Determinants of pro-environmental behaviour: a multidisciplinary approach

Il presente programma di ricerca esplora i fattori che influenzano i comportamenti pro-ambientali e le strategie in grado di favorire cambiamenti nelle abitudini quotidiane orientati alla sostenibilità. L’aggravarsi della crisi climatica richiede interventi che agiscano simultaneamente sui processi educativi, sulle competenze socio-emotive e sui comportamenti quotidiani legati alla mobilità sostenibile. Questa tesi di dottorato si articola in tre linee di ricerca complementari — ecomedia literacy, intelligenza emotiva e dissonanza cognitiva, e Walking Bus — con l’obiettivo di esaminare in modo integrato i determinanti psicologici, educativi, sociali ed economici del comportamento pro-ambientale (PEB). Il primo studio valuta l’efficacia di una lezione di ecomedia literacy, un approccio che integra educazione ecologica ed educazione ai media per promuovere il pensiero critico, gli atteggiamenti pro-ambientali e le intenzioni comportamentali. In uno studio sperimentale, i partecipanti a una lezione di ecomedia literacy sul consumo di bottiglie di plastica hanno mostrato punteggi più positivi in alcune dimensioni degli atteggiamenti pro-ambientali rispetto ai partecipanti del gruppo di controllo, sebbene l’intervento non abbia influenzato le intenzioni comportamentali né gli atteggiamenti specificamente legati al consumo di bottiglie di plastica. Questi risultati evidenziano il potenziale dell’ecomedia literacy, ma suggeriscono anche la necessità di interventi articolati in più sessioni. La seconda linea di ricerca indaga il ruolo dell’intelligenza emotiva nella regolazione della dissonanza cognitiva associata alle problematiche ambientali. Attraverso due studi sperimentali, la ricerca esamina come la dissonanza cognitiva derivante dall’incoerenza tra atteggiamenti pro-ambientali, da un lato, e la consapevolezza dell’impatto ambientale delle proprie azioni, dall’altro, possa suscitare emozioni negative e barriere psicologiche al cambiamento comportamentale, e come l’intelligenza emotiva possa attenuare tali effetti attraverso una maggiore capacità di regolazione emotiva. Sebbene non sia emersa evidenza a sostegno dell’interazione ipotizzata, è stato riscontrato in modo coerente che l’intelligenza emotiva è associata a più elevate intenzioni comportamentali pro-ambientali. Al contrario, gli effetti della dissonanza cognitiva sono risultati ambivalenti: da un lato, essa può motivare le persone ad adottare comportamenti pro-ambientali per ridurre la dissonanza; dall’altro, può attivare emozioni negative e, di conseguenza, barriere psicologiche al cambiamento comportamentale...

The current research program explores the factors influencing pro-environmental behaviors and the strategies capable of fostering changes in daily habits toward sustainability. The escalating climate crisis calls for interventions that simultaneously target educational processes, socio-emotional competencies, and everyday behaviors related to sustainable mobility. This PhD thesis has three complementary lines of research—ecomedia literacy, emotional intelligence and cognitive dissonance, and the Walking Bus—to examine, in an integrated manner, the psychological, educational, social, and economic determinants of pro-environmental behavior (PEB). The first study evaluates the effectiveness of an ecomedia literacy lesson, an approach that combines ecological education and media education to foster critical thinking, pro-environmental attitudes and behavioral intentions. In an experimental study, participants to an ecomedia lesson on plastic bottle consumption displayed more positive scores on some dimensions of pro-environmental attitudes compared to participants in a control group, although the intervention did not affect behavioral intentions or attitudes related to plastic bottle consumption. These findings highlight the potential of ecomedia literacy but also suggest the need for multi-session interventions. The second research line investigates the role of emotional intelligence in regulating cognitive dissonance related to environmental issues. Across two experimental studies, the research examines how cognitive dissonance due to the inconsistency between pro-environmental attitudes on the one hand and awareness of the environmental impact of one’s actions on the other hand may elicit negative emotions and psychological barriers to behavioral change, and how emotional intelligence could mitigate these effects through enhanced emotional regulation. While no support for the hypothesized interaction was found, we consistently found that emotional intelligence is associated with more pro-environmental behavioral intentions. Instead, the effects of cognitive dissonance were mixed: on the one hand, it can motivate people to behave pro-environmentally to reduce dissonance; on the other hand, it can elicit negative emotions, and consequently psychological barriers to behavioral change. The third research line focuses on the Walking Bus as an educational, social, and environmental tool to promote active mobility and reduce car use. The investigation, conducted in Ferrara, unfolded across four sequential phases: preliminary meetings with municipal administrators; semi-structured interviews with school principals; semi-structured interviews with parents of children attending primary schools; a structured questionnaire administered to a wider sample of parents of children attending primary schools. The findings highlight both the benefits of the Walking Bus (children’s autonomy, social cohesion, informal environmental learning) and the perceived challenges (schedules, distance to stops, organizational barriers). These insights can be useful to inform the development of an optimized system of routes and timetables aimed at improving the accessibility and effectiveness of the service. Taken together, findings from the three research lines show how media-based educational interventions, socio-emotional competencies, and sustainable mobility solutions represent complementary pathways for understanding and promoting pro-environmental behavior. Their integration provides a multidimensional framework that can inform more effective policies, educational programs, and community services aligned with sustainability goals.