The validity of self-report measures of proenvironmental behavior: A meta-analytic review

• Published in: Journal of environmental psychology 2014-12, Vol.40, p.359-371
• Main Authors: Kormos, Christine, Gifford, Robert
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Behavior; Meta-analysis; Objective; Observed; Proenvironmental; Self-report
• ISSN: 0272-4944; 1522-9610
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvp.2014.09.003

Do self-reports match objective behavior? We performed a meta-analysis to quantify the association between self-reported and objective measures of proenvironmental behavior, and to evaluate the moderating influence of two socio-demographic and seven methodological moderators. Data from 6260 individuals or households, involving 19 measures of association in 15 studies, revealed a positive and nominally large (Cohen, 1988) effect size (r = .46). However, this means that 79% of the variance in the association between self-reported and objective behavior remains unexplained, which is especially troubling given the environmental context. We conclude that although this effect size is conventionally large, it is functionally small for testing theory and devising intervention campaigns, possibly leading researchers to draw misleading conclusions about the usefulness of theories that employ self-reports to predict objective behavior. These findings highlight a crucial need for research that strengthens the validity of self-reports for well-defined types of environmental behavior. •Large effect size (r= .46) observed between self-reported and objective behavior.•79% of variance in self-report measures unexplained by objective measures.•Significant heterogeneity detected, suggesting self-report validity varies widely.•Taken together, observed effect size is conventionally large but functionally small.