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The Email Conservation Task: Testing the validity of an online measure of direct pro-environmental behavior

Farrelly, Daniel ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1505-686X, Bhogal, M. and Badham, Lee (2024) The Email Conservation Task: Testing the validity of an online measure of direct pro-environmental behavior. Journal of Environmental Psychology, Pre (Proof). pp. 1-27. ISSN Print: 0272-4944; Electronic: 1522-9610 (In Press)

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Abstract

There is a need for valid measures of pro-environmental behavior, in particular ones measuring actual behavior. In response, a number of such measures have been introduced recently, however each faces limitations such as high costs, practical use and/or only measure indirect environmental behavior, limiting their scope, accessibility and inclusivity. In response, this study introduces the easily administered and low-cost Email Conservation Task (ECT), which measures direct pro-environmental behaviour (in this case, email use). Here, participants chose between personal costs (time spent on trivial tasks) or environmental costs (receiving unnecessary emails leading to CO2 emissions) across multiple trials. In a pre-registered study testing the validity of the ECT, it was found (as hypothesized) that participants scored higher on the ECT (incurred more personal costs rather than receiving unnecessary emails) when personal costs to them were lower, and scored higher when the environmental costs of receiving unnecessary emails were higher. Finally, total scores on the ECT significantly correlated with scores on three self-reported indicators of pro-environmentalism. Overall, the results of this study support all three hypotheses, indicating that the ECT is a valid measure of pro-environmental behavior that can be implemented across a diverse range of research areas.

Item Type: Article
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This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.

Uncontrolled Discrete Keywords: pro-environmental behavior, behavioral measures, email use, online
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences
Divisions: College of Business, Psychology and Sport > School of Psychology
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Copyright Info: © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd., This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons CC-BY license, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited., https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Depositing User: Daniel Farrelly
Date Deposited: 26 Sep 2024 12:47
Last Modified: 26 Sep 2024 12:47
URI: https://eprints.worc.ac.uk/id/eprint/14283

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