Determinants of individual and collective pro-environmental behaviors : comparing Germany and Japan

The current study explored the determinants of individual and collective pro-environmental behaviors in Germany and Japan. A self report questionnaire was sent to two random sample respondents by mail in Cologne, Germany (N=996) and Nagoya, Japan (N=531). Hierarchical regression analyses demonstrated an interaction between country of respondent and both individual and collective behaviors. For individual behavior, subjective norms played an important role in Japan where interpersonal relationship is emphasized, whereas perceived behavioral control played an important role in Germany. Social factors, such as the amount of network and subjective norms, affected collective pro-environmental behaviors in both samples. The results highlighted the importance of social factors in studies of collective pro-environmental behaviors

Persuasion Game : Cross Cultural Comparison

Background. This study aims to examine the effectiveness of the “persuasion game” in changing environmental attitudes and behaviors in different cultural contexts. Personal communication has been identified as a key facilitator of environmental behaviors, but environmental communication in our daily lives is infrequent. Intervention. This study tested the effects of the persuasion game in Germany, Hong Kong, and Japan. The game divides participants into two groups: persuaders and persuadees. The persuaders were given 10 minutes to persuade as many persuadees as they could to adopt energy-saving behaviors. Further, after 10 minutes, these participants were asked to switch their roles. Method. The study employed a quasi-experimental pretest/posttest design to examine changes in attitudes and behavioral intentions of the participants toward energy-saving before and after their participation in the persuasion game. Participants were university students in Germany (N = 116), Hong Kong (N = 65), and Japan (N = 92). Results. In all three countries, playing the game was associated with increased intention to adopt energy-saving behaviors, perceived seriousness of environmental problems, descriptive norm, and subjective norm. The increase in subjective norm was especially high in Japan, where the increase in intention to adopt energy-saving behavior was particularly pronounced among those who had less environmental communication. Discussion. The results indicate that this game can not only facilitate communication on environmental issues in different cultural contexts but also change how people perceive others’ interest in environmental issues. Conclusion. This study showed that persuasion game can be played in countries other than Japan as well. Moreover, it provides an opportunity to communicate with others on environmental issues, which may contribute to promoting future environmental behaviors