The influence of social norms on pro-environmental dietary behaviors among Chinese University students

Faced with increasingly severe environmental challenges, people are paying more attention to low-carbon and environmentally friendly practices, yet sometimes neglect pro-environmental behaviors in the dietary domain. University students, as a large consumer group, can to some extent reflect the tendencies of young consumers. This paper examines the impact and mechanisms of social norms on pro-environmental behaviors in the diets of Chinese university students through two studies. The results show that: (1) social norms positively predict individuals’ pro-environmental behaviors in their diets; (2) in this process, connectedness to nature mediates the relationship between social norms and pro-environmental behaviors, with individuals’ perception of the connection between their behavior consequences and the environment being a key inducement; (3) prosocial tendencies moderate the relationship between social norms and pro-environmental behaviors. The findings not only provide more culturally adaptable evidence for the role of social norms but also offer new insights into how internal individual factors and external social influences interact. Practically, these results provide a theoretical basis for promoting pro-environmental behaviors among young people in their daily lives.