Lower Perceived Economic Mobility Inhibits Pro-Environmental Engagement by Increasing Cynicism

Abstract

People’s environmental protection behavior largely depends on their perception of the economic and social environment. Through six studies, this article investigates the relationship between perceived economic mobility and pro-environmental engagement. Using the World Values Survey, Study 1 (N = 59,948) found that lower mobility is linked to lower pro-environmental intentions. Studies 2 (N = 243) and 3 (N = 235) manipulated mobility in real and virtual society, supporting Study 1’s findings. Study 4 (N = 219) introduced cynicism, showing that lower mobility was associated with higher cynicism, which in turn was associated with lower pro-environmental behavior. Studies 5 (N = 234) and 6 (N = 294) manipulated mobility and measured cynicism as well as environmental donation, providing further evidence. Our findings expand research on perceived economic mobility, highlighting its broader impact on behavior that affects the natural environment.

Keywords

perceived economic mobility cynicism pro-environmental engagement

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Bak

(2020). When the American dream fails: The effect of perceived economic inequality on present-oriented behavior. Psychology & Marketing, 37(10), 1321–1341. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.21369

Barefoot

J. C.

Dodge

K. A.

Peterson

B. L.

Dahlstrom

W. G.

Williams

R. B.

(1989). The Cook-Medley hostility scale: Item content and ability to predict survival. Psychosomatic Medicine, 51(1), 46–57. https://doi.org/10.1097/00006842-198901000-00005

Berthold

Cologna

Hardmeier

Siegrist

(2023). Drop some money! The influence of income and subjective financial scarcity on pro-environmental behaviour. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 91, Article 102149. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2023.102149

Browman

A. S.

Destin

Carswell

K. L.

Svoboda

R. C.

(2017). Perceptions of socioeconomic mobility influence academic persistence among low socioeconomic status students. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 72, 45–52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2017.03.006

Chan

H.-W.

Tam

K.-P.

(2021). Do people’s assumptions about the social world matter? The effects of social axioms on environmental attitude and efficacy beliefs. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 75, Article 101598. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2021.101598

Chen

Wang

Zhang

(2024). Developing strengths or remedying weaknesses? How perceived social mobility affects parents’ purchase preferences for children’s educational products. Journal of Marketing, 88(5), 46–62. https://doi.org/10.1177/00222429231224333

Chen

Yang

Chen

(2023). Nonmonotonic effects of subjective social class on pro-environmental engagement. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 90, Article 102098. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2023.102098

Chetty

Grusky

Hell

Hendren

Manduca

Narang

(2017). The fading American dream: Trends in absolute income mobility since 1940. Science, 356(6336), 398–406. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aal4617

Choy

B. K. C.

Eom

N. P.

(2021). Too cynical to reconnect: Cynicism moderates the effect of social exclusion on prosociality through empathy. Personality and Individual Differences, 178, Article 110871. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2021.110871

10.

Cook

W. W.

Medley

D. M.

(1954). Proposed hostility and Pharisaic-virtue scales for the MMPI. Journal of Applied Psychology, 38(6), 414–418. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0060667

11.

Davidai

Gilovich

(2018). How should we think about Americans’ beliefs about economic mobility? Judgment and Decision Making, 13(3), 297–304. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1930297500007737

12.

Day

M. V.

Fiske

S. T.

(2017). Movin’ on up? How perceptions of social mobility affect our willingness to defend the system. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 8(3), 267–274. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550616678454

13.

Day

M. V.

Fiske

S. T.

(2019). Understanding the nature and consequences of social mobility beliefs. In Jetten

Peters

(Eds.), The social psychology of inequality (pp. 365–380). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-28856-3_23

14.

Dissanayake

D. M. S.

(2022). The mediating mechanism of consumer ethical beliefs in determining the influence of cynicism and empathy on green buying intention. Vidyodaya Journal of Management, 8(I), Article 5602. https://doi.org/10.31357/vjm.v8iI.5602

15.

Liang

Chi

King

R. B.

(2021). Chinese perceive upward social mobility: How future mobility is influenced, but not limited by past mobility. International Journal of Psychology, 56(6), 951–960. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijop.12771

16.

(2009). Economic reforms and health insurance in China. Social Science & Medicine, 69(3), 387–395. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2009.05.014

17.

Eom

Kim

H. S.

Sherman

D. K.

(2018). Social class, control, and action: Socioeconomic status differences in antecedents of support for pro-environmental action. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 77, 60–75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2018.03.009

18.

Gangadharan

Grossman

P. J.

Vecci

(2021). Moving on up: The impact of income mobility on antisocial behaviour. European Economic Review, 134, Article 103686. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.euroecorev.2021.103686

19.

Grandin

Guillou

Abdel Sater

Foucault

Chevallier

(2022). Socioeconomic status, time preferences and pro-environmentalism. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 79, Article 101720. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2021.101720

20.

Greenglass

E. R.

Julkunen

(1989). Construct validity and sex differences in Cook-Medley hostility. Personality and Individual Differences, 10(2), 209–218. https://doi.org/10.1016/0191-8869(89)90206-7

21.

Guinier

(2004). From racial liberalism to racial literacy: Brown v. Board of Education and the interest-divergence dilemma. Journal of American History, 91(1), 92–118. https://doi.org/10.2307/3659616

22.

Hayes

A. F.

(2022). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach (3rd ed.). Guilford Press.

23.

Hernandez

I. A.

Silverman

D. M.

Rosario

R. J.

Destin

(2023). Concern about experiencing downward socioeconomic mobility generates precarious types of motivation among students of color. Social Psychology of Education, 26(3), 761–792. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-023-09763-5

24.

Hewett

Shantz

Mundy

(2019). Information, beliefs, and motivation: The antecedents to human resource attributions. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 40(5), 570–586. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2353

25.

Hui

C. M.

Hui

H. H. N.

(2009). The mileage from social axioms: Learning from the past and looking forward. In Leung

Bond

M. H.

(eds.), Psychological aspects of social axioms (pp. 13–30). Springer.

26.

Inglehart

Haerpfer

Moreno

Welzel

Kizilova

Diez-Medrano

Lagos

Norris

Ponarin

Puranen

(Eds.). (2022.). World values survey: All rounds-country-pooled datafile (Dataset version 3.0.0.). JD Systems Institute & WVSA Secretariat. https://doi.org/10.14281/18241.17

27.

Jaeger

C. M.

Schultz

P. W.

(2017). Coupling social norms and commitments: Testing the underdetected nature of social influence. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 51, 199–208. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2017.03.015

28.

Jetten

Mols

Healy

Spears

(2017). “Fear of falling”: Economic instability enhances collective angst among societies’ wealthy class. Journal of Social Issues, 73(1), 61–79. https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12204

29.

Jetten

Mols

Steffens

N. K.

(2021). Prosperous but fearful of falling: The wealth paradox, collective angst, and opposition to immigration. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 47(5), 766–780. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167220944112

30.

Jiang

Sedikides

(2022). Awe motivates authentic-self pursuit via self-transcendence: Implications for prosociality. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 123(3), 576–596. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000381

31.

Kirk

D. S.

Matsuda

(2011). Legal cynicism, collective efficacy, and the ecology of arrest. Criminology, 49(2), 443–472. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9125.2011.00226.x

32.

Klein

S. A.

Horsten

L. K.

Hilbig

B. E.

(2022a). The effect of environmental versus social framing on pro-environmental behavior. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 84, Article 101897. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2022.101897

33.

Klein

S. A.

Nockur

Reese

(2022b). Prosociality from the perspective of environmental psychology. Current Opinion in Psychology, 44, 182–187. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.09.001

34.

Kraus

M. W.

(2015). Americans still overestimate social class mobility: A pre-registered self-replication. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, Article 170097. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01709

35.

Kraus

M. W.

Tan

J. J. X.

(2015). Americans overestimate social class mobility. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 58, 101–111. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2015.01.005

36.

Lakens

(2022). Sample size justification. https://doi.org/10.1525/collabra.33267

37.

Lange

(2023). Behavioral paradigms for studying pro-environmental behavior: A systematic review. Behavior Research Methods, 55(2), 600–622. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-022-01825-4

38.

Lange

Steinke

Dewitte

(2018). The Pro-Environmental Behavior Task: A laboratory measure of actual pro-environmental behavior. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 56, 46–54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2018.02.007

39.

Leoniak

K. J.

Cwalina

(2019). The role of normative prompts and norm support cues in promoting light-switching behavior: A field study. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 64, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2019.04.014

40.

Leung

A. K. Y.

Koh

(2019). Understanding pro-environmental intentions by integrating insights from social mobility, cosmopolitanism, and social dominance. Asian Journal of Social Psychology, 22(2), 213–222. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajsp.12348

41.

Xie

Zou

Wang

(2024). “Take action, buddy!”: Self–other differences in passive risk-taking for health and safety. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 110, Article 104542. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2023.104542

42.

Liu

Luan

Stoker

J. I.

Lammers

(2024). Psychological power increases the desire for social distance but reduces the sense of social distance. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 110, Article 104528. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2023.104528

43.

Matsuo

(2019). Effect of learning goal orientation on work engagement through job crafting: A moderated mediation approach. Personnel Review, 48(1), 220–233. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-11-2017-0346

44.

Moule

R. K.

Burruss

G. W.

Gifford

F. E.

Parry

M. M.

Fox

(2019). Legal socialization and subcultural norms: Examining linkages between perceptions of procedural justice, legal cynicism, and the code of the street. Journal of Criminal Justice, 61, 26–39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2019.03.001

45.

Otto

Pensini

Zabel

Diaz-Siefer

Burnham

Navarro-Villarroel

Neaman

(2021). The prosocial origin of sustainable behavior: A case study in the ecological domain. Global Environmental Change, 69, Article 102312. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2021.102312

46.

Policarpo

M. C.

Apaolaza

Hartmann

Paredes

M. R.

D’Souza

(2023). Social cynicism, greenwashing, and trust in green clothing brands. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 47(5), 1950–1961. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijcs.12971

47.

Rao

T.-T.

Yang

S.-L.

B.-X.

Wei

(2022). Perception of class mobility moderates the relationship between social class and prosocial behaviour. Asian Journal of Social Psychology, 25(1), 88–102. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajsp.12466

48.

Richard

F. D.

Bond

C. F.

Stokes-Zoota

J. J.

(2003). One hundred years of social psychology quantitatively described. Review of General Psychology, 7(4), 331–363. https://doi.org/10.1037/1089-2680.7.4.331

49.

Ritterman Weintraub

M. L.

Fernald

L. C. H.

Adler

Bertozzi

Syme

S. L

. (2015). Perceptions of social mobility: Development of a new psychosocial indicator associated with adolescent risk behaviors. Frontiers in Public Health, 3, Article 62. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2015.00062

50.

Rosenthal

K. L.

(2020). Minding other people’s business: Community attachment and anticipated negative emotion in an extended norm activation model. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 69, Article 101439. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2020.101439

51.

Sagioglou

Forstmann

Greitemeyer

(2019). Belief in social mobility mitigates hostility resulting from disadvantaged social standing. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 45(4), 541–556. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167218789073

52.

Sánchez-Rodríguez

Á.

Willis

G. B.

Jetten

Rodríguez-Bailón

. (2019). Economic inequality enhances inferences that the normative climate is individualistic and competitive. European Journal of Social Psychology, 49(6), 1114–1127. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2557

53.

Shariff

A. F.

Wiwad

Aknin

L. B.

(2016). Income mobility breeds tolerance for income inequality: Cross-national and experimental evidence. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 11(3), 373–380. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691616635596

54.

Stavrova

Ehlebracht

(2016). Cynical beliefs about human nature and income: Longitudinal and cross-cultural analyses. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 110(1), 116–132. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000050

55.

Stavrova

Ehlebracht

(2019). The cynical genius illusion: Exploring and debunking lay beliefs about cynicism and competence. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 45(2), 254–269. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167218783195

56.

Stavrova

Ehlebracht

Ren

(2024). Cynical people desire power but rarely acquire it: Exploring the role of cynicism in leadership attainment. British Journal of Psychology, 115(2), 226–252. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjop.12685

57.

Stavrova

Ehlebracht

Vohs

K. D.

(2020). Victims, perpetrators, or both? The vicious cycle of disrespect and cynical beliefs about human nature. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 149(9), 1736–1754. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000738

58.

Swim

J. K.

Bloodhart

(2018). The intergroup foundations of climate change justice. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 21(3), 472–496. https://doi.org/10.1177/1368430217745366

59.

Van Lange

P. A. M.

Joireman

J. A

. (2008). How we can promote behavior that serves all of us in the future. Social Issues and Policy Review, 2(1), 127–157. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-2409.2008.00013.x

60.

Verhagen

Van Dolen

(2011). The influence of online store beliefs on consumer online impulse buying: A model and empirical application. Information & Management, 48(8), 320–327. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2011.08.001

61.

Wang

Chen

W.-F.

Hong

Y.-Y.

Chen

(2022). Perceiving high social mobility breeds materialism: The mediating role of socioeconomic status uncertainty. Journal of Business Research, 139, 629–638. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.10.014

62.

Wang

Chen

(2023). High social mobility leads to delayed reproduction. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 52(4), 1365–1377. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-023-02551-4

63.

Wen

Witteveen

(2021). Does perceived social mobility shape attitudes toward government and family educational investment? Social Science Research, 98, Article 102579. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2021.102579

64.

Whyte

M. K.

Han

(2008). Popular attitudes toward distributive injustice: Beijing and Warsaw compared. Journal of Chinese Political Science, 13(1), 29–51. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11366-008-9016-8

65.

Xie

Dong

Zhou

Song

(2022). Trends in social mobility in postrevolution China. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119(7), Article e2117471119. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2117471119

66.

Yan

Keh

H. T.

Chen

(2021). Assimilating and differentiating: The curvilinear effect of social class on green consumption. Journal of Consumer Research, 47(6), 914–936. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucaa041

67.

Yoon

Kim

H. C.

(2016). Keeping the American Dream alive: The interactive effect of perceived economic mobility and materialism on impulsive spending. Journal of Marketing Research, 53(5), 759–772. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmr.15.0053

68.

Yoon

Kim

H. C.

(2018). Feeling economically stuck: The effect of perceived economic mobility and socioeconomic status on variety seeking. Journal of Consumer Research, 44(5), 1141–1156. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucx091

69.

Zhao

Sui

Zhou

(2023). Effect of perceived economic mobility and income on charitable behavior. Psychology & Marketing, 40(7), 1316–1328. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.21820

Supplementary Material

Please find the following supplemental material available below.

For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.

For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.

0.00 MB

0.07 MB