From Guilt to Pride: How Emotions, Identity, and Social Norms Drive Sustainable Consumption with the Mediating Effect of Attitude

A significant priority in the struggle against urgent environmental and social issues is sustainable consumption.This study examines the effects of emotions, identity, and social norms on sustainable consumption by analyzing survey data from 381 consumers from a variety of backgrounds, such as stay-at-home mothers, businesspeople, and students.Exploratory factor analysis and regression analysis using SPSS are used in this quantitative study to investigate how emotions and social norm alignment influence customers' intentions and behaviors toward sustainable purchase decisions.Emotions are strong drivers of pro-environmental decision-making, and the results indicate that they positively influence sustainable consumption.Identity and sustainable consumption are also strongly and favorably correlated, suggesting that consumers align their sustainable choices with their self-perception.The adverse effects of social norms, however, show that external forces do not always lead to sustainable consumer behavior.The study contributes to our understanding of consumer behavior and sustainability by demonstrating the interplay of emotive, cognitive, and normative systems.