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The Impact of an Authoritarian Personality on Pro-Environmental Behaviour for Air Pollution Mitigation through Interactions with Social Norms

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  • Jiawen Cao

    (CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla 666303, China
    College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China)

  • Jin Chen

    (CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla 666303, China)

Abstract

This study examines how risk perception and authoritarian personality affect public engagement in mitigating air pollution. Data were collected ( n = 2010) from 13 Chinese cities with varying air pollution gradients using questionnaires. The results demonstrated that air pollution was significantly correlated with people’s risk perception and concern about air pollution, which significantly affected their pro-environmental behaviour (PEB). However, high-risk perceptions undermine the public’s self-efficacy and reduce people’s PEB in the private sphere. People with high scores of the authoritarian personality type were reluctant to engage in PEB in the private sphere; interestingly, it can also be transformed into a stronger PEB in the public sphere via social norms. Thus, this study suggests that educational activities can break the negative link between authoritarianism and environmentalism, leading to behavioural change. Hence, it is essential for education programs to harvest positive outcomes via adaptive approaches for varying authoritarian personalities.

Suggested Citation

  • Jiawen Cao & Jin Chen, 2021. "The Impact of an Authoritarian Personality on Pro-Environmental Behaviour for Air Pollution Mitigation through Interactions with Social Norms," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(17), pages 1-20, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:17:p:9301-:d:628360
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    References listed on IDEAS

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