Strength from the Past: How Nostalgia and Self-Construal Affect Consumers’ Willingness to Continue Participating in Sustainable Behaviors — Oak Academic Publishing
Research ArticleOpen AccessGoogle Scholar indexed
Strength from the Past: How Nostalgia and Self-Construal Affect Consumers’ Willingness to Continue Participating in Sustainable Behaviors
School of Management, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
1 School of Management, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
Solving environmental problems is important for the sustainable development of human beings. And consumers play a key role in solving environmental problems. However, there are many challenges in promoting consumers’ participation in sustainable behaviors, such as “green fatigue”, ego-others trade-off, and “long-term perspective”. Starting from how to enable consumers to overcome challenges and participate more in sustainable behaviors, this research focused on the impact of cognition and emotion on sustainable consumption behaviors. More specifically, this research mainly explored how arousing consumers’ nostalgia will affect their continuous participation in sustainable consumption behaviors. Through three studies, current research found that nostalgia affects consumers’ willingness to participate in sustainable consumption behaviors, while nostalgia type and self-construal interact to influence consumers’ willingness to participate in sustainable consumption behavior, and collective efficacy and personal efficacy play a mediation role respectively.
Aaker, J. L. (2000). Accessibility or Diagnosticity? Disentangling the Influence of Culture on Persuasion Processes and Attitudes. Journal of Consumer Research, 26, 340-357. https://doi.org/10.1086/209567
Aaker, J. L., & Lee, A. Y. (2001). “I” Seek Pleasures and “We” Avoid Pains: The Role of Self-Regulatory Goals in Information Processing and Persuasion. Journal of Consumer Research, 28, 33-49. https://doi.org/10.1086/321946
Aaker, J. L., & Williams, P. (1998). Empathy versus Pride: The Influence of Emotional Appeals across Cultures. Journal of Consumer Research, 25, 241-261. https://doi.org/10.1086/209537
Abeyta, A. A., Routledge, C., Roylance, C., Wildschut, T., & Sedikides, C. (2015). Attachment-Related Avoidance and the Social and Agentic Content of Nostalgic Memories. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 32, 406-413. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407514533770
Arnocky, S., Stroink, M., & DeCicco, T. (2007). Self-Construal Predicts Environmental Concern, Cooperation, and Conservation. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 27, 255-264. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2007.06.005
Baker, S. M., & Kennedy, P. F. (1994). Death by Nostalgia: A Diagnosis of Context-Specific Cases. Advances in Consumer Research, 21, 169-174.
Bandura, A., & Locke, E. A. (2003). Negative Self-Efficacy and Goal Effects Revisited. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88, 87-99. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.88.1.87
Banerjee, S., Gulas, C. S., & Iyer, E. (1995). Shades of Green: A Multidimensional Analysis of Environmental Advertising. Journal of Advertising, 24, 21-31. https://doi.org/10.1080/00913367.1995.10673473
Belk, R. W. (1988). Possessions and the Extended Self. Journal of Consumer Research, 15, 139-168. https://doi.org/10.1086/209154
Bissing-Olson, M. J., Fielding, K. S., & Iyer, A. (2016). Experiences of Pride, Not Guilt, Predict Pro-Environmental Behavior When Pro-Environmental Descriptive Norms Are More Positive. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 45, 145-153. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2016.01.001
Brewer, M. B., & Gardner, W. (1996). Who Is This “We”? Levels of Collective Identity and Self Representations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, 83-93. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.71.1.83
Chai, J. W., Zhao, G. Z., & Zhang, Z. L. (2011). Impact of Self-Construal on the Effectiveness of Different Nostalgia Appeals. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 43, 308-321. https://doi.org/10.3724/SP.J.1041.2011.00308
Chen, R., Chen, H. H., & Zheng, Y. H. (2017). The Impact of Nostalgia on Consumers’ Choice between Hedonic and Utilitarian Products. Nankai Business Review, 20, 140-149.
Giebelhausen, M., Chun, H. H., Cronin Jr., J. J., & Hult, G. T. M. (2016). Adjusting the Warm-Glow Thermostat: How Incentivizing Participation in Voluntary Green Programs Moderates Their Impact on Service Satisfaction. Journal of Marketing, 80, 56-71. https://doi.org/10.1509/jm.14.0497
Hayes, A. F. (2012). PROCESS: A Versatile Computational Tool for Observed Variable Mediation, Moderation, and Conditional Process Modeling.
He, J. X. (2010). How Do We Miss the Past? Development and Comparative Verification of the Consumer Nostalgia Tendency Scale in the Context of Chinese Culture. Journal of Marketing Science, 10, 30-50.
Hepper, E. G., Ritchie, T. D., Sedikides, C., & Wildschut, T. (2012). Odyssey’s End: Lay Conceptions of Nostalgia Reflect Its Original Homeric Meaning. Emotion, 12, 102-119. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0025167
Koudenburg, N., Postmes, T., Gordijn, E. H., & van Mourik Broekman, A. (2015). Uniform and Complementary Social Interaction: Distinct Pathways to Solidarity. PLoS ONE, 10, e0129061. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0129061
Li, A., Peng, Y., Li, B., & Ling, W. (2014). The Effects of Money Priming on Pro-Social Behavior and Its Decision Mechanism. Advances in Psychological Science, 22, 845-856. https://doi.org/10.3724/SP.J.1042.2014.00845
Li, S. C. S. (2014). Fear Appeals and College Students’ Attitudes and Behavioral Intentions toward Global Warming. The Journal of Environmental Education, 45, 243-257. https://doi.org/10.1080/00958964.2014.930399
Lowe, T., Brown, K., Dessai, S., de França Doria, M., Haynes, K., & Vincent, K. (2006). Does Tomorrow Ever Come? Disaster Narrative and Public Perceptions of Climate Change. Public Understanding of Science, 15, 435-457. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963662506063796
Mallett, R. K., Melchiori, K. J., & Strickroth, T. (2013). Self-Confrontation via a Carbon Footprint Calculator Increases Guilt and Support for a Pro-Environmental Group. Ecopsychology, 5, 9-16. https://doi.org/10.1089/eco.2012.0067
Mandel, N. (2003). Shifting Selves and Decision Making: The Effects of Self-Construal Priming on Consumer Risk-Taking. Journal of Consumer Research, 30, 30-40. https://doi.org/10.1086/374700
Markus, H. R., & Kitayama, S. (1991). Culture and the Self: Implications for Cognition, Emotion, and Motivation. Psychological Review, 98, 224-253. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.98.2.224
Monga, A. B., & John, D. R. (2008). When Does Negative Brand Publicity Hurt? The Moderating Influence of Analytic versus Holistic Thinking. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 18, 320-332. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcps.2008.09.009
Muralidharan, S., & Sheehan, K. (2018). The Role of Guilt in Influencing Sustainable Pro-Environmental Behaviors among Shoppers: Differences in Response by Gender to Messaging about England’s Plastic-Bag Levy. Journal of Advertising Research, 58, 349-362. https://doi.org/10.2501/JAR-2017-029
Ng, S., & Houston, M. J. (2006). Exemplars or Beliefs? The Impact of Self-View on the Nature and Relative Influence of Brand Associations. Journal of Consumer Research, 32, 519-529. https://doi.org/10.1086/500482
Onwezen, M. C., Antonides, G., & Bartels, J. (2013). The Norm Activation Model: An Exploration of the Functions of Anticipated Pride and Guilt in Pro-Environmental Behaviour. Journal of Economic Psychology, 39, 141-153. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2013.07.005
Pascal, V. J., Sprott, D. E., & Muehling, D. D. (2002). The Influence of Evoked Nostalgia on Consumers’ Responses to Advertising: An Exploratory Study. Journal of Current Issues & Research in Advertising, 24, 39-47. https://doi.org/10.1080/10641734.2002.10505126
Peter, P. C., & Honea, H. (2012). Targeting Social Messages with Emotions of Change: The Call for Optimism. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 31, 269-283. https://doi.org/10.1509/jppm.11.098
Schindler, R. M., & Holbrook, M. B. (2003). Nostalgia for Early Experience as a Determinant of Consumer Preferences. Psychology & Marketing, 20, 275-302. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.10074
Schwartz, D., & Loewenstein, G. (2017). The Chill of the Moment: Emotions and Pro-Environmental Behavior. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 36, 255-268. https://doi.org/10.1509/jppm.16.132
Sevillano, V., Aragonés, J. I., & Schultz, P. W. (2007). Perspective Taking, Environmental Concern, and the Moderating Role of Dispositional Empathy. Environment and Behavior, 39, 685-705. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013916506292334
Singelis, T. M. (1994). The Measurement of Independent and Interdependent Self-Construals. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 20, 580-591. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167294205014
Strother, J. B., & Fazal, Z. (2011). Can Green Fatigue Hamper Sustainability Communication Efforts? In 2011 IEEE International Professional Communication Conference (pp. 1-6). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/IPCC.2011.6087206
Tajfel, H. (1982). Social Psychology of Intergroup Relations. Annual Review of Psychology, 33, 1-39. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ps.33.020182.000245
Turner, R. N., Wildschut, T., & Sedikides, C. (2012). Dropping the Weight Stigma: Nostalgia Improves Attitudes toward Persons Who Are Overweight. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 48, 130-137. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2011.09.007
Van Dijke, M., Wildschut, T., Leunissen, J. M., & Sedikides, C. (2015). Nostalgia Buffers the Negative Impact of Low Procedural Justice on Cooperation. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 127, 15-29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2014.11.005
Van Zomeren, M., Saguy, T., & Schellhaas, F. M. (2013). Believing in “Making a Difference” to Collective Efforts: Participative Efficacy Beliefs as a Unique Predictor of Collective Action. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 16, 618-634. https://doi.org/10.1177/1368430212467476
Vess, M., Arndt, J., Routledge, C., Sedikides, C., & Wildschut, T. (2012). Nostalgia as a Resource for the Self. Self and Identity, 11, 273-284. https://doi.org/10.1080/15298868.2010.521452
Wang, X., Keh, H. T., & Chao, C. H. (2018). Nostalgia and Consumer Preference for Indulgent Foods: The Role of Social Connectedness. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 42, 316-326. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijcs.12419
White, K., Argo, J. J., & Sengupta, J. (2012). Dissociative versus Associative Responses to Social Identity Threat: The Role of Consumer Self-Construal. Journal of Consumer Research, 39, 704-719. https://doi.org/10.1086/664977
White, K., Habib, R., & Hardisty, D. J. (2019). How to SHIFT Consumer Behaviors to Be More Sustainable: A Literature Review and Guiding Framework. Journal of Marketing, 83, 22-49. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022242919825649
Wildschut, T., Bruder, M., Robertson, S., van Tilburg, W. A., & Sedikides, C. (2014). Collective Nostalgia: A Group-Level Emotion That Confers Unique Benefits on the Group. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 107, 844-863. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0037760
Zhou, X., Sedikides, C., Wildschut, T., & Gao, D. G. (2008). Counteracting Loneliness: On the Restorative Function of Nostalgia. Psychological Science, 19, 1023-1029. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02194.x
Zhou, X., Wildschut, T., Sedikides, C., Shi, K., & Feng, C. (2012). Nostalgia: The Gift That Keeps on Giving. Journal of Consumer Research, 39, 39-50. https://doi.org/10.1086/662199