Reconsidering college students’ low-carbon behavior: the role of paradoxical thinking

Purpose This study aims to investigate the mechanism of the influence of paradoxical thinking (PT), which characterizes the ability of college students to balance and integrate the conflict between hedonic and normative goals, on their campus low-carbon behaviors. Design/methodology/approach The conceptual model of “PT − Paradoxical salience (climate change concern, CCC) − Paradoxical acceptance (support for low-carbon behavioral norms, SN) − paradoxical resolution (campus low-carbon intentions and behaviors, CLCIs and CLCBs)” was developed. Then, it was tested by PLS-SEM using survey data obtained from 501 Chinese college students, and the relative importance of each factor of CLCBs was determined by the importance-performance map analysis method. Finally, a mechanistic difference analysis was conducted. Findings PT, CCC and SN have the potential to influence the CLCBs of college students, with each of the three factors showing approximately 40% room for improvement in their impact. There exists an influential pathway of “PT → CCC → SN → CLCIs → CLCBs.” Notably, PT exhibits a stronger direct influence on college students’ private-sphere CLCBs compared to the public-sphere CLCBs. Practical implications Colleges should integrate the development of PT into the foundational framework of the entire education for sustainable development curriculum, while emphasizing the provision of opportunities for training in PT through pedagogical methods, and PT training can be integrated across various social levels. Originality/value This study offers a paradox theoretical framework for comprehending and elucidating the decision-making process underlying personal low-carbon behaviors, and advances the quantitative research of microindividual paradox processing by effectively conceptualizing and measuring paradoxical salience and acceptance.