I have the power to protect my environment: The impact of individual psychological ownership of nature on effortful pro-environmental behavior

Abstract

When it comes to public natural areas, individuals often pursue personal interests, misuse public resources, and cause environmental damage. Psychological ownership, which can exist independently of legal ownership, is perceived as a viable solution to this issue. In recent years, numerous studies have found positive effects of psychological ownership of nature on pro-environmental behavior. However these studies have predominantly been conducted in urbanized settings in the Global North, with a primary emphasis on financial pro-environmental behavior, and the underlying mechanisms have not been sufficiently explored. To understand these questions more comprehensively, we enhanced individuals’ psychological ownership of nature through a naming manipulation and introduced the Work for Environmental Protection Task in Chinese scenario to explore its impact on effortful pro-environmental behavior and the underlying mechanisms. Through three experimental studies, the results showed that in collectivist China, psychological ownership of nature also significantly promotes pro-environmental behavior that require time and effort, with self-efficacy playing an important mediating role in this process. Additionally, it was found that the naming manipulation not only enhances individuals' perception of ownership over the natural area but also fosters an emotional connection to it. Taken together, these findings indicate that psychological ownership of nature and self-efficacy are key factors in promoting environmental action, providing new theoretical perspectives and strategic recommendations for understanding psychological ownership of nature and promoting pro-environmental behavior.