Competing Psychological Pathways Linking Age and Individual and Collective Pro-Environmental Behavior Intentions: The Role of Conservatism

Matthias Carol Nowoczyn , Ana-Maria Zerbes , Jana Nikitin, Selma Korlat 

Promoting pro-environmental behavior (PEB) across the lifespan is critical for achieving an effective response to climate change. This may particularly be important in later life, as older adults hold substantial economic resources and electoral influence, enabling them to shape societal responses to environmental challenges. However, they have also been found to be more likely than younger adults to deny that climate change is real and human-caused, potentially reducing their engagement in climate action. At the same time, later life is characterized by generativity as a key developmental task, with concern for leaving a positive environmental legacy for future generations potentially motivating PEB in older age. The present study examines climate change denial and generativity as two opposing psychological mechanisms that may mediate the relationship between age and PEB intentions. We assessed PEB intentions at two distinct levels – individual and collective – both of which are critical for effective climate mitigation. In two cross-sectional studies of N = 180 adults in Study 1 (Mage = 47.50, SDage = 17.91; age range = 19–91 years), and N = 345 adults in Study 2 (Mage = 49.64, SDage = 15.70, age range = 20-97 years) we found mixed results for our hypotheses. Across both studies, denial was negatively associated with PEB intentions, whereas eco-generativity was positively associated with PEB intentions. Hypothesized opposing competing pathways of age to PEB intentions were confirmed only in Study 1 and proved less robust than initially assumed. Exploratory analyses instead revealed conservatism as the only consistent indirect correlate of age in PEB intentions across both studies, with higher age being associated with greater conservatism, which in turn was associated with lower individual and collective PEB intentions. These findings suggest the importance of ideological orientation as a pathway linking age and PEB, providing guidance for interventions aimed at increasing both individual and collective pro-environmental action across adulthood and in old age.