The Role of Individual Values in Shaping Pro-environmental Actions in Russia

Abstract

Growing environmental and climatic crisis calls for societal engagement in individual pro-environmental practices to reduce anthropogenic pressure. Among the determinants of pro-environmental behavior, values related to the importance of nature and its quality are highlighted. Additionally, recent studies have emphasized the significance of enjoyment and social dominance orientations as barriers to the implementation of pro-environmental actions. However, within the Russian context, there is limited research on the impact of values on pro-environmental behavior, covering only a small set of possible practices. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the role of biospheric, altruistic, egoistic, and hedonistic values in determining 23 pro-environmental actions relevant to the Russian sociocultural context. Based on the data derived 462 respondents from various settlements aged 17 to 72 years (M = 36.7, SD = 11.8), we assessed the influence of four individual values on various pro-environmental practices, categorized into waste management, resource conservation, eco-consumption, social, and climate actions. Most actions were positively associated with biospheric orientation, meaning that the more important nature is to an individual, the more frequently they engage in pro-environmental actions across different categories. Hedonistic values were also significant in the Russian context, indicating that more than half of the practices are performed less frequently when comfort and pleasure are important to the individual. The significance of social dominance reflected by egoistic values positively predicted some practices in social actions, eco-consumption and to some extend waste management, but on the contrary, it also increased the frequency of non-environmental action, such as using private transport. Altruistic values, commonly associated with pro-environmental behavior, had almost no influence on the studied practices. Resource conservation and climate actions, compared to other categories, showed weak associations with the examined values, including the choice of energy-saving lamps and replacing air travel with train trips which were not determined by the proposed variables. This article complements Russian literature on predictors of pro-environmental behavior, demonstrating the significance of detailed examination of various practices and its categories, forming the ground for hypothesis formulation based on data obtained within the country.