GOING GREEN TO GET CLEAN: MORAL CLEANSING AND THE LINK BETWEEN MATERIALISM AND GREEN BEHAVIORS

摘要

In study 1, subjects were initially questioned about their willingness to pay (WTP) for several types of environmental programs, and they were then randomly assigned to one of three consumption conditions. In the utilitarian consumption condition, subjects were told that they were given $50,000 and that they chose to use this money as a down payment on a modest starter home. They were asked to describe their ideal purchase within these parameters and were then questioned about their willingness to pay (WTP) for several types of environmental programs. Subjects in the materialistic conditions were told that they received the same $50,000, but these subjects were told to envision the purchase of an expensive toy (like a boat or a sports car) or an expensive wardrobe. After describing their ideal purchase, these individuals were asked to respond to the same WTP items. The utilitarian group showed no change in WTP when comparing the pre to the post measure while the materialistic groups both displayed a significant increase.