The influences of emotional factors on householders’ decarbonizing cooling behaviour in a subtropical Metropolitan City: An application of the extended theory of planned behaviour

Theresa Wing Ling LAM, Yui Chain Jade TSUI, Lincoln FOK, Ting On Lewis CHEUNG, Po Keung Eric TSANG, Chi Kin John LEE

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlespeer-review

21 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Air-conditioning accounts for a vast amount of electricity consumption in Hong Kong, and household decarbonization of cooling is considered a vital means of reducing electricity use. However, little information is available on the determinants of household decarbonizing cooling behaviour, and emotional factors are often ignored in the pro-environmental behaviour literature. Thus, this study attempts to address this gap by applying an emotional extension of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). A total of 295 valid responses were obtained using a questionnaire survey and tested via structural equation modeling (SEM). The incorporation of additional variables improves the explanatory power of the household decarbonizing cooling behaviour model, and the results reveal that subjective norms is the most influential factor, followed by affective connection to nature and negative anticipated emotions. Meanwhile, attitude towards the behaviour and perceived behavioural control are found to have a nonsignificant effect on behavioural intention. These findings not only highlight the importance of emotions in predicting electricity-saving behaviour, but also provide useful insights to formulate effective approaches for motivating citizens to engage in decarbonizing cooling behaviour at home. Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Original languageEnglish
Article number150826
JournalScience of the Total Environment
Volume807
Issue numberPt. 2
Early online date07 Oct 2021
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 10 Feb 2022

Citation

Lam, T. W. L., Tsui, Y. C. J., Fok, L., Cheung, L. T. O., Tsang, E. P. K., & Lee, J. C.-K. (2022). The influences of emotional factors on householders’ decarbonizing cooling behaviour in a subtropical Metropolitan City: An application of the extended theory of planned behaviour. Science of the Total Environment, 807(Pt. 2). Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150826

Keywords

  • Theory of planned behaviour
  • Affective connection to nature
  • Negative anticipated emotions
  • Decarbonizing cooling behaviour
  • Energy-saving behaviour

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The influences of emotional factors on householders’ decarbonizing cooling behaviour in a subtropical Metropolitan City: An application of the extended theory of planned behaviour'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.