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The effect of self-determined motivation on household energy consumption behaviour in a metropolitan area in southern China

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Abstract

Promoting pro-environmental behaviour among individuals could help to mitigate climate change. In this research, we tested the effect of self-determined motivation on pro-environmental behaviours related to household energy consumption. A questionnaire survey was conducted in Hong Kong (n = 1004) to examine the importance of self-determined motivation on pro-environmental behaviours that promote climate change mitigation. Our results indicated that incorporating self-determined motivation into a model of goal-directed behaviour (MGB) improved its predictive power and that both the intrinsic and extrinsic motivations of an individual were important predictors of pro-environmental energy consumption behaviour. The empirical results suggest measures that can be used by the government to motivate residents’ pro-environmental energy consumption behaviours and to achieve the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions for a metropolitan area in southern China.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the Dean’s Research Grant of FLASS, EdUHK, for providing funding support to this research project and to all the respondents to the survey conducted in Hong Kong.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social Sciences, The Education University of Hong Kong, Tai Po, New Territories, Hong Kong

    Lewis T. O. Cheung & Alice S. Y. Chow

  2. Department of Science and Environmental Studies, The Education University of Hong Kong, Tai Po, New Territories, Hong Kong

    Lincoln Fok

  3. Department of Asian and Policy Studies, The Education University of Hong Kong, Tai Po, New Territories, Hong Kong

    Kar-Ming Yu & Kee-Lee Chou

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  1. Lewis T. O. Cheung
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  2. Alice S. Y. Chow
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Correspondence to Lewis T. O. Cheung.

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Cheung, L.T.O., Chow, A.S.Y., Fok, L. et al. The effect of self-determined motivation on household energy consumption behaviour in a metropolitan area in southern China. Energy Efficiency 10, 549–561 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12053-016-9472-5

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