Tokenism: A Cognitive Dissonance Reduction Strategy for the General Self-Assessment of Environmentally Responsible Behavior

Amid growing environmental concerns, this study explores the psychological underpinnings of individuals’ self-assessment of their general environmental behavior. By analyzing data from the 2023 Spanish General Social Survey, made available by the Centre for Sociological Research, we find that individuals’ positive self-assessment of their environmental conduct is weakly correlated with specific pro-environmental actions, particularly those involving high costs. Conversely, specific behaviors that incur low costs are the most significant determinants of individuals’ positive self-assessment of their overall environmental behavior. These results support the hypothesis that individuals engage in tokenistic behaviors as a means of reducing cognitive dissonance and maintaining a positive self-image as environmentally responsible.