Social cognitive theory and pro-environmental behavior : review and suggestions

• Main Authors: Goh, Pamela Pei Lin, Perez, Randolph Aragon, Quek, Xavier Jia Jing
• Other Authors: Gerrit Maus
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2020
• Subjects: Social sciences::Psychology
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/139206
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Climate change is aubiquitous and alarming threat. Much effort has been put into increasing individuals’ awareness of climate change and, to some extent, what can be done to mitigate it. Several theories—Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), Norm Activation Model (NAM), Value-Belief-Norm Theory (VBN), and Social Cognitive Theory (SCT)—were reviewed. These theories have attempted to explain and delineate the factors of pro-environmental behavior (PEB) with limited success. However, empirical evidence suggests research gaps that are still prevalent in this field of research. The authors investigated these research gaps andhave proposed the use of SCT to address some of these existing gaps. The theoretical components of SCT were reviewed and discussed. The authors corroborated Bandura’s (1986) SCT, which was used to structure potential interventions to promote individuals’ belief and intention to engage in PEB. Therefore, recommendations for theoretical implications and practical applications such as gamification and modeling through the various mass media platforms were proposed based on the theoretical framework of SCT in promoting PEB. The limitations of the use of SCT and the challenges that researchers, practitioners, and other stakeholders in this field might potentially face in the implementation of the proposed interventions are discussed as well.