The paper aims to analyse consumer behaviour and the drivers of sustainable consumption, which can assist businesses and policymakers to encourage consumers towards more sustainable behaviours and lifestyles. It will therefore analyse how nudging consumers about social and environmental issues could effectively steer them towards the sustainable option instead of the non-sustainable alternative when evaluating purchase decisions.
This involves highlighting the perceived importance of sustainability for the self and within society by making consumers mindful of personal and social norms and values. This in turn, can create positive spillover effects to other pro-environmental behaviours especially when these personal norms are strengthened. This research aims to investigate how cognitive dissonance can be reduced in order to encourage sustainable consumption, with this being the basis of the theoretical framework.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Literature Review
2.1 Sustainable Consumption Behaviour
2.2 Cognitive Dissonance Theory
2.3 Self-Concept Theory
2.4 Social Comparison Theory
3. Empirical Analysis and Conceptual Framework
3.1 Cognitive Dissonance & Self-Concept Relating to Sustainable Consumption
3.2 Vicarious Dissonance & Social Comparison Relating to Consumption
3.3 Conceptual Framework
4. Methodology
4.1 Data Collection
4.2 Data Analysis
5. Findings
5.1 Research Results
5.2 Result Interpretation & Discussion
6. Conclusion and Recommendations
6.1 Summary & Conclusion
6.2 Recommendations
Bibliography
Research Objectives and Key Topics
This master thesis investigates how cognitive dissonance can be leveraged to promote sustainable consumption habits, specifically recycling, by applying consumer behavior theories like self-concept preservation and social comparison. The primary research question addresses whether personal and vicarious hypocrisy paradigms can effectively reduce the dissonance between sustainable and non-sustainable consumption.
- Sustainable Consumption Behaviour and its drivers
- Cognitive Dissonance Theory and its role in behavior change
- Self-Concept Theory as a mechanism for dissonance arousal
- Social Comparison Theory in the context of vicarious dissonance
- Empirical evaluation of personal versus vicarious hypocrisy
Excerpt from the Book
The Self-Prophecy Effect
The self-concept approach of cognitive dissonance has been proven to also be the best theoretical explanation for the self-prophecy effect which successfully influences pro-sustainable and/or pro-environmental behaviour. The self-prophecy effect involves making a prediction about one’s intention to perform a future behaviour which creates expectations. Therefore, this causes actual behaviour to reflect the predicted behaviour which may have been different before the prediction was made thus, fulfilling the prediction (prophecy). This self-prediction arouses dissonance as individuals become aware of the inconsistencies between past behaviour and their positive self-concept (of being moral and competent), hence, they perform the predicted behaviour to alleviate the dissonance (Spangenberg et al., 2003). Self-prophecy has been used to influence behaviours such as improving voter turnout, increasing health club attendance, decreasing gender stereotyping and increasing recycling behaviours (see Spangenberg and Greenwald, 1999 for a complete review).
Spangenberg et al. (2003) conducted experiments inducing self-prophecy and examined how this effect can be used to promote social behaviour as a means of reducing dissonance. The authors showed participants an advertisement with the self-prediction request (self-prophecy) “Ask Yourself…Will You Recycle?” (pg. 56). Then, they were given the opportunity to affirm their values before choosing an article to read or evaluate (either the exercising or recycling article). Participants then answered questions as to how the article made them feel (measure of dissonance) using Elliot and Devine’s (1994) measures (dissonance thermometer). The results showed participants feeling greater discomfort without the affirmation opportunity, proving that the self-prophecy condition created dissonance (as shown in the right graphic of figure four).
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: This chapter contextualizes the study within global sustainability concerns, defines core consumer behavior concepts, and establishes the research objectives regarding dissonance reduction.
2. Literature Review: This section provides the theoretical foundation by analyzing sustainable consumption, cognitive dissonance theory, self-concept theory, and social comparison theory.
3. Empirical Analysis and Conceptual Framework: This chapter reviews empirical research on the selected theories, derives the study's hypotheses, and presents the conceptual framework for hypocrisy-induced behavior change.
4. Methodology: This section details the experimental design, the use of online surveys for data collection, and the statistical methods employed for cleaning and analyzing the data.
5. Findings: This chapter presents the empirical results of the two online surveys, comparing personal and vicarious hypocrisy and discussing their influence on attitude and behavior change.
6. Conclusion and Recommendations: The final chapter summarizes the research findings, highlights the paper's contribution to literature, acknowledges study limitations, and suggests future research and practical applications.
Keywords
Sustainable consumption, cognitive dissonance, hypocrisy paradigm, self-concept, social comparison, recycling, consumer behavior, pro-environmental behavior, dissonance reduction, vicarious hypocrisy, experimental research, attitude change, behavioral intention, self-prophecy, sustainability.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this master thesis?
The thesis focuses on how cognitive dissonance—specifically through the paradigms of personal and vicarious hypocrisy—can be utilized to encourage sustainable consumer behavior, using recycling as the primary measure.
What theories are central to this research?
The research primarily utilizes Cognitive Dissonance Theory, Self-Concept Theory, and Social Comparison Theory to understand and motivate consumer behavior.
What is the primary research goal?
The goal is to determine if self-concept preservation and social comparison can effectively reduce the dissonance between sustainable and non-sustainable consumption choices.
What scientific methodology was applied?
The study employed experimental research conducted through two separate online surveys, analyzing the effects of personal and vicarious hypocrisy manipulations on participant attitudes and intentions.
What does the main body cover?
The main body provides an extensive literature review, develops a conceptual framework linking the chosen theories, explains the experimental methodology, and presents a critical discussion of the empirical findings.
Which keywords characterize this work?
Key terms include sustainable consumption, cognitive dissonance, hypocrisy paradigm, recycling, self-concept, and social comparison.
How does "personal hypocrisy" differ from "vicarious hypocrisy" in this study?
Personal hypocrisy involves reminding participants of their own past inconsistent behaviors to induce dissonance, whereas vicarious hypocrisy involves observing a similar in-group member behave inconsistently, triggering an indirect arousal of discomfort.
What were the major findings regarding the hypotheses?
The study confirmed that induced personal hypocrisy successfully leads to positive attitude change and stronger behavioral intentions toward recycling, while the results for vicarious hypocrisy were found to be inconclusive.
- Citation du texte
- Aminah Kechiche (Auteur), 2019, Self Concept, Social Comparison and Cognitive Dissonance in Sustainable Consumption, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1037800
