Study overview

Research goal

To track the state of leading indicators of behavior adoption and psycho-social states for high-impact climate mitigating behaviors among the American population.

Sample

We recruited 1,999 U.S. adults, quota sampled to match the Census data in age x sex x ethnicity and household income. The sample was additionally weighted to be representative of the population in age x sex x ethnicity, Hispanic origin, household income, adult state population, and the segments of Global Warming’s Six Americas.

Measures

For 7 high-impact climate behaviors, we measured 10 indicators identified as either important enablers or leading indicators of climate action. Full survey instrument can be viewed here.

  • Adoption
    • Reported adoption of the behavior
      • Example: Do you currently get your electricity from a green energy provider?
    • For “continuous” behaviors, such as flying less, eating less meat, and reducing food waste, we measured attempt
      • Example: Are you trying to fly less frequently than you used to?
  • Intention
    • Reported intention to perform the behavior in the future
      • Example: How likely is it that you will have solar panels installed in the next 12 months?
  • Beliefs that others have adopted
    • Perceived number of others that have adopted the behavior (empirical expectations)
      • Example: Imagine 10 drivers you know. If you had to guess, how many of them do you think drive a fully electric car?
  • Beliefs that others should adopt
    • Beliefs that other people should adopt the behavior because it is the right thing to do (personal normative beliefs)
      • Example: If people have the choice, should they choose a green energy provider because it is the right thing to do?
  • Beliefs that others think people should adopt
    • Perceived number of others that think one should adopt the behavior because it is the right thing to do (normative expectations)
      • Example: Imagine 10 people you know. If you had to guess, how many of them think that people should purchase carbon offsets because it is the right thing to do?
  • Self-efficacy
    • How confident is the person in their ability to adopt the behavior
      • Example: How confident are you in your ability to fly less frequently?
  • Consideration
    • Whether the person has considered adopting the behavior in the past
      • Example: Before taking this survey, have you ever considered limiting your meat consumption?
  • Program interest
    • Reported interest in participating in the program that helps adopt the behavior
      • Example: How interested would you be in participating in a program which helps you purchase a fully electric car?
  • Perceived personal benefit
    • Perceived personal benefit as the result of adopting the behavior
      • Example: How much do you think purchasing carbon offsets would benefit you personally?
  • Perceived community benefit
    • Perceived community benefit as the result of the person adopting the behavior
      • Example: How much do you think you choosing a green energy provider would benefit your community?

Guide to interpreting differences in the results table

We calculated the average value of each indicator for each behavior.

  • The numbers in the Adoption, Consideration, and Others should adopt columns represent proportions ranging from 0 to 1. A difference of 0.1 in the adoption column means that 10% more people report adopting the behavior. A difference of 0.1 in the consideration column means that 10% more people said they have considered adopting the behavior in the past. A difference of 0.1 in the others should adopt column means that 10% more people believe that other people should adopt the behavior because it is the right thing to do.
  • The numbers in the Self-efficacy, Perceived personal benefit, and Perceived community benefit columns represent the average score on a 5-point Likert item for that scale. All scales were recoded to be binary. We use the average of the item, as is standard in psychology, rather than the Top Two Box percentage, because of the bias the Top Two Box introduces in under-emphasizing the degree of response, particularly of negative responses.
  • The numbers in the Others have adopted and Others think people should adopt columns represent the numbers out of 10 people the respondent thinks have adopted the behavior and thinks others believe people should adopt the behavior. A difference of 0.1 in the others have adopted column means that 10% more people believe that other people have adopted the behavior. A difference of 0.1 in the others think people should adopt column approximates to the respondent believing that 10% more people believe people should engage in this behavior.
  • The numbers in the Program interest column were measured from 0 to 10. An increase of 0.1 on the program interest measure represents a 10% increase in the reported interest in participating in a program that helps adopt the behavior.
  • The numbers in the Intention column were measured from 0 to 100% using a 10 point Likert item. An increase of 0.1 on the intention measure represents a 10% increase in the reported intention to adopt the behavior in the future.

Results

Taking “Purchase green energy” behavior as an example, here is how to read Table 1: