The Influence of Injunctive Social Norms on an Individual’s Willingness to Participate in an Ecovillage, and to What Extent is This Relationship Moderated by Biospheric Values?

Rueben, Olena von (2025) The Influence of Injunctive Social Norms on an Individual’s Willingness to Participate in an Ecovillage, and to What Extent is This Relationship Moderated by Biospheric Values? Bachelor thesis, Psychology.

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Abstract

This research paper examined the effects of injunctive social norms on an individual’s willingness to participate in an ecovillage, with a focus on the moderating role of strong biospheric values. Grounded in the Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 1991) and the Value, Belief, Norm Theory (Stern et al., 1999), two hypotheses were tested. Injunctive social norms positively correlate with an individual’s willingness to participate in the chosen ecovillage, and this positive effect of norms on willingness is less affected when the individual has higher biospheric values. A survey was conducted among 176 individuals living in a neighborhood surrounding a selected ecovillage, Paradijsvogeltuin. Results revealed a significant main effect, showing that injunctive social norms positively predict willingness to participate in the ecovillage. However, contrary to expectations, there was no significant interaction effect, indicating that these strong biospheric values do not moderate the relationship between injunctive social norms and willingness to participate. These findings highlight the role of injunctive social norms in shaping pro-environmental behaviors while suggesting that individuals with strong biospheric values may be less influenced by social norms. The study contributes to understanding the mechanisms driving pro-environmental actions, particularly in community-based contexts, and offers insight for designing interventions to promote participation in sustainable living initiatives like ecovillages. Keywords: pro-environmental behavior, ecovillages, injunctive social norms, biospheric values, willingness to participate

Item Type:	Thesis (Bachelor)
Supervisor name:	Kok, C.A.
Degree programme:	Psychology
Differentiation route:	None [Bachelor Psychology]
Date Deposited:	14 Jan 2025 13:30
Last Modified:	14 Jan 2025 13:30
URI:	http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/4505

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