Social identity–based barriers to pro-environmental intentions

Understanding factors that influence various consumers and their willingness to engage in pro-environmental behaviors is increasingly important. In three studies, this research demonstrates that social observability negatively impacts pro-environmental willingness for consumers low (vs. high) in environmentalist social identity (those who do not identify as environmentalists). This effect occurs due to pro-environmental behaviors being inconsistent with their social identity. Conversely, social observability has no effect on the pro-environmental intentions of consumers high in environmentalist social identity. Overall, these findings highlight that social identity–based barriers can further deter consumers who do not identify as environmentalists from being willing to engage in pro-environmental behaviors.