Work

Who Cares about the Environmental Impact of Cars? Those with an Eye toward the Future

Year: 2004

Type: article

Abstract: This study examines preference for commuting towork by car or public transportation (PT) within an expanded social dilemma framework (i.e., one that recognizes the importance of both social and temporal concerns). Commuters completed scales assessing commuting preferences, beliefs regarding the environmental impact of cars, social value orientation (SVO), and the consideration of future consequences (CFC). Preference for PT was higher among commuters who believed that commuting by car harms the environment and among those scoring high in CFC. Most important, a significant two-way interaction revealed that preference for commuting by PT was positively related to beliefs regarding the harmful environmental consequences of commuting by car only among those high in CFC. SVO was unrelated to commuting preferences. In sum, a future orientation may be more important than a prosocial orientation in shaping commuting preferences.

Source: Environment and Behavior

DOI: 10.1177/0013916503251476

Authors: Jeffrey A. Joireman, Paul A. M. Van Lange, Mark Van Vugt

Institutions: Washington State University, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, University of Southampton

Language: English

Topic: Pro-Environmental Behavior and Attitudes

Subfield: Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Sustainable cities and communities

Open Access status: green

OpenAlex ID: W2160220226

FWCI: 21.03

Cites: 53

Cited by: 314

Related to: 8