Motivational factors predicting pro-environmental policy support and behavioural engagement

Understanding the determinants of human engagement with the climate and ecological emergency (CEE) will be essential to any future policy design and implementation. The present study ( N = 1951) investigates some of the most relevant psychosocial variables associated with environmental policy support and pro-environmental behavioural engagement: descriptive norms, negative affect, perceived self-efficacy and outcome expectancy of pro-environmental actions, personal values and beliefs, risk perception, and political orientation. More specifically, we investigate how these factors predict support or opposition for a range of real UK environmental policies as well as self-reported behaviour reflecting engagement with the issue. We find that negative affect, outcome expectancy, universalism value, and political orientation are key predictors of environmental policy support and/or proxy behavioural engagement. In addition, we find that negative affect partially mediates the relationship between benevolence, universalism, political orientation, and the outcome measures, highlighting emotional responses as a central pathway to psychosocial engagement with the CEE.