Robert Bunschoten
Week 4 lecture: Does saving the planet make you happy
Pro-environmental behavior:
- Many definitions:
o Conservation of resources
o Sustainable consumption
o Sustainable mobility
o Political environmentalism
o Altruistic environmental behavior
o Educational environmental behavior
Venhoeven artikel: Paradox
- There are two opposing views on the link between pro-environmental behavior and
well-being
o Behaving in a pro-environmental way is often believed to decrease well-being
o Some studies find that pro-environmental behavior increases well-being
- Well-being consumption paradox
o Well-being and consumption levels are positively correlated until a certain
point where increasing consumption does not significantly increase well-being
Only works on low levels
- Easterlin paradox: can we consume less without compromising our well-being
o Capita per person does not influence life satisfaction
An argument for eudaimonia in climate change mitigation
- A hedonic framework targets individual change
o Wealthy people should consume less
Poor people must cope better with and adapt to climate change
- A Eudaimonic framework targets social change
o Behaviors originate from social and political context
Call for institutional change as a prerequisite of behavioral change
Eudaimonic theory is thus better suited to inform climate change mitigation research
Is it pro-environmental behavior itself that impacts well-being?
- No, it is the by-products that can be pleasurable or un-pleasurable
o Biking is nice in the summer but not when it rains or when it is cold
Evidence that acting sustainability makes you happy:
- Positive relation between people’s pro-environmental and well-being (meta analysis)
Week 4 lecture: Does saving the planet make you happy
Pro-environmental behavior:
- Many definitions:
o Conservation of resources
o Sustainable consumption
o Sustainable mobility
o Political environmentalism
o Altruistic environmental behavior
o Educational environmental behavior
Venhoeven artikel: Paradox
- There are two opposing views on the link between pro-environmental behavior and
well-being
o Behaving in a pro-environmental way is often believed to decrease well-being
o Some studies find that pro-environmental behavior increases well-being
- Well-being consumption paradox
o Well-being and consumption levels are positively correlated until a certain
point where increasing consumption does not significantly increase well-being
Only works on low levels
- Easterlin paradox: can we consume less without compromising our well-being
o Capita per person does not influence life satisfaction
An argument for eudaimonia in climate change mitigation
- A hedonic framework targets individual change
o Wealthy people should consume less
Poor people must cope better with and adapt to climate change
- A Eudaimonic framework targets social change
o Behaviors originate from social and political context
Call for institutional change as a prerequisite of behavioral change
Eudaimonic theory is thus better suited to inform climate change mitigation research
Is it pro-environmental behavior itself that impacts well-being?
- No, it is the by-products that can be pleasurable or un-pleasurable
o Biking is nice in the summer but not when it rains or when it is cold
Evidence that acting sustainability makes you happy:
- Positive relation between people’s pro-environmental and well-being (meta analysis)
