TY - JOUR
T1 - Eco-guilt and eco-shame in everyday life
T2 - an exploratory study of the experiences, triggers, and reactions
AU - Nielsen, Rikke Sigmer
AU - Gamborg, Christian
AU - Lund, Thomas Bøker
PY - 2024
Y1 - 2024
N2 - Guilt and shame are often mentioned in the context of environmental problems. Exploring how such emotions affect individuals and their behavior is crucial to the effective promotion of more pro-environmental behavior and sustainable consumption. The aim of this article is to further the understanding of eco-guilt and eco-shame by studying these emotions among participants with differing levels of environmental concern (EC). Using a phenomenologically inspired approach, we conducted 18 in-depth interviews with Danish citizens. A clear connection between EC and the experienced emotions emerged, including how these emotions were triggered and how participants reacted to them. While individuals with high EC mainly experienced eco-guilt, individuals with low EC mainly experienced eco-shame and individuals with a medium level of EC experienced both emotions. Both eco-guilt and eco-shame can increase pro-environmental behaviors under certain conditions, but their effects are complex, and eco-shame in particular, risks leading to environmentally harmful behaviors. Therefore, harnessing these emotions to promote pro-environmental behavior introduces moral as well as practical considerations. The novelty of this study is that it questions the view that certain environmental emotions are inherently adaptive or maladaptive and underscores the importance of understanding the individual and social dynamics, which can affect how eco-guilt, eco-shame and their pro-environmental effects are experienced.
AB - Guilt and shame are often mentioned in the context of environmental problems. Exploring how such emotions affect individuals and their behavior is crucial to the effective promotion of more pro-environmental behavior and sustainable consumption. The aim of this article is to further the understanding of eco-guilt and eco-shame by studying these emotions among participants with differing levels of environmental concern (EC). Using a phenomenologically inspired approach, we conducted 18 in-depth interviews with Danish citizens. A clear connection between EC and the experienced emotions emerged, including how these emotions were triggered and how participants reacted to them. While individuals with high EC mainly experienced eco-guilt, individuals with low EC mainly experienced eco-shame and individuals with a medium level of EC experienced both emotions. Both eco-guilt and eco-shame can increase pro-environmental behaviors under certain conditions, but their effects are complex, and eco-shame in particular, risks leading to environmentally harmful behaviors. Therefore, harnessing these emotions to promote pro-environmental behavior introduces moral as well as practical considerations. The novelty of this study is that it questions the view that certain environmental emotions are inherently adaptive or maladaptive and underscores the importance of understanding the individual and social dynamics, which can affect how eco-guilt, eco-shame and their pro-environmental effects are experienced.
U2 - 10.3389/frsus.2024.1357656
DO - 10.3389/frsus.2024.1357656
M3 - Journal article
VL - 5
JO - Frontiers in Sustainability
JF - Frontiers in Sustainability
SN - 2673-4524
M1 - 1357656
ER -