Not that different after all
Pro‐environmental social norms predict pro‐environmental behaviour (also) among those believing in conspiracy theories
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9619909 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Kevin Winter (0000-0002-9201-2986, University of Hohenheim Stuttgart Germany, corresponding author), Lotte Pummerer (0000-0002-4859-6849, University of Bremen Bremen Germany), Kai Sassenberg (0000-0001-6579-8250, Leibniz Institute for Psychology Trier Germany) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Publication date | 2025-09-15 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | British Journal of Psychology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0007-1269 • E-ISSN: 2044-8295 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/bjop.70030 |
| PMID | 40955062 |
| OpenAlex | W4414252720 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 92 |
Social norms are powerful predictors of pro‐environmental behaviour. At the same time, conspiracy beliefs are prevalent that can reduce individuals' efforts to act pro‐environmentally and might impede the influence of social norms. Across three cross‐sectional studies in three countries (Germany, UK, US; total N = 1037), we investigated the interplay between different types of social norm perceptions and conspiracy beliefs in predicting everyday pro‐environmental behaviour. Against two out of three hypotheses, we found no evidence that conspiracy beliefs moderated the relationship between perceived social norms and self‐reported pro‐environmental behaviour. Rather, perceiving higher pro‐environmental social (especially subjective and injunctive) norms was associated with more frequent pro‐environmental behaviour – also among those with stronger conspiracy beliefs. Conspiracy beliefs (especially those related to climate change) were, in turn, related to less pro‐environmental behaviour. These findings shed light on the social factors that might influence individuals believing in conspiracy theories and give reason for optimism regarding the possibility to overcome their climate inaction via normative influence
Norm (philosophy) · Normative · Normative social influence · Optimism · Perception · Social norms approach · Social perception · Environmental Education and Sustainability · Misinformation and Its Impacts · Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment
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| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |