Political ideology affects energy-efficiency attitudes and choices

This research demonstrates how promoting the environment can negatively affect adoption of energy efficiency in the United States because of the political polarization surrounding environmental issues. Study 1 demonstrated that more politically conservative individuals were less in favor of investme...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 2013-06, Vol.110 (23), p.9314-9319
Main Authors: Gromet, Dena M., Kunreuther, Howard, Larrick, Richard P.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Attitude
attitudes and opinions
Behavior. Attitude
Biological and medical sciences
Carbon
Carbon dioxide emissions
Climate Change
Conservation of Energy Resources - methods
Conservation of Energy Resources - trends
Conservatism
Cost efficiency
emissions
Emissions control
Energy efficiency
Energy value
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Ideology
Liberalism
Light bulbs
lighting
Male
Middle Aged
Political ideologies
Political parties
Politics
Psychology, Social
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
purchasing
Social psychology
Social Sciences
Social Values
Technology adoption
United States
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Summary:This research demonstrates how promoting the environment can negatively affect adoption of energy efficiency in the United States because of the political polarization surrounding environmental issues. Study 1 demonstrated that more politically conservative individuals were less in favor of investment in energy-efficient technology than were those who were more politically liberal. This finding was driven primarily by the lessened psychological value that more conservative individuals placed on reducing carbon emissions. Study 2 showed that this difference has consequences: In a real-choice context, more conservative individuals were less likely to purchase a more expensive energy-efficient light bulb when it was labeled with an environmental message than when it was unlabeled. These results highlight the importance of taking into account psychological value-based considerations in the individual adoption of energy-efficient technology in the United States and beyond.
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.1218453110