Political Ideology Affects Energy-Efficiency Attitudes and Choices

Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Penn collection
Business Economics and Public Policy Papers
Degree type
Discipline
Subject
political ideology
energy-efficiency
attitudes
choices
consumers
Business
Economics
Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration
Funder
Grant number
License
Copyright date
Distributor
Related resources
Author
Gromet, Dena
Kunreuther, Howard
Larrick, Richard P
Contributor
Abstract

This research demonstrates how promoting the environment can negatively affect adoption of energy efficiency in the United States because of the political polarization surrounding environmental issues. Study 1 demonstrated that more politically conservative individuals were less in favor of investment in energy-efficient technology than were those who were more politically liberal. This finding was driven primarily by the lessened psychological value that more conservative individuals placed on reducing carbon emissions. Study 2 showed that this difference has consequences: In real-choice context, more conservative individuals were less likely to purchase a more expensive energy-efficient light bulb when it was labeled with an environmental message than when it was unlabeled. These results highlight the importance of taking into account psychological value-based considerations in the individual adoption of energy-efficient technology in the United States and beyond.

Advisor
Date Range for Data Collection (Start Date)
Date Range for Data Collection (End Date)
Digital Object Identifier
Series name and number
Publication date
2013-04-09
Journal title
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Volume number
Issue number
Publisher
Publisher DOI
Journal Issue
Comments
Recommended citation
Collection