Knowledge Bank

This study explores the perceived social status associated with a variety of environmentally-friendly behaviors among individuals in groups who differ in their environmental orientation. Individuals in both the environmental and non-environmental group included in the study noted two major factors influencing whether or not a behavior is associated with high status or low status, which were (i) the motivation behind a behavior and (ii) observability. Furthermore, only six of nineteen behaviors showed significant differences in average status ratings between the two groups. Contrary to expectations, the environmental group provided higher status ratings for more costly, consumptive-intensive behaviors (i.e. buying a fuel efficient car, installing solar panels, and installing attic/wall insulation), while the non-environmental sample did so for more consumption-reducing behaviors (i.e. eating vegetarian food, composting, and riding the bus instead of a car). These results highlight the importance of contextual information in perceiving status related to environmentally-friendly behaviors. In addition, the results provide insights into subtle differences in how different social groups view environmental behaviors which has implications for whether and why these behaviors might be adopted by individuals in both groups.