Guilted into Sustainability?

Feeling guilty is a common human experience. While people may not particularly enjoy this feeling, it can be a powerful motivator. Even the mere prospect of feeling guilty can be enough to make us behave in particular ways.

Imagine that you're driving and need to change lanes. You can either cut off the driver in the car slightly behind you in the next lane or wait for that person to pass and merge behind them. You debate your options. With the former, you imagine that twinge of guilt you might feel after cutting the person off. This anticipated guilt alone might be enough to make you choose the nicer option.

Whether you're just anticipating it or actually experiencing it, guilt often pushes us to behave in certain ways. Our research examines how feeling guilty versus proud—either in anticipation or actually—can impact our sustainability actions. 

While at first blush they may seem different, guilt has a lot in common with pride. As self-conscious emotions (involving self-reflection), both pride and guilt should motivate good behavior following—or in anticipation of—events for which we feel responsible. 

However, the relationship between these emotions and our behavior is complicated. For example, rather than pushing us towards our goals, pride can sometimes make us complacent. Consider a workplace example: you're getting ready to share a new project idea with your boss for feedback. This should motivate you to increase your effort in order to earn her positive feedback—and the pride that accompanies it.

Let's say that scenario comes to pass: your boss showers you with praise. You feel proud of yourself and continue your effort. However, you may not be motivated to increase your effort—because you're already doing swell! You may even relax and decide it's time to focus on other goals. In this example, anticipating feeling proud spurs more effort than actually feeling proud.

So what can we make of this? Is it just the anticipation of guilt (or pride) that drives behavior, rather than actually experiencing it?

This is what we set out to answer.

Guilt, Pride, Feedback, and Sustainability Intentions

In our research, we put all these ingredients together to focus on sustainability-related behaviors—such as limiting air conditioning use or turning off lights at home. In one study, 531 adults completed a home energy footprint quiz online, which included questions about average monthly utility bills, unplugging devices not in use, etc. Then, each person received one of the following messages: anticipated negative feedback, anticipated positive feedback, experienced negative feedback, experienced positive feedback, or no feedback.

Whereas the 'actual feedback' groups received feedback purportedly based on their quiz responses, the 'anticipation' groups saw feedback and were asked to imagine how they would feel if they received that feedback in the future. We designed negative messages to evoke guilt ("Your home energy use is more wasteful, carbon-heavy, and unsustainable than most other people"), and positive feedback to evoke pride. All participants reported how guilty and proud they felt, and indicated how willing they were to perform a set of sustainable behaviors (conserve water, turn off devices not in use).

In a second, similar study, 972 adults voted—or anticipated voting—to support one of two companies based on vague company mission statements. Then, participants received feedback about their real or anticipated choice based on the company's environmental practices (such as,  "You chose to support Company X. This company has a smaller/bigger carbon footprint than other similar companies…"). As in our first study, we designed feedback about choosing the "bad" or "good" company to evoke feelings of guilt or pride. We entered all participants into a drawing for a $25 bonus payment, which they could keep or donate any portion of to an environmental organization if they won.

Contrary to expectations, the effects of pride versus guilt on motivating sustainability behaviors did not depend on whether emotions were anticipated or experienced. However, we saw differences in guilt versus pride. Critically, results suggest that it is not about whether the emotion is anticipated or experienced, but rather the context in which it is evoked.

Study 1, which offered feedback on a range of behaviors constituting one's lifestyle, found that people who felt guiltier were more willing to act sustainably, whereas those who felt more proud were not. In Study 2, feedback was based on a one-time vote rather than a pattern of behavior. Under these circumstances, both pride and guilt increased willingness to behave sustainably and donate bonus payments.

Thus, guilt seems important in motivating behavior change, while pride can work only sometimes—like for a single past behavior such as choosing to support a company, but not a broader pattern of behavior or lifestyle.

For Further Reading

Brosch, T. (2021). Affect and emotions as drivers of climate change perception and action: A review. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 42, 15–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2021.02.001

Hurst, K., & Sintov, N.D. (2022). Guilt consistently motivates pro-environmental outcomes while pride depends on context. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 8, 101776. /doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2022.101776

Shipley, N. J., & van Riper, C. J. (2022). Pride and guilt predict pro-environmental behavior. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 79, 101753. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2021.101753

Nicole Sintov is Associate Professor of Behavior, Decision-making, and Sustainability in the Ohio State University's School of Environment and Natural. She studies the roles of identity and information processing in sustainable consumption contexts.

Kristin Hurst is Assistant Professor of Sustainability in the School of Earth Systems and Sustainability at Southern Illinois University. Her work focuses on how identity, emotions and social interactions influence pro-environmental behaviors.