Mind in the Gap: Summary of research exploring 'inner' influences on pro-sustainability learning and behaviour

This article is offered in a spirit of collaboration with other researchers wishing to further understanding of emotional engagement in prompting pro-environmental behaviour change. It describes (1) experiences that have prompted individuals to reduce the environmental impact of their lifestyles through attitudinal and behavioural change, and (2) how these experiences relate to their wider beliefs, meanings and convictions. The research from which these finding are drawn hypothesises that pro-environmental behaviour change is more likely to endure in the long term if it is rooted in, and driven by, significant and meaningful experience--if a person's 'heart is in it'--and, conversely, that if behaviour changes in reaction to regulations, incentives and/or anxiety alone, it is more likely to be 'skin deep', temporary and prone to revert back to old habits. (For more on the theoretical background to this, see Maiteny, 2000b, 2002).