Do you feel eco-guilt or eco-shame? Emotions reveal how much we care about the environment

Traveling by plane, meat in the shopping cart, sorting waste, plastic toys—consumers face a series of daily decisions and priorities when considering environmental issues. But what drives these choices?

Previous studies have shown that feelings of shame and guilt are often perceived as triggers when people need to solve environmental problems. But in a study published in Endless Limitsresearchers at the Department of Food and Resource Economics at the University of Copenhagen have analyzed in depth how our environmental decisions are governed by these two perspectives.

The main conclusion of the study is that people who are more environmentally conscious are more likely to feel guilty when they fail to live up to their high environmental standards. At the same time, people who don’t care about the environment feel ashamed of their non-participation.

“People who care deeply about the environment feel guilty for not doing enough, as they take more responsibility for their actions and the impact on the environment.

“Meanwhile, people who don’t care are often embarrassed by their lack of interest and action on environmental issues, which are often presented during public debates,” explains Ph.D. Rikke Sigmar Nielsen, lead author of the study.

The researchers conducted in-depth interviews with eighteen Danes, representing a diverse segment of the population in terms of gender, educational background, age, place of residence and level of commitment.

A new pair of jeans and a shopping cart full of the wrong things

Among the participants who were most concerned about being environmentally friendly, sustainability and environmental care played an important role in their daily lives, a concern for which they had many supporting principles. behavior. However, they felt guilty from time to time. Indeed, there were certain things that complicated their desire to do the best for the environment.

“One participant mentioned that finding jeans at a thrift store can be a challenge. So, she sometimes ended up buying new. Although she had the principle of not buying new clothes, he compromised every time he made a fixed choice, it became very difficult.

“One participant felt guilty about his frequent trips in camper-vans, which rely on fossil fuels and are more polluting than trains, for example. Although he justified it by saying that one you need to live life and seeing the world was important again,” he says. Nielsen.

On the other hand, those who are less interested in the environment and less concerned about the environment felt that the increasing public focus on the issue of climate, environment and sustainability can be too much at times. . They often cited lack of time and money as reasons for not making environmentally sound choices.

“Environmental issues were less of a factor in their daily lives, and they generally felt that the whole climate and environmental debate was too far gone. However, they were still embarrassed in public because they knew others thought they had the wrong ideas or were filling their carts with the wrong things,” explains Nielsen.

Knowledge is the key to changing behavior

A new study contributes to a deeper understanding of how feelings of guilt and shame influence people’s everyday environmental decisions. The research helps explain why some respond to environmental issues with feelings of guilt or shame and how these feelings can lead to different actions.

This new knowledge can be used by the Danish Parliament and other government agencies when creating policies, strategies and communications to promote good environmental behavior.

“The results can help policymakers and organizations create more effective campaigns and political initiatives aimed at promoting sustainable behavior,” says Nielsen.

The study also opens a wide discussion about whether it is acceptable according to moral and ethical rules to send guilt and shame as tools of environmental communication. At the same time, according to the researcher, care should be taken when using guilt and shame to motivate people, as doing so can have unexpected consequences.

“Shaming often leads to resistance and humiliation rather than positive behavioral change. And that’s not where we want to go. But some people—who care about environmental issues—sometimes others may use their feelings of guilt and shame as a kind of moral compass to motivate them to act more consistently.

“Thus, these concepts are complex and need to be deeply understood if we want to promote pro-environmental behavior,” concludes Nielsen.