the correlations to within an average error of
.015.
The results support the overall pattern of relations between values and
proenvironmental behavior in the proposed model. General values did influence environmental values, problem awareness, and personal norm. In addition, the predicted effects from environmental values and problem awareness
on personal norm were confirmed. It is thus evident that general values influence proenvironmental behavior indirectly, through environmental values,
problem awareness, and personal norm. Self-transcendence positively
affected ecocentrism and problem awareness and had the expected positive
effect on the personal norm. Self-enhancement had the expected negative
effects on ecocentrism and problem awareness. Self-enhancement had a positive effect on anthropocentrism. Ecocentrism positively affected problem
awareness and had the expected positive effect on personal norm.
Anthropocentrism had a negative effect on problem awareness. Problem
awareness influenced personal norm positively. The personal norm showed a
strong positive effect on proenvironmental behavior. The results showed that
the effects of general and environmental values and problem awareness on
proenvironmental behavior are mediated by the personal norm and that the
personal norm can be viewed as an important general predisposition to act in
a proenvironmental manner.

CONCLUSIONS

In this study, a hierarchical model of the effects of general and environmental value orientation, problem awareness, and personal norm on
proenvironmental behavior was tested. The model was derived from
Schwartzs norm-activation theory and earlier research on proenvironmental
behavior. Proenvironmental behavior was seen as a behavior that involves a

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ENVIRONMENT AND BEHAVIOR / November 2002

conflict between acting in ones own immediate interest or in the long-term

interest of the collective or the environment. Self-transcendent values and an
ecocentric orientation toward the environment were expected to have direct
positive effects on the awareness of environmental problems and on the perceived moral obligation to act to protect the environment. On the other hand,
self-enhancement values and an anthropocentric orientation to the environment were expected to have direct negative effects on problem awareness and
the personal norm. The personal norm was expected to mediate the effects of
values and problem awareness on proenvironmental behavior.
The model was supported by the data, and the results clearly showed the
importance of the personal norm for proenvironmental behavior. In accordance with the tested model, general values influenced environmental values,
problem awareness, and the personal norm. The predicted effects of environmental values and problem awareness on the personal norm were also found.
Lastly, the personal norm was found to influence behavior.
Individuals who gave priority to self-transcendent values were more
aware of the threats to the environment and perceived a stronger moral obligation to act to protect the environment than individuals who gave priority to
self-enhancement values. These results are in accordance with findings in
social dilemma research on social value orientation. Individuals with a cooperative value orientation have been found to give more weight to the collective consequences of their behavior and be more willing to make personal
sacrifices for the common good than those with an individual value orientation (see, e.g., Komorita & Parks, 1994; van Lange, Liebrand, Messick, &
Wilke, 1992).
The environmental values assessed in this study were ecocentrism, representing the belief that the ecosystem has an intrinsic value and therefore
should be protected, and anthropocentrism, representing the belief that the
environment needs protection because of its contribution to human welfare.
We found that self-transcendence positively influenced ecocentrism but had
no effect on anthropocentrism, whereas self-enhancement had a negative
effect on ecocentrism and a positive effect on anthropocentrism. Furthermore, we found that ecocentrism had a positive effect on problem awareness,
whereas the effect from anthropocentrism was negative. Ecocentrism also
had a positive effect on the personal norm, whereas the effect of
anthropocentrism on the personal norm was nonsignificant. These results are
in agreement with the results obtained by Grendstad and Wollebaek (1998)
and Thompson and Barton (1994) and show that ecocentrism and
anthropocentrism are two different orientations toward the environment and
that ecocentrism is the more important motive for proenvironmental behavior. The results indicate that anthropocentrism with its utilitarian orientation

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753

may be based on a mixture of altruistic and egoistic motives, which also have
been suggested by Thompson and Barton as well as by Schultz and Zelezny
(1999). If anthropocentrism is a heterogeneous concept, it might explain the
lower internal consistency found in the study and why self-transcendence did
not affect anthropocentrism.
That self-transcendence and ecocentrism had positive effects on problem
awareness and that self-enhancement and anthropocentrism had negative
effects show that people with collective values and those who value the environment for its own sake are more concerned about environmental problems
than people who give priority to individual values and value the environment
mainly for its contribution to human welfare (Stern & Dietz, 1994).
In this study, the personal norm can be seen as derived from self-transcendent
and ecocentric values and activated by the problem awareness, which is in
agreement with Schwartz (1977) and Stern and Dietz (1994). The activation
of a personal norm is thus an important antecedent to proenvironmental
behavior. Stern (2000) has described personal moral norms as the main basis
for individualsgeneral predisposition to proenvironmental actions, and such
a predisposition should influence all kinds of behavior taken with
proenvironmental intent. Our results showed that the personal norm was the
factor in the model that directly influenced proenvironmental behavior,
mediating the effects from general values, environmental values, and problem awareness. Thus, the results in the present study indicate that for environmentally significant everyday behaviors, it is meaningful to talk about a
general disposition to act to protect the environment and toward general
proenvironmental behavior. However, as can be seen from the amount of
explained variance in proenvironmental behavior (R2 = .21), there is still a
large amount of unexplained variance. Stern has pointed out that there are
four major types of causal factors that might influence proenvironmental
behavior. The first type is attitudinal factors such as values, beliefs, and
norms, as studied here. The second type of factor is contextual factors such as
material costs and rewards and the availability of technology. The third type
involves personal capabilities such as financial resources and behaviorspecific knowledge and skills. Finally, there are habits or routines that may
need to be broken to change behavior in a proenvironmental direction. It is
important to realize that these causal factors interact with each other. If, for
instance, there are very strong contextual forces acting on the behavior or if
the behavior is determined by a strong habit, one should not expect to find
strong relations between attitudinal factors and behavior (Stern, 2000;
Verplanken & Aarts, 1999). Another explanation of the rather low amount of
explained variance could be that other attitudinal variables than the general
attitudinal variables used in this study have an influence on behavior

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performed with proenvironmental intent. Even if the behavior has an impact

on the environment and the environmental motive is important, it might be
performed for other reasons than to protect the environment, for example,
conserving energy in the household to save money or using a bicycle instead
of a car to get some exercise. Thus, to get a more thorough understanding of
what influences environmentally significant behavior, the interaction
between attitudinal factors and contextual factors, personal capabilities, and
habits should be studied. It is also important to study what other motives,
besides environmental concern, influence such behavior.

NOTE
1. Ume, a city in the northern part of Sweden, has approximately 100,000 inhabitants.

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