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Mindfulness and Sustainable Behavior: Pondering Attention and Awareness as Means for Increasing Green Behavior
Abstract
Ecopsychologists have suggested that mindful awareness of our interdependence with nature may not only help us regain our lost, ecologically embedded identity (Roszak, 1992) but may also help us behave more sustainably, closing the documented gap between proenvironmental attitudes and behaviors. We suggest more specifically that, in contemporary consumer culture with its dearth of proenvironmental norms and cues, mindful attentiveness may be necessary to develop sustainable habits. To explore the connection between mindfulness and sustainable behavior, we measured 100 adults attending a Midwestern sustainability expo on two mindfulness factors: acting with awareness and observing sensations. As predicted, acting with awareness was significantly positively correlated with self-reported sustainable behavior. This finding is consistent with the idea that, until sustainable decisions become the societal default, their enactment may depend on focused consideration of options and mindful behavior. In contrast, observing sensations did not predict behavior. This calls into question the notion that feeling connected to the world outside of ourselves is a precondition for sustainable action. We call for more research to further test the validity and generalizability of our findings.
... Previous studies showed that mindfulness also promotes human behaviors toward environmental protection (Amel et al., 2009;Errmann et al., 2021;Panno et al., 2018). For example, when members of an organization are aware of the negative impact of production activities on the ecological environment, they will take action to innovate production processes. ...
... It can be seen that green mindfulness promotes proenvironmental behavior through innovation in manufacturing processes or improving products (Errmann et al., 2021;Panno et al., 2018). The green flow model proposed by Amel et al. (2009) argues that green mindfulness promotes green behavior and green practices toward environmental sustainability. Suppose green mindfulness permeated every individual in the organization; they would develop initiatives and share thoughts to reduce the negative impact of manufacturing practices on the environment through innovating manufacturing processes and improving products and services to be more environmentally friendly (Kalyar et al., 2021). ...
... This study proposes that green innovation plays a mediating role between green mindfulness and environmental performance. The study posits that the mediation role plays out in the following order: (1) mindfulness can help members learn better, so they can have more creative thinking, which is the foundation for coming up with motivating behaviors and innovation in the organization (Amel et al., 2009) and (2) most aspects of innovation are positively related to performance (Davis & Hayes, 2011). From green environmental perspective, mindfulness is believed to encourage green behavior (Errmann et al., 2021). ...
This paper explores whether green mindfulness is the motivation behind green innovation and whether this relationship is moderated by green transformational leadership. The paper also investigates the indirect influence of green mindfulness on environmental performance through the mediating mechanism of green innovation. The above goals are necessary to find solutions that meet environmental goals, especially in emerging countries such as Vietnam. Data was collected from an online survey of 278 managers in manufacturing firms in Vietnam and analyzed using SmartPLS software with the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The results showed that green mindfulness directly affects green innovation, which in turn, contributes positively to environmental performance. Green mindfulness also increases environmental performance through the mediating role of green innovation. Moreover, green transformational leadership moderates the effects of green mindfulness on green innovation. These results contribute to the ability to achieve environmental goals in manufacturing firms. The study shows the role of green mindfulness and green transformational leadership in promoting green innovation and environmental performance in manufacturing firms in emerging market contexts.
... Green mindfulness is also important from the consumer level. In marketing research, it has been one of the least explored concepts in terms of its influence on green purchase behavior (Amel et al., 2009;Tewari et al., 2021). ...
... The notable studies explain and relate green mindfulness with pro-environmental behaviors (Barbaro & Pickett, 2016;Dharmesti et al., 2020;Tewari et al., 2021) and green purchase intentions (Dhandra, 2019). There are also a few studies that link mindfulness with self-reported sustainable behaviors (Amel et al., 2009). For instance, Tewari et al. (2021) indicate that mindfulness affects the intention to purchase organic food products. ...
... Green mindfulness ignites the pro-environmental behaviors of consumers (Dharmesti et al., 2020). Mindful consumers are more likely to choose products that are less harmful to the environment even though they perceive barriers to not buying those products (Amel et al., 2009). Individuals' everyday routines which are done automatically are mostly harmful to the environment such as excessive water usage while brushing teeth or not bringing a reusable coffee cup to the coffee shop (Amel et al., 2009). ...
There is a growing attention to sustainability among both academics and practitioners. Governments and conscious consumers force companies to implement policies for environmental protection and social welfare into their organizational structures. This study aims to understand sustainable consumption behaviors, more specifically, consumers' intention to purchase refurbished products (i.e., a returned product which is updated with new parts and has the same quality as the new one) and its relationship to green mindfulness in the context of B2C market. We carried out 18 in-depth interviews with consumers in Turkey. The analysis benefited from abductive research. We also classified our themes and sub-themes under the stimulus-organism-response framework. Findings indicate that stimuli consist of crises (Covid-19 and economic downturn), ungreen business operations, resources of information (education, governmental regulations, social media) and these factors affect the organism. Organism consists of perceived risk (risks related to hygiene, performance risk) and potentially being mindful which affect the response. Response is intention to purchase refurbished products. The current study shows that even though consumers are price-conscious during the economic downturn, they intend to purchase refurbished products. Individuals could be more inclined towards end-of-life options during an economic downturn. Refurbished products have discounted prices; therefore, companies can use this advantage to appeal to financially vulnerable consumers.
... Growing research demonstrates specifically how mindfulness influences sustainable consumption (Fischer et al., 2017). Amel et al. (2009) reveal that when mindful people make purchase decisions, they are more likely to check labels for elements related to environmental protection, such as phosphates, and choose products with minimal or reusable packaging. Mindful hotel guests also exhibit greater watersaving, energy-saving, and recycling behaviors (Dharmesti et al., 2020). ...
... Second, a few existing ecological economics studies explore the interactions of mindfulness and sustainable behaviors, by investigating the benefits of mindfulness interventions (e.g., Bernal et al., 2018;Geiger et al., 2020;Ray et al., 2020) or trait mindfulness (e.g., Amel et al., 2009;Barbaro and Pickett, 2016), but without examining their roles in promoting PEB. In filling this gap, we find that dispositional mindfulness promotes PEB directly, as well as indirectly through increased ethical self-identity. ...
... We provide the first clear evidence in support of the potential of such mindfulness interventions, in the form of the solid and rigorous MBSR protocol. Notably, we tested our model among a sample of the general population, unlike existing studies that identify positive effects of mindfulness on PEB among specific populations (e.g., eco-fair visitors, Amel et al., 2009;organic food consumers, von Essen and Mårtensson, 2014; ecologically and spiritually aware respondents, Jacob et al., 2009), which might have biased the interpretation of the findings. If ecological economists aim to promote effective change strategies that can transform society though, the interventions must be applicable to all people. ...
Ecological economists seek alternatives to capitalism that might establish societies that prioritize respect for the planet. Building on recent conceptual works, the current research adopts a self-determination perspective on human motivation to propose a mediated moderation model in which mindfulness affects green purchase intentions (GPI). Specifically, a self-ethical identity might mediate the relationship between dispositional mindfulness and GPI, and mindfulness training should enhance this effect. The test of the proposed model, with 778 members of the general population in France, affirms the hypothesized relationships, including a positive relationship between trait mindfulness and GPI that is significantly mediated by self-ethical identity. Attending mindfulness training also has a moderating effect on this mediated relationship. The current study accordingly contributes to ongoing research designed to understand the potential benefits of mindfulness for resolving sustainability challenges.
... Overall, therefore, sustainability requires efforts by the textile industry to produce more sustainable products as well as more environmentally responsible clothing consumption behaviour among consumers (Connell & Kozar, 2014). Many researchers have identified a weak association between attitude and behaviour in the context of sustainable consumption (Amel et al., 2009;Prothero et al., 2011;Thøgersen, 1994;Young et al., 2010). However, it seems that although consumers are aware of the negative consequences of consumption for themselves, society, businesses and the environment (Quelch, 2007), they tend not to behave according to their intentions (Kollmuss & Agyeman, 2002). ...
... Since our culture often values busy individuals and people who can accomplish more in less time (Lewis & Cooper, 1999), promoting a natural tendency to operate on autopilot and use mental shortcuts, rather than paying attention to individuals' actions and choices, seems logical (Amel et al., 2009). Unfortunately, many automatic habits are not sustainable and are likely to remain unsustainable unless people change them (Holland et al., 2006). ...
... Since our culture often values busy individuals and those who can accomplish more in less time (Lewis & Cooper, 1999), it is likely to promote an individual's natural tendency to operate on autopilot and use mental shortcuts rather than pay more ECONOMIC AND BUSINESS REVIEW 2022;24:260e277 attention to his or her actions and choices (Amel et al., 2009). Unfortunately, many automatic habits are not sustainable, and they are likely to stay unsustainable unless people change them (Holland et al., 2006). ...
... Mindfulness as a trait indicates the extent to which individuals have a propensity to be mindful in their daily lives (Brown & Ryan, 2003). Substantial research demonstrates the capacity for mindfulness to influence sustainable consumption behaviors (Amel et al., 2009;Barber & Deale, 2014;Brown & Kasser, 2005;Geiger et al., 2018). Prior studies demonstrate that both dispositional mindfulness and mindfulness practices improve prosocial behavior (Barber & Deale, 2014;Fischer et al., 2017). ...
... Prior studies demonstrate that both dispositional mindfulness and mindfulness practices improve prosocial behavior (Barber & Deale, 2014;Fischer et al., 2017). Mindful individuals have a greater awareness of their innate experiences and pay more attention to their behaviors (Fischer et al., 2017), including sustainable consumption behaviors (Amel et al., 2009). In other words, greater awareness of one's own experiences can enhance awareness of other needs in society and, as a result, influence socially conscious purchasing behavior. ...
... Mindfulness has the ability to intervene with the way people think, helps intensify their values related to social and ecological domains, and ultimately make positive consumption decisions in social, economic, and ecological crises (Dhandra, 2019;Ericson et al., 2014). Mindfulness can assist individuals in developing an understanding, awareness, and management of their internal processes, thus helping them to have higher levels of compassion and knowledge of what others are experiencing (Amel et al., 2009;Block-Lerner et al., 2007;Ericson et al., 2014). Greater clarity of oneself makes it easier to recognize what one's own fundamental values are, and to behave according to those values. ...
Prior research has demonstrated the critical role of values in promoting sustainable consumption behaviors. However, research is needed to identify novel ways to influence these values so that consumers will act on them. The present research demonstrates a practical and underappreciated way to enhance the values that promote sustainable consumption behaviors. Specifically, we demonstrate that mindfulness has a positive relationship with biospheric and altruistic values (but not egoistic values), and that these values mediate the relationship between mindfulness and two distinct forms of sustainable consumption: socially conscious consumption and frugal (i.e., reduced) consumption. We employ a series of three studies with sample populations drawn from different countries, and we use multiple measures for each of our focal constructs to demonstrate the robustness of our findings. Our findings suggest that marketers and policy makers can integrate mindfulness into their promotion and education initiatives as a means to help consumers clarify their values and, thereby, increase levels of sustainable consumption.
... Due to the deep roots of human cultures and habits, it is becoming clearer that the world needs strategies that change people's core personalities and some of their worldviews, values, and beliefs (Park et al., 2013). More and more researchers from a wide range of areas are thus looking into how Mindfulness affects Sustainability and pro-environment behavior (PEB) (Amel, et al., 2009). Research indicates that mindfulness not only affects sustainable behavior but also has a direct bearing on well-being and prosocial behavior (Dhandra, 2019). ...
... In 1990 McCracken postulated three characteristics of mindful consumption: limited possessions, aesthetics, and intentional possession choices. It was also confirmed by Amel et al. (2009), that Mindful consumption affects consumer attitudes and encourages environmentally friendly buying behavior. This confirms that transformative choices can therefore reduce mindless behavior in consumers, according to Dholakia (2016). ...
The G20 summit has sharply put on focus how the current patterns of consumption are unsustainable and countries across the world need to rethink their production and consumption patterns. Sustainable consumption and production patterns are the focal points of SDG 12, one of the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals. To achieve SDG-12's objective, policies that maximize resource utilization while minimizing waste are mandated to be implemented by 2030. Because the fashion industry designs, manufactures, markets, and distributes products to satisfy the needs of end users, and collaborates with textile and apparel manufacturers on one end and distribution channels on the other, it ends up with considerable resource utilization, creates waste, environmental pollution and worker exploitation across its value chain. On the consumer end, the fashion industry is marked by rapid transformations and planned obsolescence which causes garments to be discarded before the end of their useful life, resulting in brief product cycles and conspicuous consumption patterns. Sustainability in the fashion industry cannot be achieved unless personal values dominate mindless consumption perpetuated by fast fashion. The objective of this research is to investigate the impact of mindfulness on consumer behavior in relation to sustainable fashion. This study provides a comprehensive examination of the transformative potential of mindful consumption across several areas of sustainability. This research begins by doing a thorough analysis of existing literature to establish the theoretical and conceptual underpinnings of the mindful sustainable consumption (MSC) method. This approach addresses a significant gap in the literature, which typically fails to integrate mindful consumption with sustainability.
... Beyond openness, other dispositional traits seem to be linked to increased individual abilities to plan and enact the implementation of pro-environmental intentions. For instance, pro-environmental behaviour has been repeatedly found to relate with dispositional mindfulness [156,167,[192][193][194][195][196][197][198][199]. Whilst most of the studies on the topic explain the correlation between mindfulness and pro-environmental behaviour in terms of a higher tendency of mindful individuals to feel empathy for humans and species affected by the environmental crisis [156,167,[197][198][199], some point out that higher present-moment awareness, entailed in mindfulness traits, would predict a lower inclination to act by default [192,200] and a higher ability to regulate one's behaviour to address pro-environmental goals [197,201]. ...
... For instance, pro-environmental behaviour has been repeatedly found to relate with dispositional mindfulness [156,167,[192][193][194][195][196][197][198][199]. Whilst most of the studies on the topic explain the correlation between mindfulness and pro-environmental behaviour in terms of a higher tendency of mindful individuals to feel empathy for humans and species affected by the environmental crisis [156,167,[197][198][199], some point out that higher present-moment awareness, entailed in mindfulness traits, would predict a lower inclination to act by default [192,200] and a higher ability to regulate one's behaviour to address pro-environmental goals [197,201]. Parallelly, pro-environmental behaviour has been also linked to conscientiousness-i.e., the tendency to be diligent, organised, and responsible [171,174,175,202] and to the self-control trait-i.e., the disposition to display ability to inhibit undesired behavioural tendencies and refrain from acting on them [146,147,149,150,[203][204][205], implying that performing proenvironmental behaviour would require individuals to refrain from performing potentially unsustainable automatic and/or hedonistic behaviour. ...
A successful transition to a lower-emission society may require major changes in the patterns of individual behaviours. Yet, whilst awareness and concern about climate change have increased in recent years among the global population, global greenhouse gases emissions have not ceased to rise. This paper discusses potential reasons underlying the gap between individual knowledge of climate change and the actions implemented to contain greenhouse gas emissions. To investigate this phenomenon, we look at the scientific literature exploring the factors influencing pro-environmental behaviour. First, we highlight how an individual’s environmental knowledge is not only approximate but also biased by cognitive, affective, and cultural factors, influencing their appraisal of climate information and their motivation to act. Second, we discuss three major models of pro-environmental behaviour, such as the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), the Norm-Activation Model (NAM), and the Value-Belief-Norm (VBN), to highlight their failure to account for automatic cognitive and affective factors influencing an individual’s ability to implement pro-environmental intentions. Then, we discuss the Comprehensive-Action-Determination Model of pro-environmental behaviour (CADM), and its efforts to overcome the limits of the previous models. Finally, we examine the dispositional traits associated with pro-environmental engagement to highlight how the relationship between dispositions and pro-environmental behaviour performance appears related to self-regulation processes, supported by executive functioning; increased self-regulation would enable alignment of pro-environmental intentions and behaviours, and anticipation of the long-term consequences of present behaviours. We conclude by calling for more research to be carried out on the effect of enhanced self-regulation, and of self-regulation training, on individual reactions to the climate crisis.
... Geiger, Otto, and Schrader (2018) found that increased mindful awareness of momentary experiences had a positive impact on healthy lifestyles, which in turn had positive effects on ecological behaviour. Amel, Manning, and Scott (2009) also showed that mindfulness is positively associated with sustainable behavior. On the other hand, Arslan et al. (2022) considered green mindfulness as a moderator variable. ...
... Geiger et al. (2018) have found an indirect relationship between mindful awareness and ecological behavior. Amel et al. (2009) reported a positive relationship between mindfulness and sustainable behaviour. Thus, the third hypothesis is: ...
Today, environmental problems are worsening, greenhouse gas emissions are increasing, and natural resources are depleting. Solving these problems requires the efforts of everyone in the organization. This study aims to analyze the impact of green transformational leadership on pro-environmental behavior in the workplace. Specifically, the main hypothesis is that green transformational leadership positively influences workplace pro-environment behavior. Two other pathways are also proposed. The relationship can be mediated through green mindfulness and green self-efficacy. The method used in this study is a questionnaire, and data were collected from 163 respondents who work for the Electricity Generation Authority of Thailand. An integrated model containing the hypothesized structure was then tested with structural equation modeling. The results showed that green transformational leadership positively impacted workplace pro-environment behaviors and that this relationship was mediated by green mindfulness. However, green self-efficacy did not mediate between green transformational leadership and workplace pro-environment behavior as there was no relationship between self-efficacy and workplace pro-environment behavior. Rather, green self-efficacy influences workplace pro-environment behavior through green mindfulness. The revised model provides some practical implications for corporations that intend to promote workplace pro-environment behavior. First, green transformational leadership serves as an important factor as it has both direct and indirect impacts on workplace pro-environment behavior. Second, green mindfulness is an important mediator for two indirect effects upon workplace pro-environment behavior. These two factors are key in motivating staff members to work environmentally
... Several studies have also reported a relationship between dispositional mindfulness and pro-environmental behaviours [26,27,[40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47]. Most of them explain the positive correlation between mindfulness and pro-environmental behaviour in terms of a higher tendency of mindful individuals to feel connected to the natural and social world of which they are a part, resulting in increased concern about the consequences of the environmental crisis on the ecosystem [41,[45][46][47]. ...
... However, some studies have highlighted a role of self-regulation in explaining such a correlation. Amel et al. [40], for instance, found a positive correlation between pro-environmental behaviour and the acting with awareness dimension of mindfulness, i.e., the present-moment awareness and the absence of mind wandering. This correlation suggests that mindful individuals would be more likely to perform pro-environmental behaviours because they are less inclined to act by default and are more prone to consider different behavioural options in terms of their environmental impact. ...
Great scientific effort has been devoted to understanding what drives pro-environmental behaviour, yet the question of the environmental attitude–behaviour gap remains unanswered. Studies have indicated that self-regulation and executive functions may reduce such a gap by increasing individuals’ ability to maintain attention on present actions and to resist goal-conflicting temptations. Given the inherent association of self-regulation and executive functions with dispositional mindfulness, we carried out a cross-sectional study to test the hypothesis of the role of dispositional mindfulness in explaining the phenomenon. Our results showed that higher levels of dispositional mindfulness, measured via the Five Facets Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), are related to a higher tendency to perform pro-environmental behaviour, and that the observing facet of the construct would predict higher pro-environmental behaviour scores. Interestingly, we also found the acting with awareness and nonjudging factors to be moderators of the relationship between pro-environmental attitudes and behaviours, suggesting that enhanced awareness of the present moment may favour higher congruence between attitudes and behaviours, and that higher acceptance may favour more adaptive coping strategies to the climate challenge. Our findings provide a novel contribution to the understanding of the relationship between mindfulness and pro-environmental behaviour and support the perspective that self-regulation skills would contribute to reducing the environmental attitude–behaviour gap.
... The theoretical roots of the discussion around NC can be traced to the biophilia hypothesis. The concept "biophilia" is often attributed to the biologist E. O. Wilson (1984), but actually, the concept was first introduced and developed by the philosopher and psychoanalyst Erich Fromm (1964) who defined biophilia as "the passionate love of life and of all that is alive" (Fromm 1973, 365) (see Barbiero and Berto 2021;Gunderson 2014). The idea of biophilia has also been central in ecopsychology (e.g., Roszak 1995). ...
... In other words, nature fosters the ability called mindfulness, which means "attention and awareness of internal and external phenomena" (Amel, Manning, and Scott 2009, 16). Their experience is significant, as research indicates that mindfulness correlates with pro-environmental behavior and is necessary for making sustainable choices (Amel, Manning, and Scott 2009;Ericson, Kjønstad, and Barstad 2014). Conversely, not paying attention is a sign of an "autopilot lifestyle" that is one of the causes of yet another contemporary syndrome: an "epidemic of mindless behavior" (Amel, Manning, and Scott 2009, 22). ...
The contemporary planetary multi-crisis can arguably be attributed to the failure of humans’ relationship with nature. Reconnecting humans with nature is therefore a crucial lever for the sustainability transformation and to achieve the long-term well-being of both humans and nature. While nature connectedness (NC) has been studied quantitatively using various measures and scales, there is a need to complement this work with qualitative research that broadens and deepens the understanding of this phenomenon. This article is a qualitative inquiry into NC among 29 unemployed young adults (aged 20–29) in Finland. The data were collected in group interviews and it is noteworthy that the respondents lived in cities, since urbanites are often represented as disconnected from nature. The participants’ discourse on nature is analyzed with the help of a typology of NC constructed on the basis on three NC typologies found in recent research. NC’s linkage to a relational, multi-dimensional, and need-based conceptualization of well-being is also discussed, as is whether NC should be conceived of as a separate need category. All six dimensions of the typology of NC used in the analysis (material, cognitive, experiential, sensual/emotional, philosophical/spiritual, and compassion, care and commitment) could be detected in the respondents’ accounts. The article closes with a discussion of the implications of such manifestations of NC for promoting sustainability. © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
... In the simplest way of understanding, mindfullness is the "here and now" attitude, emphasizing the presence of the mind and the acceptance of the happening events as they are, without judging or evaluating Ryan 2003, Geiger et al. 2018). Usually studied as a factor related to well-beings, mindfulness has been recently received significant attention of scholars and considered an important notion relating to sustainable consumption (Amel et al. 2009, Barbaro and Pickett 2016, Schutte and Malouff 2018. ...
... In other words, there is a correlation between mindfulness and ecological consciousness, which is akin to sustainable behaviors referring to a large span of activities that consumers can perform to protect/reduce harm to environment and retain the resources for future generations (Ericson et al. 2014, Geiger et al. 2018, Li et al. 2021). Consciously or not yet, those who are mindful also perform some kinds of sustainable behaviors such as reducing consumption, improving their well-beings in a natural and environmental-friendly manner, carrying out the responsible attitudes and actions, which are closely related to the notion of "green values" (Mayer and Frantz 2004, Amel et al. 2009, Fischer et al. 2017. Later, we would review the relating literature of consumer's green values with more details. ...
Considered as a universal concept, corporate social responsibility (CSR) was actually originated from occidental perspective, making it inadequate to be imposed globally. The CSR perceived by consumers might be divergent in oriental context. Aiming to expand the understandings of consumer perceptions and their responses to CSR in oriental context, we therefore conducted our studies in Vietnam. We first conducted a qualitative study to explore CSR insights of consumers and built a Five Personas typology of consumers. Then, two scenario-based experiments in food sector and cosmetics & skincare sector allowed to test consumer reactions to CSR. The second experiment was integrated in a larger data collection used to form a structural equation model, explaining the psychological mechanisms behind consumer responses. Our findings reveal that CSR has a real impact on consumer evaluations of firm and products, whereas country-of-origin and production process turned out to have no significant impact. Given no cue on quality control, consumers still form their evaluations on product quality, which makes perceived product quality the mediator between the firm engagement in CSR and consumer responses toward the firm (brand attitude, purchase and recommendation intention). We found that consumption habituation and perceived firm motives toward CSR moderate this relationship while CSR skepticism is the mediator. Beneath the surface, some individual constructs can explain the mechanisms. We highlight consumer green values, playing the moderating role between firm green engagement and perceived product quality. Five constructs form green values including mindfulness, voluntary simplicity, internal locus-of-control, connectedness to nature, and death anxiety. We hope to expand the understandings of how consumers perceive and react towards CSR in oriental context that might be more sophisticated than the appearances.
... Mindfulness has been the subject of a wealth of research, which has shown its multiple benefits (e.g., Brown & Ryan, 2003), namely regarding environmental behaviors and attitudes. Brown and Kasser (2005) pioneered the empirical analysis of the relationship between trait mindfulness and pro-environmental behavior, which has been documented in other studies since then (e.g., Amel et al., 2009;Dhandra, 2019;Jacob et al., 2009;Tang et al., 2017). Mindfulness has also been related to pro-environmental attitudes, such as connectedness to nature (Schutte & Malouff, 2018). ...
... Hypothesis 4. Water-related perceived consumer effectiveness mediates the negative relationship between water utilitarian beliefs and water conservation behavior. Amel et al. (2009) note that mindful individuals are more likely to pay attention and process information regarding the environment and to look for options that are less damaging to it. Moreover, mindful individuals are less likely to act automatically and resort to the most convenient or familiar actions (Rosenberg, 2004). ...
A growing number of studies have linked mindfulness with the adoption of environmentally friendly behaviors. We aim to contribute to this emergent research by putting forward a model in which the relationship between mindfulness and a specific pro-environmental behavior, water conservation, is indirect. In this pursuit, we draw on the hierarchical model for the influence of psychological characteristics on individuals' behaviors. We propose that the relationship between mindfulness and water conservation is mediated by environmental beliefs, namely water utilitarian beliefs, and consumer abilities, specifically water-related perceived consumer effectiveness. To collect the data, we relied on a pretested self-report questionnaire that was distributed in a Portuguese municipality. We retained the responses from 876 individuals, for a net response rate of 54.8%. The research model was tested with structural equation modeling. The results indicate that mindfulness is negatively related to water utilitarian beliefs, that these are negatively related to perceived consumer effectiveness, which, in turn, is positively associated with water conservation behavior. In addition to these direct relationships, the results show that mindfulness is indirectly related to water conservation behavior and to perceived consumer effectiveness, and that water utilitarian beliefs are indirectly related to water conservation behavior. These novel results are used to derive managerial implications.
... The facet of mindfulness significantly correlated with IA and more correlated with the other variables was acting with awareness, that is dismissing the automatic pilot and paying attention to what is in the present moment. This result seems in line with previous studies that underlined the prominent role of acting with awareness in the promotion of a coherence between attitudes and behaviours (Amel et al., 2009;Wamsler et al., 2018). The ability to dismiss the automatic pilot was also found especially relevant in increasing the regulation of behaviours and decreasing impulsive disorders (Peters et al., 2011;Royuela-Colomer et al., 2021). ...
... In 2004 Frauman and Norman adapted Moscardo's scale (1996), and later other authors used the adaptation of this measure (Choe et al. 2014;Noor et al. 2014;Rubin et al. 2016;Taylor and Norman 2018;Ying et al. 2020). Three (2020) used five items of green mindfulness measure generated from the existing literature (Amel et al. 2009). Most studies used as a basis the scale specifically developed by Moscardo (1996) to assess the concept of mindfulness in the context of tourism. ...
This paper presents a systematic review update regarding mindfulness theories applied to tourism, complemented with a bibliometric analysis. Scientific studies listed in the WOS, SCOPUS, PubMed and PsycInfo databases were analysed using PRISMA guidelines. Twenty-five studies were selected for review from 670 records identified. In recent years, mindfulness has proved to be a promising area of research in tourism, and the number of published studies is increasing. The findings reveal a positive association between mindful-ness and tourism experiences, suggesting that tourists who adopt states of mindfulness during their travels benefit from increased pro-environmental behaviours, satisfaction levels, and memorable experiences, leading to destination loyalty. This study provides an in-depth overview of the literature, and helps redress the lack of bibliometric studies in this field. It also identifies common areas of current research interest, offers insights into commonly studied themes, and seeks to raise awareness about the relevance of the concept of mind-fulness in tourist experiences and well-being by suggesting implications for research and tourism management.
... Awareness on all three levels could make the perceived interconnection of life more salient, and thus, in turn, make it more likely for individuals to view environmental protection as a moral issue. Past research has shown that internal awareness creates a greater self-world connection (Amel et al., 2009) and that it is related to a more ecological orientation (Leary et al., 2008). Self-awareness has been associated with a tendency to act in accordance with one's own attitudes and to engage in behaviors that increase consistency with one's standards (Duval & Lalwani, 1999;Silvia & Duval, 2001;Silvia & Gendolla, 2001). ...
We evaluate whether the feeling that all life is interconnected is associated with moral awareness of protecting the environment. We present a model in which different levels of awareness-awareness of self, other, and nature-are associated with environmental measures and moral awareness of environmental protection. Using path analysis (N = 634), we first evaluate how each level of awareness predicts the environmental measures. We then show that these associations are mediated by moral awareness of environmental protection and that moral awareness has an additional unique contribution as a predictor. Our results highlight the importance of different levels of awareness on attitudes and predispositions towards environmental protection. This research provides valuable insights into the relationship between interconnectedness, moral awareness, and environmentalism, offering a foundation for developing interventions and strategies aimed at fostering a more ecologically conscious society.
... Also, the individual seeks an option with minimal harmful effect to environmental nature regardless of a great hindrance to exercising the selected option. According to Amel et al. (2009), it was found that mindfulness predicted sustainable behavior. Results of the study showed that everyday actions were automatic and mindfulness helped connect ' self' with the world, which encouraged pro-environmental behavior. ...
... Green mindfulness shows special psychological resources that are probably to penetrate employees and help to develop or redevelop concepts, items, methods, and services that help the tourism and hospitality companies to attain their objectives by reducing their environmental impact while enhancing it (Dharmesti et al. 2020). Many actions we do on a daily basis are initiated by cognitive resources; as a result, green mindfulness encourages a stronger sense of connection between the self and the world, which in turn encourages environmentally responsible behavior (Amel et al. 2009). People who practice green mindfulness have an up-to-date awareness of new environmental information in the current environment, as well as an aptitude for meeting individual cognitive needs that arise during the process of idea creation as new issues are probably going to appear while finding a way out to old ones (Langer and Moldoveanu 2000). ...
This research study analyzed the impact of green human resource management on the green creativity of the employees of the pharmaceutical companies of Lahore, Pakistan, with the mediating role of a green mindset and the moderating role of green concern. The convenience sampling technique was used to sample employees of pharmaceutical companies. The study was quantitative and cross-sectional in nature, and it used correlation and regression analysis to investigate the hypothesis. A sample of 226 employees (including managers, supervisors, and other staff members) was drawn from different pharmaceutical companies in Lahore, Pakistan. The results of the study indicate that green human resource management has a positive significant effect on the green creativity of employees. Findings further explain that the green mindset acts as a mediator and partially mediates the relationship between green human resource management and green creativity. Furthermore, this study examined the role of green concern as a moderator and the results explain the insignificant relation which shows that green concern does not moderate the relationship between the green mindset and green creativity of the employees of pharmaceutical companies in Lahore, Pakistan. The practical implications of this research study are also discussed.
... Although GrCRT is essential to the sustainable development of tourism companies, literature on tourism and hotel management usually focuses on the general environmental behavior (Amel et al., 2009;Line et al., 2018;Oetzel & Oh, 2019). For instance, the fine-grained green behavior, GrCRT, is largely ignored in the mainstream research (Mittal & Dhar, 2016). ...
The purpose of this study is to examine the role of Generative leadership (GL) in fostering employees toward green creativity (GrCRT) in tourism and hospitality industry. The present study theorized a model with the help of the theory of componential creativity to investigate GL, PGC, and GC as precursors of GrCRT. In addition to positing the direct associations, the model anticipates the mediation effect of PGC and GC on the association between GL and GrCRT. The data collected from a sample of 380 frontline workers in the hospitality industry of Pakistan assessed by their respective 112 supervisors is analyzed using Process macro. Empirical results confirm that GL significantly fosters employees toward GrCRT. Furthermore, results confirm that psychological green climate (PGC) and green commitment (GC) partially mediate the link between GL-GrCRT. Moreover, the results show that serial mediation is positive and significant. This is maidan study to empirically examine a new construct, such as Generative leadership on green creativity in tourism and hospitality. Further, this study is the first one to study the mediating role of psychological green climate and green commitment on the said relationship and validating the theory of componential creativity. Furthermore, this study would be among the few ones that has examined the serial mediation of psychological green climate and green commitment between GL-GrCRT. This study also make valuable contributions to policy makers in the tourism and hospitality industry to understand how they can reduce the environmental footprints through generative leaders who can encourage employees toward green creativity.
... To increase sustainability in consumption patterns in buildings, there has been a growing body of research investigating the psychological underpinnings of behavior [9]. Ecopsychologists have paid significant attention to mindfulness as a psychological construct of disrupting automatic routines, reinforcing non-materialistic values, enhancing awareness, and encouraging pro-social values and behavior [10][11][12] as well as pro-environmental behavior [13][14][15][16][17]. ...
Mindfulness is a psychological construct that enhances sustainable behaviors, environmental behavior, environmental consumption, mindful consumption, and water and energy sustainable consumption. The state of mindfulness can be affected by the determinator of the physical environment as architecture via the architectural atmosphere. The previous studies show that the discrete areas of knowledge between architecture and mindfulness are still widely unknown. However, image-centered social media platforms such as Instagram seem to be able to provide big data for studying people’s perceptions of architecture. Thus, this study aims to describe the concept design and characteristics of architectural atmosphere in architecture images tagged mindfulness posted to Instagram. A coding framework developed from a previous systematic literature review was conducted for this content analysis. A total of 354 architectural images were screened, coded, and analyzed by five architects. The results highlight that the Japanese traditional architecture (59.20%) looks to be the most architectural atmosphere concept that influences mindfulness, following by Biophilic Design (33.05%), and Buddhist contemplative space (20.06%). In addition, it was found that the most common architectural atmosphere characteristic fostering mindfulness performed calm space (73.58%), focus object (54.45%), concrete material (85.71%), hue color (78.17%), hard light and shadow (78.98%), and view with a tree (60.11%).
... (4) Mindful nature practices: Mindfulness practices like yoga or meditation can help individuals develop a greater sense of embodiment and connection with their physical selves, which can translate into a felt appreciation of the "interwoven nature" of the natural world (Danvers, 2016). By cultivating mindfulness practices, individuals can become more attuned to the natural world and develop a greater sense of respect and responsibility towards the environment (Amel et al., 2009;Barbaro and Pickett, 2016). Conscious and responsible use of psychedelic plant medicines like ayahuasca and psilocybin can also be fruitful options. ...
This paper applies the Free Energy Principle (FEP) to propose that the lack of action in response to the global ecological crisis should be considered a maladaptive symptom of human activity that we refer to as biophilia deficiency syndrome . The paper is organised into four parts: the characterisation of the natural world under the Gaia Hypothesis, the employment of the FEP as a description of the behavior of self-organising systems, the application of the FEP to Gaia to understand coupling dynamics between living systems and purportedly non-living planetary processes, and the offering of positive interventions for addressing the current state of ecological crisis under this framework. For the latter, we emphasize the importance of perturbing stuck states for healthy development, and the necessary appreciation of life existing as nested systems at multiple levels in a hierarchy. We propose the development of human biophilia virtue in accordance with the FEP as a practical intervention for treating biophilia deficiency syndrome and helping to safeguard the balance of planetary processes and the integrity of living systems that depend on them, offering some examples of what this might look like in practice. Overall, this paper provides novel insights into how to catalyse meaningful ecological change, proposing a deliberate and disruptive approach to addressing the dysfunctional relationship between humans and the rest of the natural world.
... Awareness is defined as the knowledge or perception of a situation or fact (Merikle, 1984). Amel et al. (2009) detail that awareness plays a determining role in sustainable consumption practices. These factors directly affect the purchasing behavior of sustainable products (Borin et al., 2011). ...
Sustainable consumption analyses the choice of products to address environmental issues. In recent years, the circular economy model () has offered strategies as possible solutions to address the growing demand for action on climate justice. The success of a business model depends on understanding the consumer's role. The power of individual consumer actions is vital for minimizing the adverse impacts of climate change. Although the effectiveness of in the business sector has been studied, the literature has ignored the role of consumers in sustainable consumption practices through. Thus, using a survey technique, this quantitative study analyzed part of the theoretical model of Mostaghel and Chirumalla to analyze how awareness and consumer attitude significantly impact purchase intention and ethical purchasing behavior. The data analyzed through PLS-SEM reflected several theoretical implications in the forms of consumer behavior, a topic that has not been addressed in the literature.
... Thus, the authors (Doran, 2011;Carvalho, 2014) understand mindfulness as a "technology of the self" that exerts an action on one's own subjectivity with the potential to cause effective changes in modes of existence in a more sustainable direction. Quantitative research has shown a positive relationship between the practice of mindfulness and pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors (Amel et al, 2009). Mindfulness would be promoting a double benefit: on the one hand, it increases wellbeing by detaching it from materialistic and consumer logics; on the other, it actively promotes more sustainable behavior and lifestyle (Ericson et al, 2014). ...
The use of mindfulness as a pedagogical tool is gaining ground given the great possibilities it offers in the development of students' emotional competencies in education for sustainable development. The main aim of this study is to show how mindful-ness plays a key role in the learning process, in response to the need to develop students' emotional competencies in education for sustainable development. Humans play a key role in global climate change. Therefore, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) promote awareness of sustainability through proactive, global, and social measures that distance us from the Brundtland paradigm focused on meeting the needs of the present generation. However, these goals will not be achieved without transformations in the way societies function, and education plays a vital role in this. Literature review includes the analysis of Mindfulness and resilience, and Resilience and academic performance. Our results show how students' mindfulness has a positive impact on resilience. At the same time, resilience has a positive relationship with academic performance. Therefore, the results confirm our hypotheses regarding the role mindfulness plays as a promoter of resilience and the impact resilience has on academic performance. We also find that gender is significantly and positively related to performance. Thus, women have higher grades than men, although the relationships between variables remain the same. Gender is known to be a demographic variable that appears to discriminate stu-dents' academic achievements. The research model is tested with a questionnaire addressed to 497 students from three higher education institutions and one secondary school in three Spanish regions, comprising 22 academic disciplines (covering a wide range from business and economic sciences, technological and experimental sciences, health sciences, and social sciences). Experts in the education area revised the questionnaire and pretested it on a group of 25 students. This process allowed us to improve the wording and confirm the suitability of the questionnaire. The results of a structural equation analysis confirm the study hypotheses. We find mindfulness to be positively related to resilience, which consequently leads to better academic performance. Thus, mindfulness in the classroom incorporates strategies and tools that allow young people to face their education with the highest possibilities of training, experience, and personal growth. It also contributes significantly to the development of sustainable individual competencies such as resilience, which will contribute, in the mid-and long term, to the development of more sustainable societies. In sum, the basic question we have attempted to answer in this research is whether mindfulness influences students' academic performance through resilience. Our study provides empirical evidence that the mindfulness-academic performance relationship is mediated by resilience. Future research could replicate this study not only in other Spanish locations, but also in different countries, to consider other cultural and geographical settings.
... 69,70 With regard to the latter, research also suggests that dispositional mindfulness is positively correlated with belief in climate change, 71 motivation for climate adaptation, 72 and self-reported pro-environmental behavior. 71,[73][74][75][76][77] These preliminary indications of a positive relationship between mindfulness and sustainability have raised expectations. Yet, experimental evidence for understanding the underlying processes and links between (induced) mindfulness and markers of pro-environmentalism in general, and climate change attitudes and action in particular, is scarce. ...
Recent research suggests that mindfulness, compassion, and self-compassion relate to inner transformative qualities/capacities and intermediary factors that can support increased pro-environmental behavior and attitudes across individual, collective, organizational, and system levels. However, current insights focus on the individual level, are restricted to certain sustainability fields, and wider experimental evidence is scarce and contradictory. Our pilot study addresses this gap and tests the aforementioned proposition in the context of an intervention: an EU Climate Leadership Program for high-level decision-makers. The intervention was found to have significant effects on transformative qualities/capacities, intermediary factors, and pro-environmental behaviors and engagement across all levels. The picture is, however, more complex for pro-environmental attitudes. With due limitations (e.g., small sample size), this preliminary evidence confirms the feasibility and potential of mindfulness- and compassion-based interventions to foster inner-outer transformation for sustainability and climate action. Aspects that should be taken into account in larger confirmatory trials are discussed.
... Sharad Gupta and Harsh V. Verma (2019) opined that mindful consumption is about being consciously aware of the consequences of excessive consumption and proposed that mindfulness increases life satisfaction and integrates with mindfulness. Mindful consumption helps in making attitudinal changes in consumer and makes them prefer consumption habits that are less harmful to the environment (Amel et al. 2009). Jihad Mohammad, Farzana Quoquab and Mohamed Sodom (2020) elucidated mindful consumption behavior in sustainable clothing. ...
Purpose: During the last decade, studies on the theoretical models of mindful marketing and consumption have gained the attention of researchers due to the increased awareness concerning environmentalism among companies and consumers. Mindful marketing is about a balanced approach sans consumerism, and mindful consumption is about making informed choices for the well-being of society, businesses, and individuals. The purpose of the paper is to critically review the previous studies on mindfulness in marketing and consumption, identify the research gaps, provide directions for future research, and set a research agenda. Methodology: Framework-based systematic literature review is used for the review. The framework used is the TCCM (Theories, Contexts, Characteristics, and Methodology) (Paul J. et al. 2019). The study highlights the findings from prior studies to understand the theory development and compares the characteristics and contexts based on the framework used. The articles used in the study are from the period 2002–2022 from journals with an impact factor of more than 1.0 and indexed in Scopus and ABDC. The period of the last 20 years was chosen because research on mindfulness in marketing and consumption from the business perspective gained momentum during the last two decades. Findings: The study suggests that studies on mindful marketing and consumption focussed more on the development of sector-specific models. A universally accepted definition and conceptual understanding of mindful marketing and consumption are yet to be researched in future studies. The previous studies did not cover conceptual aspects of mindful marketing and consumption. There is an excellent scope for theoretical extension in this area as it covers almost three subjects: sustainability, marketing, and consumer behavior. Contribution: There is no review in the previous studies that have comprehensively explored the theoretical development, contexts, characteristics, and methodology based on all the articles published in the last two decades. The review seeks to delve deeper into the area of mindful marketing and consumption, which would help in the identification of research gaps and the development of the research agenda.
... Theoretical research "indicates that mindfulness can contribute to environmentally friendly and sustainable behavior" (Ericson et al., 2014, p. 78). Amel et al. (2009) devised a Green Scale and testing it on visitors to Living Green Expo found that mindfulness is positively related to self-reported "green behavior". Errmann et al. (2021) on the basis of hypothetical choices offered to potential tourists conclude that mindful tourists would be willing to pay a little more for environment friendly hotels. ...
As two irreversible trends—population growth and climate change advance further, demand for water conservation will increase. Since irrigation is the major source of use (and waste) of freshwater, the professionals in this field will be under pressure to find innovative ways to increase physical irrigation efficiency. Irrigation water management promotes the delivery of water in a quantity that meets the needs of the crop while avoiding runoff and prolonged soil saturation. Water and energy can be conserved by improving application precision and decreasing unused applications. The adoption of water conservation technologies do not always increase the physical irrigation efficiency. Paradoxically, in many cases it may also increase water withdrawal. However, there are non-economic reasons because of which farmers invest their time and effort to reduce wastage of water. Higher irrigation efficiency is likely to depend on behavioral characteristics of the farmer. This research looks at whether mindfulness is one of the characteristics that influences water conservation. It also looks at the mechanism of this effect and the mediating role of environmental concern. It is found that mindfulness has a direct effect as also an indirect effect (through environmental concern) on increase in physical irrigation efficiency. The estimated effect of mindfulness through environmental concern is about two-thirds of the total effect, the remaining one-third of the effect coming directly from mindfulness.
... In accordance with the Buddhist ideology and literature, Western researchers studying mindfulness have also theorized its strong relation with connectedness (Amel et al., 2009;Welwood, 1996) while Brown and Ryan (2003) originally put forward its strong relation with relatedness. Regarding how mindfulness relates strongly to connectedness, Aspy and Proeve (2017) contended that mindfulness meditation leads to connectedness through increased awareness of whatever is around us while leaves us being less preoccupied with automatic thoughts which usually create disconnection from our environment, be it social or physical. ...
The current study aims to understand the mechanisms underlying the predictive relationship between mindfulness and organizational citizenship behaviors especially targeted for other individuals inside the organizations. As part of this relationship model, oneness behaviors were suggested as an actor of mediation. A sample of 281 blue collar employees participated for the study with employing a multi-source data gathering method. In line with the self-regulation and Buddhist based conceptualizations, and previous related research, statistical analyses revealed significant effects of mindfulness on organizational citizenship behavior towards individuals (OCBI) after controlling demographic variables, and showed fully mediated roles of one and other sub dimensions in mindfulness-OCBI interaction. The current study brings a novel approach to mindfulness and organizational citizenship relationship by including oneness behaviors inside the research model while stressing the importance of interconnectedness and how it could be practiced inside the organizations.
... Since then, numerous studies have been able to show that people who are more mindful tend to engage in a greater number of ecologically sustainable behaviours (e.g. Amel et al., 2009;Ericson et al., 2014;Wamsler et al., 2018). Mindfulness may encourage more pro-environmental behaviours because it increases people's awareness of their thought processes, thus allowing them to become less susceptible to persuasion from pro-consumerist messages (Rosenberg, 2004). ...
The achievement of sustainable prosperity requires the enhancement of human wellbeing alongside increased care for the environment. In recent years, much has been written on the role of different mental states and their potential to influence our way of thinking and, perhaps more importantly, the way we act. In this working paper, we explore the emerging potential of a type of mental state known as Self-Transcendent Experiences (STEs) to deliver beneficial effects on human wellbeing and sustainable attitudes and behaviours. Self-transcendent experiences can be facilitated by experiences of flow, awe and meditation, as well as psychedelic experiences. Some of these experiences can occur naturally, through sometimes unexpected encounters with nature or during immersion in every-day activities that one intrinsically enjoys, as well as through more intentional practices such as meditation or the use of psychedelics. We demonstrate how each of the four alternative types of STEs share some similar neurological underpinnings and review their links to improvements in human wellbeing and sustainable attitudes and behaviours. We also highlight potential risks across the different varieties of STEs and consider factors that need to be considered if they are to be employed as a practical means of supporting sustainable prosperity.
... With regards to environmental sustainability, numerous studies have shown that people who are more mindful tend to engage in a greater number of ecologically sustainable behaviors (Brown and Kasser, 2005;Ericson et al., 2014;Wamsler et al., 2018). Amel et al. (2009) found that individuals who were more mindful tended to state that they chose to engage in the most sustainable option available to them more often than those who were less mindful. Similarly, Panno et al. (2018) reported that people higher in trait levels of mindfulness had a stronger tendency to engage in behaviors such as saving energy and water, recycling and having a more sustainable diet. ...
In recent years, much has been written on the role of different mental states and their potential to influence our way of thinking and, perhaps more importantly, the way we act. With the recent acceleration of environmental and mental health issues, alongside the limited effectiveness of existing interventions, an exploration of new approaches to deliver transformative change is required. We therefore explore the emerging potential of a type of mental state known as self-transcendent experiences (STEs) as a driver of ecological wellbeing. We focus on four types of STEs: those facilitated by experiences of flow, awe, and mindfulness, as well as by psychedelic-induced experiences. Some of these experiences can occur naturally, through sometimes unexpected encounters with nature or during immersion in everyday activities that one intrinsically enjoys, as well as through more intentional practices such as meditation or the administration of psychedelics in controlled, legal settings. We explore the evidence base linking each of the four types of STE to ecological wellbeing before proposing potential hypotheses to be tested to understand why STEs can have such beneficial effects. We end by looking at the factors that might need to be considered if STEs are going to be practically implemented as a means of achieving ecological wellbeing.
... Researchers from numerous disciplines have found various factors that influence pro-environmental decisions and behavioral choices such as where to shop, what to buy, how to spend free time, or more significant life decisions related to academic paths, career tracks, or major life shifts. The internal or personal factors include values, beliefs, mindfulness, attitudes, emotions, self-efficacy, moral responsibilities/ personal norm, motivation, habits, personality traits and character, worldview, knowledge, demographics (age and gender), childhood experience, sense of control, political views, cognitive biases, place attachment, and chosen activities (Schultz et al., 2005;De Groot and Steg, 2007;Amel et al., 2009). External factors include infrastructure, affordances, social norms, reinforcement contingencies, prompts, feedback and goals, economic constraints, social pressures, comfort and convenience, positive versus negative messaging, time, religion, urban-rural differences, social class, proximity to problematic environmental site, and culture/ethnicity (Clayton and Myers, 2009;Harré, 2011;Quimby and Angelique, 2011). ...
Nature based experiences have been linked to significant positive outcomes for people and the planet. Significant life experience research investigates the associations between formative experiences in nature and resulting environmental concern and action, including both singular events and repeated experiences. However, little is known about the long-term impacts of singular profound experiences with nature. This research sought to better understand how a singular, meaningful experience defines an individual’s self-awareness of his or her relationship with nature, changes social relationships, and directs environmental decisions and behaviors. Twenty-one adults who had a profound experience with nature participated in a semi-structured interview exploring how they make sense of their experience, the meaning they attribute to it, and the role it served in their lives. Three themes resulted from the thematic analysis process: (1) Living in relation with nature, (2) Living authentically, and (3) Living a meaningful life. The findings demonstrate that a single profound experience with nature can have long-lasting and significant effects on an individual. Understanding these long-term influences of a profound experience with nature have implications for intervention designers such as health practitioners and environmental educators, as well as policy-makers.
... Research has shown that for actions to be impacted by norms, salience is key (Cialdini et al., 1990;Kallegren et al., 2000). In particular, it has been shown that mindfulness (which can be defined as being aware of what is happening both in ourselves and around us [Ericson et al., 2014]) is positively correlated with selfreported pro-environmental practices (Amel et al., 2009). Through a consensus-like process, residents could consider and negotiate group norms in agreeing practices and processes. ...
The environmental impacts of the UK's domestic sector must be lowered if they are to meet UK government greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) reduction targets. However, government initiatives to lower domestic GHGs have had little success, and progress has been too slow. Given this lack of top-down impetus, it is worth investigating alternative housing solutions.
Previous research has shown that shared living - in which residents share spaces, resources, and social time - tends to have lower environmental impacts than the average household. However, this issue has not yet been explored within the UK. There is also research which shows that social networks can be effective in encouraging practice transitions and maintenance. This has not yet been thoroughly investigated within the context of shared living and environmental sustainability.
This research aimed to explore the practices and infrastructures which enable pro-environmental outcomes within shared living. This aim was achieved through in-depth research in six shared living case studies. The research mainly adopted an ethnographic approach, complemented by quantitative measurement of GHGs.
This research shows that the shared living case studies have significantly lower GHGs than the average UK household. This builds upon previous quantitative environmental evaluations of shared living. In studying practices, infrastructures and social networks within shared living, this research identifies four types of sharing that are significant to pro-environmental outcomes: shared ideals, shared governance, shared materials and spaces, and shared endeavour. For each type of sharing, the findings describe and analyse how processes of negotiation enable and constrain pro-environmental practices and outcomes. By exploring these processes, this research generates new knowledge on how and why shared living can produce lower-than-average domestic environmental impacts. Thus, the research demonstrates the potential and the mechanisms by which shared living may offer environmentally sustainable housing solutions for the UK.
... Thus, the authors [14,15] understand mindfulness as a "technology of the self" that exerts an action on the own subjectivity with the potential to cause effective changes in modes of existence in a more sustainable direction. Quantitative research [16] has shown a positive relationship between practicing mindfulness and pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors. Mindfulness would be promoting a double benefit [13]: on the one hand, it increases wellbeing by detaching it from materialistic and consumer logic; on the other, it actively promotes more sustainable behavior and lifestyle. ...
A mindful person is prone to be open to novelty, attentive to distinctions, sensitive to context, aware of multiple perspectives, and focused on the present. Therefore, the role of mindfulness in educational contexts is gaining ground given the great possibilities it offers in developing students’ competences in education for sustainable development (ESD). The main goal of this study is to explore how mindfulness plays a key role in the learning process in response to the need to develop students’ emotional competencies in ESD, and specifically how mindfulness has an impact on academic performance through resilience. We tested the research model with a questionnaire addressed to 497 students from three higher education institutions and one secondary school. The results of a structural equation analysis confirm the study hypotheses. We find mindfulness is positively related to resilience, which leads to better academic performance. Thus, being mindful is a key competence in ESD since it allows young people to face their education with the highest possibilities of training, experience, and personal growth. This exploratory study offers further evidence of the need to invest in mindfulness to foster resilience and academic performance and represents a first step for designing additional interventions on this line.
... Yet research shows that the opposite is often true. Many scholars show that sustainable lifestyles are closely linked to wellbeing (Ericson 2014;Brown and Kasser 2005;Amel et al. 2009). They are increasingly highlighting how individual wellbeing can mutually benefit ecological and collective wellbeing, rather than being incompatible with it (e.g., Brown and Kasser 2005;Jacob et al 2009). ...
The concept of sustainable lifestyles is said to have reached the limits of its usefulness. As commonly understood, it impedes an effective response to our increasingly complex world, and the associated societal challenges. In this context, the emerging paradigm of relationality might offer a way forward to renew our current understanding and approach. We explore this possibility in this study. First, we systematize if, and how, the current dominant social paradigm represents a barrier to sustainable lifestyles. Second, we analyze how a relational approach could help to overcome these barriers. On the basis of our findings, we develop a Relational Lifestyle Framework (RLF). Our aim is to advance the current knowledge by illustrating how sustainable lifestyles are a manifestation of identified patterns of thinking, being, and acting that are embedded in today’s “socioecological” realities. The RLF revitalizes the field of sustainable lifestyle change, as it offers a new understanding for further reflection, and provides new directions for policy and transformation research.
... This will in turn help to practice green behaviors within the organization in a tangible way. Amel et al. (2009) added that there exist laws to explore the environmental impact of companies and impose various obligations on it. However, these are not subjected to legislation while some employees' behavior in the organizations can contribute significantly towards the development of a sustainable environment. ...
The research aims at improving the employees' understanding about the moderating effect of green organizational behavior on the relationship between environmental leadership and entrepreneurial success, based for exploring opinions 874 employee, working at General Company for Southern Cement, Iraq. The results supported the hypotheses that entrepreneurial success is positively influenced by each environmental behavior that the leader adopts. The results also proved that the green organizational behavior exerted a positive effect on entrepreneurial success. In addition, the green organizational behavior exhibited a moderating effect on the nature of relationship between environmental leadership and entrepreneurial success. Thus, it can be inferred that this outcome contributes towards the improvement of giving importance to environmental behaviors which a leader should adopt. The research concluded with various insights that could create a great impact and pave the way for a sustainable future with regards to nature of relationship among the variables.
... Ultimately, people are more motivated and enthusiastic toward buying and using SHC from a CC perspective (Luo et al., 2020). Amel et al. (2009) concluded that mindful consumption would be more related to sustainable behavior. They investigated in their survey related to self-reported sustainable green behavior concerning "acting with awareness" (Jin et al., 2019). ...
Collaborative consumption proposes fruitful avenues to achieve profitability and ensure environmental sustainability, becoming a paramount global concern. In the current study, the purpose is to investigate and pick up the constructs of mindful consumption, ego-involvement, and social norms and determine the primary motivations for Chinese consumers to act sustainably. To investigate the moderating role of platform trust and the mediating role of impulsive buying tendency among the relationships of mindful consumption, ego-involvement, and social norms regarding buying second-hand clothing consumption intentions. PLS-SEM statistical approach has been used to investigate the model relationships by incorporating a two-step approach through the SmartPLS3 statistical package. Online survey methodology was adopted to collect data from Chinese buyers of second-hand clothing of Xian Yu and Zhuan Zhuan online platforms. The study has proved the significant impact of mindful consumption, ego-involvement, and social norms on buying intentions of second-hand clothing. Furthermore, the study also supported the moderating role of platform trust and mediating role of impulsive buying tendency. Although the moderating and mediating impact remain insignificant on mindful consumption, as perceived. Theoretical and practical implications are given in accordance with the study.
Purpose
This study aims to examine the effects of the characteristics of apparel professionals on their attitude toward sustainability-related technology in the context of a developing country, Bangladesh.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative approach was used to investigate the apparel professionals’ perception of sustainability-related technology. A survey was conducted, and 204 valid responses were used in data analysis. The structural equation modeling technique was used to analyze the data.
Findings
The findings demonstrate that apparel professionals’ personal innovativeness positively impacts their knowledge of apparel technology. Knowledge of apparel technology and environmental issues in apparel manufacturing both significantly and positively impact their level of awareness of sustainability-related technology in apparel manufacturing. The findings also suggest that managers’ level of awareness of sustainability-related technology has a significant positive impact on their attitude toward sustainability-related technology.
Originality/value
Fishbein’s attitude theory was applied to examine how the various characteristics of apparel professionals (i.e. personal innovativeness in technology, knowledge of apparel technology, knowledge of environmental issues of apparel manufacturing) affect their awareness of and attitude toward sustainability-related technology. This study expands our understanding of the causal flow among cognitive variables of apparel professionals, including their innovativeness, knowledge, awareness and attitudes. The findings of the study can be helpful to the apparel industry to improve apparel professionals’ adoption of sustainable technology.
Purpose
Managerial “awareness” of supply chain management (SCM) principles is a key antecedent of SCM adoption. However, supply chain awareness (SCA) provides fertile ground for further development. The authors combine extant research with the attention-based view of the firm to further develop SCA and theorize about its effect in an understudied context.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors combine SCA with supply chain orientation, of which awareness is central. The authors combine qualitative and archival data for a 10-year period to test SCA in nonprofits. SCA was measured unobtrusively to avoid respondent bias; then, the authors explore how SCA relates to revenue generation from services provided.
Findings
SCA correlates positively with revenue generation. Drawing on a contingency perspective, the authors test two moderators relevant to nonprofits. The positive effect of SCA on revenue is stronger for nonprofits collocated in cities with corporate headquarters but weaker for those with larger boards.
Research limitations/implications
The study further advances the notion of awareness for studying SCM phenomena and provides evidence of its relevance in the unexamined context of human services nonprofit organizations (NPOs). This work has implications for how attention to SCM principles shapes organizational outcomes, the factors that moderate these relationships and the importance of unobtrusively measuring awareness in SCM research. The authors used WayBack Machine to harvest websites. However, the quality and depth of text obtained prior to 2008 were lower than those of later years. Additionally, archival data for NPOs are limited.
Practical implications
Findings inform about the fit between nonprofit resources, type of board and fit with how to fund operations. This research provides an alternative way for policy makers to assess NPO capacity by focusing on the fundamental SCM concepts.
Social implications
The authors contribute to the dialogue about NPOs developing financial independence through revenue generation from services sold to end customers.
Originality/value
NPOs are seldom studied in SCM. This is an attempt to study NPOs by combining qualitative and quantitative data.
Climate change is a critical issue right now. Despite substantial work in academia examining this issue, more solutions are needed to encourage consumers to engage in more pro‐environmental behavior. In the current research, we explore the ability of awe, a unique and powerful self‐transcendent emotion, to motivate pro‐environmental behavior and green consumption. Using different methods to induce awe and assess the effect of awe on consumers' pro‐environmental behavior, we conducted three experimental studies. Across our studies, our results show that when consumers feel awe, they are more likely to engage in pro‐environmental behavior and consumption. Further, we distinguish among three kinds of awe (awe of nature, awe of God, and awe from man‐made wonders) and show that awe arising from nature and from God increases pro‐environmental behavior more than awe from man‐made wonders. In addition, a series of mediation analyses show that the effects distinguishing different sources of awe are best accounted for by different mediators rather than one common mediator; specifically these relationships are mediated by consumers' feelings of small self (i.e., diminished self‐concept) and their level of spirituality, respectively. Implications for how marketers and practitioners can best utilize the power of awe for encouraging pro‐environmental behavior are discussed.
Amaç –Bu çalışma, aşırı tüketimin olumsuz etkilerini azaltan bir tüketici özelliği olarak sunulan bilinçli farkındalıkla tüketim, azaltılmış tüketim davranışı ile tüketim ve maddi değerlerin odaklandığı bir yaklaşım olan materyalizm arasındaki ilişkiyi belirlemek için tasarlanmıştır.Yöntem –Araştırmada ilişkisel tarama araştırma modeli kullanılmıştır. ÇalışmaTürkiye'de yaşayan 18 yaş ve üzeri bireyleri kapsamaktadır. Çalışmanın örneklemini ülkenin farklı bölgelerinde yaşayan toplam 528 katılımcı oluşturmaktadır. Veriler kartopu örnekleme yöntemi kullanılarak 15.11.2021-30.12.2021 tarihleri arasında çevrimiçi anket yoluyla toplanmıştır. Anket, formu ücretsiz Google Forms yazılımı kullanılarak uygulanmıştır.Bulgular –Bilinçli farkındalık ile azaltılmış tüketim davranışı arasında pozitif yönde, bilinçli farkındalık ile materyalizm eğilimi arasında negatif yöndeve azaltılmış tüketim davranışı ile materyalizm eğilimi arasında negatif yönde istatistiksel olarak anlamlı derecede bir ilişki olduğu tespit edilmiştir.Tartışma –Aşırı tüketimle ve materyalizmle başa çıkmak için iki sürdürülebilir tüketim stratejisine (bilinçli farkındalık ve azaltılmış tüketim) dayanarak, bilinçli farkındalık ile azaltılmış tüketim ilişkisi incelenmiş, sürdürülebilir tüketim davranışlarını geliştirmek ve sürdürülemez tüketim tarzlarını azaltmak için farkındalık açısından psikolojik biryaklaşım sunulmuştur. Elde edilen sonuçlar, alan yazında yapılan diğer araştırmaların sonuçları ile benzerlik göstermektedir
This handbook is the first to comprehensively study the interdependent fields of environmental and conservation psychology. In doing so, it seeks to map the rapidly growing field of conservation psychology and its relationship to environmental psychology. The Oxford Handbook of Environmental and Conservation Psychology includes basic research on environmental perceptions, attitudes, and values; research on specific environments, such as therapeutic settings, schools, and prisons; environmental impacts on human well-being; and ways to promote a more sustainable relationship between people and the natural environment. This handbook presents an extensive review of current research and is a thorough guide to the state of knowledge about a wide range of topics at the intersection of psychology and the physical environment. Beyond this, it provides a better understanding of the relationship between environmental and conservation psychology, and some sense of the directions in which these interdependent areas of study are heading.
The natural environment is deteriorating. However, humans have not slowed down their pace of resource depletion and environmental destruction. This research takes a particular path to understanding environmental consumption—through a focus on temporal perspective. Evidence from six studies demonstrates the positive effect of a cyclical temporal perspective, versus a linear temporal perspective, on consumers’ pro-environmental behavior. The research shows that individuals with a cyclical perspective are more likely to include the environment in the self, which leads to higher pro-environmental behavioral intentions and more pro-environmental behavior. This temporal perspective effect is attenuated for consumers already high on green values. The authors also examine a marketer-controlled moderator and show that consumers are more likely to purchase a pro-environmental product when they see a temporal-perspective-congruent promotional appeal. The research contributes to both the time perception and the environmental consumption literature and offers several practical implications for organizations to promote sustainable consumer behavior.
Mindfulness is emerging as a contemplative tool that may positively influence consumers' preference for virtue food, thus supporting health and well‐being. However, it remains unclear which consumer groups may benefit the most from mindfulness. Previous research has demonstrated that consumers who experienced unpredictable environments in low socioeconomic households as children exhibit the likelihood of an adaptive chronic preference for vice food. Against this backdrop, the current research explores how mindfulness can support consumers who experienced low socioeconomic environments as children and further sheds light on the psychological mechanism, reduced impulsivity, for increased virtue food choice. This effect is tested across different manipulations of mindfulness and virtue food contexts. The research also introduces the unique mindfulness intervention of object visualization for helping stabilize the present‐moment for consumers. Overall, the findings show that mindfulness may be a potential solution to impulsivity and increase preference for virtue food, supporting consumers in health and well‐being.
A growing body of research suggests that there might be a strong link between (1) a specific way of applying a non-judgemental and present-centred attention to what seems to be an outer reality, known as mindfulness, (2) using emotion-regulation strategies (such as, for example, cognitive reappraisal) and (3) adopting a more sustainable lifestyle, implying a self-aware caring for the natural environment and the resources therein. The relationship between these factors, which we call here ‘the triple link’, has been supported by recent empirical data, from independent studies, using different approaches, across various disciplines. We present in this article a philosophical explanation of this relationship, based on the Ancient Stoic School of Philosophy, which can also be found in other ancient Western and Eastern philosophies. These reflections open a different perspective on the urgent issues of lifestyle change and behavioural interventions needed to cope with the potential environmental catastrophe, a perspective that reaches out of psychology and includes the metaphysical dimension in the understanding of people–environment relations.
On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organisation declared novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV2) an unprecedented global pandemic. Nearly every country across the globe is struggling to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus and to limit its health, societal and economic consequences. As a response to that, with almost immediate effect, students, teachers and workers in general and across the globe were thrown into a new scenario of online work and education. In the midst of this emotional climate laden with fear, uncertainty, sadness and anxiety, millions of students all over the world were confined to their homes and the entire educational community had to adapt to a distance education model. The same occured with workers of different disciplines; they have to balance work and life in the same place. Therefore, homes suddenly became schools, universities and workplaces all at the same time. Against this backdrop, this Special Issue focuses on the study, evaluation and analysis of the opportunities the pandemic offers in three related aspects: first, for building an education for sustainable development. Second, for creating decent working conditions. Finally, to enhance health and well-being both at the workplace and
at home. Authors from a range of disciplines, such as education, psychology, management, social sciences and other areas related to sustainable development, have contributed with differrent manuscripts. They address the challenges of studying, working and living in times of uncertainty in order to build sustainable development in those areas from theoretical and applied research.
Purpose
This study analyzed the relationships among sub-factors of mindfulness and two anti-consumption lifestyles caused by personal and social/environmental concerns. This study also investigated the pursuit of authenticity mediating this relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey based on self-administered questionnaires and structural equation modeling was used to analyze the collected data via Statistical Product Service Solutions (SPSS) 23 and Analysis of MOment Structure (AMOS) 23. Multiple mediation analysis was adopted to investigate the mediating role of authenticity dimensions via SPSS PROCESS macro.
Findings
The relationship between mindfulness and anti-consumption behavior was generally positive. Except for describing and non-judgment, most facets of mindfulness were positively related to anti-consumption patterns. Only the indirect effect of authentic living (AL) was significant in the impact of mindfulness on anti-consumption behavior.
Originality/value
To the authors' knowledge, this study is the first to examine the link between mindfulness and anti-consumption and potential mechanism of anti-consumption – authenticity seeking, extending knowledge about mindfulness and providing insights for environmentalists, public decision-makers, marketers and consumers.
The interventions derived from the findings of environmental psychology are usually only effective on a specific behavioral level and address cognitive processes that are not sufficiently effective for changing lifestyles. Moreover, they only address the existing needs of the identified target groups. What is missing so far are environmental psychological theoretical approaches that support a comprehensive social-ecological transformation. To achieve this goal, the psychological resources approach from health psychology and positive psychology is transferred to sustainable psychology. Based on empirical findings on psychological well-being and life satisfaction, six psychological resources are identified that promote both subjective well-being and sustainable behavior: mindfulness, capacity for pleasure, self-acceptance, self-efficacy, construction of meaning, and solidarity. Psychological resources do not immediately induce sustainable behavior, but initiate processes of reflection and experience that lead to long-term clarification of values and goals. Psychological resources set in motion upward spirals towards sustainable lifestyles and reinforce each other like interconnected elements in a dynamic network. The overall activation of this network thereby corresponds to the strength of the motivation for a sustainable lifestyle.KeywordsSustainable lifestylePleasure-goal regulation-meaning theoryHedonismEudaimonismMarketing modeTransformation modePositive psychologyPsychological resourcesWell-beingLife satisfactionMindfulnessCapacity for pleasureSelf-acceptanceSelf-efficacyMeaningSolidarityUpward spiralsBroaden-and-build theoryHealth pathwayValue activation pathwayLifestyle of Voluntary Simplicity (LOVOS)
Mindfulness has recently been identified as an antecedent of proenvironmental behavior. This study aims to consolidate and expand recent research findings by suggesting that mindfulness is associated with proenvironmental behavior through cognitive reappraisal and climate change awareness. Our findings showed that mindfulness correlated with proenvironmental behavior through both cognitive reappraisal and climate change awareness. Moreover, nature connectedness was found to negatively moderate this relationship: for individuals with greater levels of nature connectedness, the influence of mindfulness on proenvironmental behavior was diminished. Theoretical and practical implications of our findings are discussed.
Purpose
Limited research efforts have been undertaken despite the pivotal role of employees' voluntary behaviours in the success of organizations' environmental sustainability programs. In this context, the present study examined the association between employee's mindfulness (EM) and voluntary pro-environmental behaviour (VPEB) at the workplace, and also the mediating effect of connectedness to nature (CNS) on this relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
Grounded in the re-perceiving theory, a model was developed with EM as an independent variable, CNS as the mediator and employees VPEB at the workplace as the dependent variable. Based on the online responses from 421 employees working in manufacturing as well as services sectors in India, analysis was undertaken by utilizing confirmatory factor analysis, Pearson correlation and the PROCESS macro of Hayes (2017).
Findings
EM was noted to be positively influencing employee's VPEB at the workplace, and the mediation analysis indicated that CNS partially intervenes in this relationship.
Practical implications
Corporate leaders striving to achieve the organization's environmental sustainability goals could strive to build a pro-environment culture at the workplace by developing employees' mindfulness and sense of CNS. As the findings have depicted, this would positively influence employee's VPEB at the workplace which in turn will help organizations in achieving their environmental sustainability goals.
Originality/value
This study is the first to examine how EM through CNS motivates employees to engage in VPEB, especially in the organizations' context. Moreover, the re-perceiving theory of mindfulness was also extended in the organizations' environmental sustainability context.
The chapter relates climate change and sustainability to psycho-spiritual reality with the aim to strengthen behavioural adaptation to changing climatic scenario. It starts with philosophical and psycho-spiritual basis of sustainability, taking into consideration the inner world and role of contemplative practices like mindfulness and spiritual intelligence to establish the human–sustainability connect which can possibly result in behavioural transformation for sustainability and climate change adaptation. It has been explained through enhancing the knowledge base in psycho-spiritual systems; ways to overcome the psychological barriers to climate change adaptation and sustainability management and developing the capacity to address climate change linked adversities through mindfulness and other socio-behavioural techniques. Further, application of psycho-spiritual concepts is explained through Positive Psychology concepts along with their implications to benefit the environment and sustainable living.
Dünyada yıllarca yaşanan aşırı tüketim eğilimi, doğal çevrenin yıpranmasına sebep verdiğinden insanoğluna büyük bir tehdit oluşturmaktadır. Söz konusu tahribatın her geçen gün artıyor olmasının olumsuz sonuçları günümüzde iyice hissedilir hale gelmiştir. Covid-19 salgını, iklim krizi, vb., felaketler tüketicilerde eskiden olmadığı kadar fazla bir şekilde gelecek kaygısı yaratmaya başlamış ve buna bağlı olarak sürdürülebilirlik konusunda daha duyarlı hale gelmelerine sebep olmuştur. Tüketicilerin sürdürülebilirlik konusundaki beklentileri sadece devlet ve işletmeler ile sınırlı kalmamış, ayrıca kendi bireysel tüketimlerini ve yaşam tarzlarını da gözden geçirmelerine sebep olmuştur. Tüm bunlar dikkate alındığında gelecek kaygısının akademik çalışmalarda yeterince ele alınmamış olması şaşırtıcı bir durumdur. Gelecek kaygısının ayrıca tüketim, marka tutumu ve satın alma niyeti ile ilişkilerinin incelenmemiş olması literatürde büyük bir boşluk yaratmaktadır. Buradan hareketle çalışmanın amacı, gelecek kaygısının sürdürülebilir tüketim bilincine ve her ikisinin marka tutumu ve satın alma niyetine etkilerinin incelenmesidir. Çalışmada 414 Arçelik kullanıcısı üzerinden kolayda örnekleme yoluyla, çevrimiçi anket uygulanarak veri toplanmıştır. Yapısal Eşitlik Modellemesi analizi sonucuna göre gelecek kaygısının sürdürülebilir tüketim bilinci üzerinde, sürdürülebilir tüketim bilincinin marka tutumu üzerinde, marka tutumunun ise satın alma niyeti üzerinde anlamlı etkileri bulunmuş fakat gelecek kaygısı ve sürdürülebilir tüketim bilincinin satın alma niyeti üzerinde doğrudan bir etkisi saptanmamıştır.
Current patterns of meat consumption are considered to be unsustainable. Sustainable development may require that consumers choose to eat smaller quantities of meat as well as meat that is produced in a more sensible way. A policy tool directed at consumer behaviour is that of enhancing consumer-oriented transparency of the production chain. Transparency is expected to allow people to make more mindful consumption choices, in line with their personal values. As most dietary habits are deeply rooted in the past, an assessment of the effect of transparency on food choices requires a historical perspective to food culture. Such a perspective provides us with at least two trends of relevance to meat consumption: increased concern for animal welfare and an ongoing dissociation of meat from its animal origin. Combined, these two trends may interact to allow people to consume in ways that actually conflict with their personal values: their concern for animal welfare does not translate into corresponding food choices, as the product meat does not remind them of its animal origin. An experiment was designed to test the hypothesis that people sensitive to animal welfare will respond to increased salience of animal origin and of animal welfare, and that they will show this by either avoiding to buy meat or by favouring free range and organic meat. Results confirmed the expected effect. The effect was observed mainly among those with Universalistic values, which limits the ultimate prospects of transparency as a policy tool.
Habits are response dispositions that are activated automatically by the context cues that co-occurred with responses during past performance. Experience-sampling diary studies indicate that much of everyday action is characterized by habitual repetition. We consider various mechanisms that could underlie the habitual control of action, and we conclude that direct cuing and motivated contexts best account for the characteristic features of habit responding—in particular, for the rigid repetition of action that can be initiated without intention and that runs to completion with minimal conscious control. We explain the utility of contemporary habit research for issues central to psychology, especially for behavior prediction, behavior change, and self-regulation.
Numerous theoretical frameworks have been developed to explain the gap between the possession of environmental knowledge and environmental awareness, and displaying pro-environmental behavior. Although many hundreds of studies have been undertaken, no definitive explanation has yet been found. Our article describes a few of the most influential and commonly used analytical frameworks: early US linear progression models; altruism, empathy and prosocial behavior models; and finally, sociological models. All of the models we discuss (and many of the ones we do not such as economic models, psychological models that look at behavior in general, social marketing models and that have become known as deliberative and inclusionary processes or procedures (DIPS)) have some validity in certain circumstances. This indicates that the question of what shapes pro-environmental behavior is such a complex one that it cannot be visualized through one single framework or diagram. We then analyze the factors that have been found to have some influence, positive or negative, on pro-environmental behavior such as demographic factors, external factors (e.g. institutional, economic, social and cultural) and internal factors (e.g. motivation, pro-environmental knowledge, awareness, values, attitudes, emotion, locus of control, responsibilities and priorities). Although we point out that developing a model that tries to incorporate all factors might neither be feasible nor useful, we feel that it can help illuminate this complex field. Accordingly, we propose our own model based on the work of Fliegenschnee and Schelakovsky (1998) who were influenced by Fietkau and Kessel (1981).
Tested the 2-process theory of detection, search, and attention presented by the current authors (1977) in a series of experiments. The studies (a) demonstrate the qualitative difference between 2 modes of information processing: automatic detection and controlled search; (b) trace the course of the learning of automatic detection, of categories, and of automatic-attention responses; and (c) show the dependence of automatic detection on attending responses and demonstrate how such responses interrupt controlled processing and interfere with the focusing of attention. The learning of categories is shown to improve controlled search performance. A general framework for human information processing is proposed. The framework emphasizes the roles of automatic and controlled processing. The theory is compared to and contrasted with extant models of search and attention. (31/2 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
What was noted by E. J. Langer (1978) remains true today: that much of contemporary psychological research is based on the assumption that people are consciously and systematically processing incoming information in order to construe and interpret their world and to plan and engage in courses of action. As did Langer, the authors question this assumption. First, they review evidence that the ability to exercise such conscious, intentional control is actually quite limited, so that most of moment-to-moment psychological life must occur through nonconscious means if it is to occur at all. The authors then describe the different possible mechanisms that produce automatic, environmental control over these various phenomena and review evidence establishing both the existence of these mechanisms as well as their consequences for judgments, emotions, and behavior. Three major forms of automatic self-regulation are identified: an automatic effect of perception on action, automatic goal pursuit, and a continual automatic evaluation of one's experience. From the accumulating evidence, the authors conclude that these various nonconscious mental systems perform the lion's share of the self-regulatory burden, beneficently keeping the individual grounded in his or her current environment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
In this chapter I explain how the cultivation of mindfulness may serve as an antidote to consumerism. This argument hinges on two key points. First, advertisers and corporations capitalize on powerful psychological processes to strengthen automaticity in consumer behavior. Mindfulness may enhance one's awareness of potentially accessible cognitive-behavioral processes underlying consumption that have become relatively automatic. It can make consumption more a matter of choice than of impulse clouded by the illusion of choice. Second, these nonconscious choices about consumption are driven by a need for fulfillment. Mindfulness might remedy the need for fulfillment that is endemic in modern society, not only by enhancing awareness but also by increasing interrelatedness among people. Thus, the cultivation of mindfulness is offered as a prescription for reducing the destructive effects of consumerism in our society because it can alert us to how we are manipulated to buy particular products, increase our awareness of the implications of consumerism in the world, and facilitate connection among people. I conclude the chapter by outlining an empirical agenda for exploring this largely unresearched area. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
There has been substantial interest in mindfulness as an approach to reduce cognitive vulnerability to stress and emotional distress in recent years. However, thus far mindfulness has not been defined operationally. This paper describes the results of recent meetings held to establish a consensus on mindfulness and to develop conjointly a testable operational definition. We propose a two-component model of mindfulness and specify each component in terms of specific behaviors, experiential manifestations, and implicated psychological processes. We then address issues regarding temporal stability and situational specificity and speculate on the conceptual and operational distinctiveness of mindfulness. We conclude this paper by discussing implications for instrument development and briefly describing our own approach to measurement.
Happiness and ecological well-being are often portrayed as conflictual pursuits, but they may actually be complementary. In
samples of adolescents (Study 1) and adults (Study 2), we tested this proposition and examined the role of three factors in
promoting both subjective well-being (SWB) and ecologically responsible behavior (ERB). In both studies, individuals higher
in SWB reported more ERB. An intrinsic value orientation (Studies 1 and 2) and dispositional mindfulness (Study 2) related
to higher SWB and ERB, while a lifestyle of voluntary simplicity (Study 2) related to higher ERB. Further analyses showed
that the compatibility of SWB and ERB was explained by intrinsic values and mindfulness. These findings offer clues to a sustainable
way of life that enhances both personal and collective well-being.
Discusses the cognitive and the psychophysical determinants of choice in risky and riskless contexts. The psychophysics of value induce risk aversion in the domain of gains and risk seeking in the domain of losses. The psychophysics of chance induce overweighting of sure things and of improbable events, relative to events of moderate probability. Decision problems can be described or framed in multiple ways that give rise to different preferences, contrary to the invariance criterion of rational choice. The process of mental accounting, in which people organize the outcomes of transactions, explains some anomalies of consumer behavior. In particular, the acceptability of an option can depend on whether a negative outcome is evaluated as a cost or as an uncompensated loss. The relationships between decision values and experience values and between hedonic experience and objective states are discussed. (27 ref)
This article argues that research on the work-family interface has evolved against a backdrop of dramatic and ongoing social and workplace change and must continue to reflect current and future context. The article overviews current trends that have implications for work and family and considers some possible future scenarios. It identifies a number of research areas and questions that build on previous theoretical and practical developments in the work-family field and reflect current trends. It is argued that questions about the well-being and sustainability of workplace human resources, of families in their diverse forms, and of communities are of overriding significance for the work-family research agenda, particularly if current trends continue unabated.
Mindfulness is an attribute of consciousness long believed to promote well-being. This research provides a theoretical and empirical examination of the role of mindfulness in psychological well-being. The development and psychometric properties of the dispositional Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) are described. Correlational, quasi-experimental, and laboratory studies then show that the MAAS measures a unique quality of consciousness that is related to a variety of well-being constructs, that differentiates mindfulness practitioners from others, and that is associated with enhanced self-awareness. An experience-sampling study shows that both dispositional and state mindfulness predict self-regulated behavior and positive emotional states. Finally, a clinical intervention study with cancer patients demonstrates that increases in mindfulness over time relate to declines in mood disturbance and stress.
A self-report inventory for the assessment of mindfulness skills was developed, and its psychometric characteristics and relationships with other constructs were examined. Participants included three samples of undergraduate students and a sample of outpatients with borderline personality disorder Based on discussions of mindfulness in the current literature, four mindfulness skills were specified: observing, describing, acting with awareness, and accepting without judgment. Scales designed to measure each skill were developed and evaluated. Results showed good internal consistency and test-retest reliability and a clear factor structure. Most expected relationships with other constructs were significant. Findings suggest that mindfulness skills are differentially related to aspects of personality and mental health, including neuroticism, psychological symptoms, emotional intelligence, alexithymia, experiential avoidance, dissociation, and absorption.
A growing literature on decision making in older adults suggests that they are more likely to use heuristic processing than
are younger adults. We assessed this tendency in the context of a framing effect, a decision-making phenomenon whereby the
language used to describe options greatly influences the decision maker's choice. We compared decision making under a standard
(“heuristic”) condition and also under a “justification” condition known to reduce reliance on heuristics. In the standard
condition, older adults were more susceptible than younger adults to framing but the two groups did not differ when participants
were asked to provide a justification. Thus, although older adults may spontaneously rely more on heuristic processing than
younger adults, they can be induced to take a more systematic approach to decision making.
The authors examine the facet structure of mindfulness using five recently developed mindfulness questionnaires. Two large samples of undergraduate students completed mindfulness questionnaires and measures of other constructs. Psychometric properties of the mindfulness questionnaires were examined, including internal consistency and convergent and discriminant relationships with other variables. Factor analyses of the combined pool of items from the mindfulness questionnaires suggested that collectively they contain five clear, interpretable facets of mindfulness. Hierarchical confirmatory factor analyses suggested that at least four of the identified factors are components of an overall mindfulness construct and that the factor structure of mindfulness may vary with meditation experience. Mindfulness facets were shown to be differentially correlated in expected ways with several other constructs and to have incremental validity in the prediction of psychological symptoms. Findings suggest that conceptualizing mindfulness as a multifaceted construct is helpful in understanding its components and its relationships with other variables.
Clinical psychology has focused primarily on the diagnosis and treatment of mental disease, and only recently has scientific attention turned to understanding and cultivating positive mental health. The Buddhist tradition, on the other hand, has focused for over 2,500 years on cultivating exceptional states of mental well-being as well as identifying and treating psychological problems. This article attempts to draw on centuries of Buddhist experiential and theoretical inquiry as well as current Western experimental research to highlight specific themes that are particularly relevant to exploring the nature of mental health. Specifically, the authors discuss the nature of mental well-being and then present an innovative model of how to attain such well-being through the cultivation of four types of mental balance: conative, attentional, cognitive, and affective.
The underlying changes in biological processes that are associated with reported changes in mental and physical health in response to meditation have not been systematically explored. We performed a randomized, controlled study on the effects on brain and immune function of a well-known and widely used 8-week clinical training program in mindfulness meditation applied in a work environment with healthy employees.
We measured brain electrical activity before and immediately after, and then 4 months after an 8-week training program in mindfulness meditation. Twenty-five subjects were tested in the meditation group. A wait-list control group (N = 16) was tested at the same points in time as the meditators. At the end of the 8-week period, subjects in both groups were vaccinated with influenza vaccine.
We report for the first time significant increases in left-sided anterior activation, a pattern previously associated with positive affect, in the meditators compared with the nonmeditators. We also found significant increases in antibody titers to influenza vaccine among subjects in the meditation compared with those in the wait-list control group. Finally, the magnitude of increase in left-sided activation predicted the magnitude of antibody titer rise to the vaccine.
These findings demonstrate that a short program in mindfulness meditation produces demonstrable effects on brain and immune function. These findings suggest that meditation may change brain and immune function in positive ways and underscore the need for additional research.
The present study examined moderating effects of mindfulness on the intention-behavior relationship within the theory of planned behavior. Mindfulness describes a quality of consciousness characterized by heightened clarity and awareness of present experiences and functioning. Study 1 showed that mindfulness moderated the intention-behavior relationship in a leisure-time physical activity context such that intentions predicted physical activity among mindful individuals and not among less-mindful individuals. Study 2 measured counterintentional habits relating to binge-drinking and found that habitual binge-drinking obstructed the enactment of physical activity intentions among individuals acting less mindfully but not among individuals acting mindfully. Finally, Studies 1 and 2 demonstrated that the effects of mindfulness on physical activity were independent of effects observed for habit and variables contained in the theory of planned behavior. These findings suggest that mindfulness is a useful construct that helps understand the intention-behavior relationship within the theory of planned behavior.
What was noted by E. J. Langer (1978) remains true today; that much of contemporary psychological research is based on the assumption that people are consciously and systematically processing incoming information in order to construe and interpret their world and to plan and engage in courses of action. As did E. J. Langer, the authors question this assumption. First, they review evidence that the ability to exercise such conscious, intentional control is actually quite limited, so that most of moment-to-moment psychological life must occur through nonconscious means if it is to occur at all. The authors then describe the different possible mechanisms that produce automatic, environmental control over these various phenomena and review evidence establishing both the existence of these mechanisms as well as their consequences for judgments, emotions, and behavior. Three major forms of automatic self-regulation are identified: an automatic effect of perception on action, automatic goal pursuit, and a continual automatic evaluation of one's experience. From the accumulating evidence, the authors conclude that these various nonconscious mental systems perform the lion's share of the self-regulatory burden, beneficently keeping the individual grounded in his or her current environment.
This article addresses the question: How should mindfulness be understood? Three views are considered. The first is that mindfulness should be understood as a cognitive ability. According to this view, people differ in their capacity to think in a mindful way, much as people differ in memory or intelligence. The second view is of mindfulness as a personality trait. According to this view, mindfulness is a stable disposition, much as would be extraversion or neuroticism. The third view is of mindfulness as a cognitive style. According to this view, mindfulness represents a preferred way of thinking. Mindfulness has characteristics of all three but seems closest to being a cognitive style. Construct validation is needed in order to address this and related questions.
Despite the wealth of information which exists concerning environmental behavior, it is not known which variable or variables appear to be most influential in motivating individuals to take responsible environmental action. A meta-analysis of environmental behavior research was undertaken in an attempt to determine this. An exhaustive search of the empirically based environmental behavior research conducted over the past decade yielded a substantial number of studies representative of a broad academic base. The characteristics and findings of these studies served as the data for the meta-analysis. As a result of the meta-analysis, the following variables were found to be associated with responsible environmental behavior: knowledge of issues, knowledge of action strategies, locus of control, attitudes, verbal commitment, and an individual's sense of responsibility. A model of predictors of environmental behavior is proposed.
Contextualizing the back-to-the-land experience with mindfulness, a variant of meditative phenomena, within deep ecology's contention that humankind requires a fundamental shift in consciousness in order to insure ecological sustainability, this study compares and contrasts those variables that explain variance in mindfulness, operationalized as a quasi-religious indicator, with those that explain variance in church attendance, a measure of formal religious behavior. Drawing on a national sample for a mailed questionnaire survey of back-to-the-landers, the study found that the predictor variables for mindfulness share little overlap with those that explain variance for church attendance. The exception is spiritual mindedness, itself a quasi-religious measure, which has a statistically significant relationship with both mindfulness and church attendance. The data suggest, then, that the religious and the quasi-religious are relatively independent spheres of human behavior and sentiment. It would appear, consequently, at least in terms of the back-to-the-land sample and the assumptions of deep ecology, that the adherents of organized religion are not as likely to be disposed towards ecologically sustainable frames of mind as those who center their spirituality on quasi-religious practices such as mindfulness.
A model of travel mode choice is tested by means of a survey among 199 inhabitants of a village. Car choice behavior for a particular journey is predicted from the attitude toward choosing the car and the attitude toward choosing an alternative mode (i.e., train), on the one hand, and from general car habit, on the other hand. Unlike traditional measures of habit, a script-based measure was used. General habit was measured by travel mode choices in response to very global descriptions of imaginary journeys. In the model, habit is predicted from the degree of involvement with the decision-making about travel mode choice for the particular journey (decisional involvement) and from the degree of competition in a household with respect to car use. The model proves satisfactory. Moreover, as suggested by Triandis (1977), there is a tradeoff between attitude and habit in the prediction of behavior: When habit is strong the attitude-behavior relation is weak, whereas when habit is weak, the attitude-behavior link is strong.
This article develops a conceptual framework for advancing theories of environ- mentally significant individual behavior and reports on the attempts of the author's research group and others to develop such a theory. It discusses defini- tions of environmentally significant behavior; classifies the behaviors and their causes; assesses theories of environmentalism, focusing especially on value-belief-norm theory; evaluates the relationship between environmental concern and behavior; and summarizes evidence on the factors that determine environmentally significant behaviors and that can effectively alter them. The article concludes by presenting some major propositions supported by available research and some principles for guiding future research and informing the design of behavioral programs for environmental protection. Recent developments in theory and research give hope for building the under- standing needed to effectively alter human behaviors that contribute to environ- mental problems. This article develops a conceptual framework for the theory of environmentally significant individual behavior, reports on developments toward such a theory, and addresses five issues critical to building a theory that can inform efforts to promote proenvironmental behavior.
How do we live in a material world that measures success by what we own? How do we deal with the pressure to compete with others in displays of our success? This is a book about the social disease of acquisitive desire for material things corporeal and intangible. The themes covered include what acquisitive desire means in people's lives, how therapists and therapy are treated as possessions, clinical identification and diagnosis of consumer disorders that become the primary or secondary focus of treatment, interventions and clinical issues involved in working with those who suffer the effects of an excessively materialistic lifestyle, and the way therapists, as members of a bourgeois profession, struggle with their own acquisitive desires. The author seeks not to encourage people to give up all attachment to things, but to reduce the degree to which they are controlled by them. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Examined the relative contribution of 8 variables in predicting responsible environmental behavior in 105 Sierra Club members (aged 35–45 yrs) and 66 Elderhostel members (aged 55+ yrs). Ss completed an assessment instrument that covered environmental behavior, sensitivity, and awareness. Seven variables were found to be statistically significant: (1) level of environmental sensitivity, (2) perceived knowledge of environmental action strategies, (3) perceived skill in using environmental action strategies, (4) psychological sex role classification, (5) individual locus of control, (6) group locus of control, and (7) attitude toward pollution. The 1 nonsignificant variable was belief in technology. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
In his latest book Theodore Roszak searches for the environmental dimensions of sanity where conventional psychology leaves off: at the threshold of the nonhuman world.
"The Voice of the Earth" seeks to bridge this centuries-old split between the psychological and the ecological. A true "ecopsychology," Roszak insists, sees the needs of the planet and the needs of the person as a continuum. In a sense that weaves science and psychiatry, poetry and politics together, he shows that the ecological priorities of the biosphere are coming to be expressed through our most private emotional and spiritual travail. The Earth's cry for rescue from the punishing weight of the industrial system we have created is our own cry for a scale and quality of life that will free us to become the whole and healthy person that more and more members of our species are coming to believe we were born to be. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This article addresses the question: How should mindfulness be understood? Three views are considered. The first is that mindfulness should be understood as a cognitive ability. According to this view, people differ in their capacity to think in a mindful way, much as people differ in memory or intelligence. The second view is of mindfulness as a personality trait. According to this view, mindfulness is a stable disposition, much as would be extraversion or neuroticism. The third view is of mindfulness as a cognitive style. According to this view, mindfulness represents a preferred way of thinking. Mindfulnesshas characteristics of all three but seems closest to being a cognitive style. Construct validation is needed in order to address this and related questions.
Attitudes toward global warming are influenced by various heuristics, which may distort policy away from what is optimal for the well-being of people. These possible distortions, or biases, include: a focus on harms that we cause, as opposed to those that we can remedy more easily; a feeling that those who cause a problem should fix it; a desire to undo a problem rather than compensate for its presence; parochial concern with one’s own group (nation); and neglect of risks that are not available. Although most of these biases tend to make us attend relatively too much to global warming, other biases, such as wishful thinking, cause us to attend too little. I discuss these possible effects and illustrate some of them with an experiment conducted on the World Wide Web.
Environmental interpretation, a key concept in the literature on environmental education, has usually been studied in relation to visitor centres at national parks and historic sites. This article reported a secondary data analysis of material originally collected by the Countryside Commission on 17 British visitor centres. The aims of the current research were to explore more fully the relationships among key variables related to environmental interpretation; namely visitor enjoyment, visitors' information recall, visitor mindfulness and visitors' own beliefs in how much they had learned. Using a series of partial correlation coefficients, it was concluded that the link between visitors' information recall and enjoyment across all the centres was minimal, and that this relationship was not being suppressed appreciably by confounding visitor and centre characteristics. Further analyses revealed a moderate positive correlation between visitor enjoyment and mindfulness, thus indicating that visitors were being mentally stimulated by their experience in. a more general way. A multidimensional scaling analysis of visitors' reactions to the 17 centres produced a two-dimensional solution which could be interpreted in terms of the interpretive theme at each centre and the quality and diversity of the displays. Finally, cross-tabulations revealed a relationship between interpretive theme (historic and conservation as opposed to general) and visitors' mindfulness, increased information recall and enhanced perception of how much they had learned.
Previous research has shown that implementation intentions are effective tools to promote new behavior. The present study aimed to provide the first evidence that conscious planning is an effective tool in replacing well-learned habits with new habits. This was tested in a field-experiment on repetitive behavior in the domain of recycling, using 109 employees of a tele-company as participants. Recycling behavior of the participants was observed by the actual amount of paper and the number of plastic cups in their personal wastebaskets. Following a pre-measure, participants were assigned to either implementation intention conditions, conditions in which an eye-catching facility was placed to promote recycling behavior, or control conditions. Recycling behavior was substantially improved in the facility as well as the implementation intention conditions in week 1 and week 2 and still 2 months after the manipulation. These data supported our hypothesis that planning breaks down unwanted habits and creates new ones.
We extended the prototype model Gibbons and Gerrard to examine the disparity between professed environmental concerns and behavior. Our model assumed that there are two decision processes: a reactive process involving unintentional decision-making based on situational factors, and an intentional process involving goal-oriented decision-making based on attitudinal factors. A questionnaire about recycling behavior was completed by 206 Japanese undergraduate students. The results indicated that the prototype image and descriptive norm were determinants of the reactive process to accept eco-unfriendly behavior. In contrast, environmental concern and the injunctive norm were determinants of the intentional process to promote eco-friendly behavior. Our model suggests that eco-friendly behavior may be inhibited or promoted depending upon whether the reactive process or the intentional process is more salient.
The study of heuristics and biases in judgement has been criticized in several publications by G. Gigerenzer, who argues that "biases are not biases" and "heuristics are meant to explain what does not exist" (1991, p. 102). The article responds to Gigerenzer's critique and shows that it misrepresents the authors' theoretical position and ignores critical evidence. Contrary to Gigerenzer's central empirical claim, judgments of frequency--not only subjective probabilities--are susceptible to large and systematic biases. A postscript responds to Gigerenzer's (1996) reply.