Which values guide behaviour?

Human behavior is guided by several distinct categories of values, motivations, and norms, which are often classified according to their origin (internal/personal or external/social) and their focus (self-interest or collective welfare).

The primary values and related constructs that guide behavior, particularly sustainable or pro-environmental behavior (PEB), include:

1. Moral and Self-Transcendent Values

These values drive behavior related to collective welfare, ethical concerns, and helping others or the environment.

• Moral Obligation/Personal Norms: A powerful factor in guiding behavior is the feeling of being morally obliged to act in a certain way, referred to as personal norms.
  • In the context of sustainable electronic waste (e-waste) management in Penang, moral obligation showed the highest correlation with sustainability (0.794 or 79.4%) among the tested independent factors. This emphasizes the importance of a sense of duty in promoting sustainable actions.
  • Moral obligations are a central construct in theoretical frameworks like the Norm Activation Model (NAM) and the Value-Identity-Personal Norm (VIP) model.
  • Pro-environmental behavior is considered a moral issue. People act pro-environmentally because they believe it is the right thing to do and because they want to see themselves as a moral person.
• Biospheric Values: These reflect the extent to which people care about nature and the environment.
  • Stronger biospheric values lead to a stronger environmental self-identity, which, in turn, results in a stronger moral obligation (personal norm) to engage in PEB.
  • Biospheric values are positively associated with caring about nature and environmental protection.
• Altruistic Values: These involve caring about the well-being of others and society.
  • Biospheric values, alongside altruistic values, are categories of self-transcendent values, which prioritize the welfare of others and the planet over self-interest.
• Universalism Values: This concept, within Schwartz’s framework, refers to the extent to which people endorse the value of 'protection for the welfare of all people and for nature'. Universalism values are positively associated with environmental concern.

2. Self-Interested and Personal Goals

These categories guide behavior focused on personal gains, pleasure, or self-image.

• Egoistic/Gain Goals: These values involve caring about personal resources or motivations focused on increasing or safeguarding personal resources such as time, money, or effort.
  • In consumer contexts (like shopping for energy or clothes), egoistic or gain motives often predominate and drive decision-making.
  • The self-serving nature of shopping behavior, consistent with the norms of consumer capitalism, tends to prioritize self-interest.
• Hedonic Values/Goals: These are rooted in caring about one’s pleasure and comfort.
  • In shopping behaviors, hedonic goals drive people to improve the way they feel (e.g., seeking pleasure).
  • The overall goal structure underpinning leisure shopping involves egoistic "gain" goals with a strong background influence from positive hedonic goals.
• Materialistic Values: These center on the importance of acquiring money and possessions that convey status. Highly materialistic individuals believe material possessions are the key means to achieving happiness and portraying status.
  • Materialistic values are strongly related to self-enhancement values and tend to conflict with self-transcendent values like universalism.
  • Materialistic values are linked to a reduced likelihood of engaging in voluntary simplicity or sufficiency.

3. Social and Contextual Drivers (Norms and Expectations)

Behavior is heavily influenced by the individual's perceived social environment and how they wish to fit into it.

• Subjective Norms/Normative Expectations: These describe an individual's perception of what others approve of or disapprove of.
  • Stronger subjective norms positively support sustainable behaviors, such as e-waste recycling.
  • In the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) framework used to study e-waste, subjective norms significantly influence behavioral intention.
  • This is rooted in the basic human need for social belonging; people monitor their environment for signs of approval or disapproval to prevent social exclusion.

• Descriptive Norms/Empirical Expectations: These describe the perception of what others in one’s reference network typically do. People are more likely to show pro-environmental behavior when they expect that others are doing it too.
• Normative Goals: These guide actions toward acting 'appropriately' (i.e., in accordance with perceived social norms). Framing behavior as a normative goal (acting responsibly) can increase the likelihood of positive behavioral spillover.
• Social Identity/Collective Identity: People act for the good of the groups they belong to, guided by shared norms, values, and goals.
  • An Environmental Self-Identity (seeing oneself as a pro-environmental person) is driven by biospheric values and promotes a wide range of PEBs.
  • A Global Identity (identification with all humanity) is proposed as a psychological mechanism that can broaden people's moral sphere and motivate pro-social behavior on a global scale, such as acting against inequality or choosing fair trade products.

Value/Driver Category	Key Focus	Relationship to Behavior	Example
Moral Obligation (Personal Norm)	Sense of duty/Morality	Strongest predictor of long-term sustainable action; promotes feeling "right".	Recycling because it is the morally right thing to do.
Biospheric Values	Nature and Environmental protection	Root of environmental identity and moral obligation; encourages action for collective good.	Supporting climate policies (Universalism is positively associated).
Egoistic/Gain Goals	Personal resources (Time, Money, Effort)	Dominates decision-making in many consumer contexts; prioritizes self-interest.	Choosing the cheapest energy provider regardless of green tariff options.
Subjective Norms	Expectations of others' approval	Guides behavior to maintain social belonging and avoid disapproval.	Recycling e-waste because neighbors expect it.
Environmental Self-Identity	Self-concept as an "environmental person"	Promotes consistency across various PEBs.	Choosing sustainable products because it aligns with one's self-image.