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Political ideology affects energy-efficiency attitudes and choices
Dena M Gromet1, Howard Kunreuther, Richard P Larrick
1Operations and Information Management Department, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. denag@wharton.upenn.edu
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 a 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.
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