Positive anticipated affective reactions increase pro-environmental behavior.

Camilla Strömbäck, Per A Andersson, Erkin Asutay, Hulda Karlsson-Larsson, Daniel Västfjäll

Abstract read

In one paragraph

Article in iScience, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it

0cells of the map it votes in

1citing papers in PubMed

–field-weighted citation impact

1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

Positive anticipated affective reactions increase pro-environmental behavior.iScience · 2025
Article

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Camilla StrömbäckJEDI Lab, Division of Economics, Department of Management and Engineering, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden.

Per A AnderssonJEDI Lab, Division of Psychology, Department of Behavioral Sciences and Learning, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden.

Erkin AsutayJEDI Lab, Division of Psychology, Department of Behavioral Sciences and Learning, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden.

Hulda Karlsson-LarssonJEDI Lab, Division of Psychology, Department of Behavioral Sciences and Learning, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden.

Daniel VästfjällJEDI Lab, Division of Psychology, Department of Behavioral Sciences and Learning, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

With households accounting for 75% of global carbon emission, we need to find ways to motivate people to increase their climate change mitigating behaviors. Affective reactions have been linked to pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs), but it is unclear if positive (warm glow or hope) or negative (worry or hopelessness) is more impactful in motivating action. In this pre-registered study we used a unique longitudinal dataset from a Swedish sample to reveal that positive affect predicts more engagement in PEBs, and negative affect predicts less engagement in PEBs. A mediation model also suggests that anticipated (i.e., expected feelings of) positive affect is related to past pro-environmental engagement and could partly predict future PEBs. Hence, affective reactions may be one way to increase intrinsic motivation for a more sustainable lifestyle.

Indexed as

Environmental policyEnvironmental scienceInterdisciplinary application studiesPsychologySocial sciences

Identifiers

PMID40322075

DOI10.1016/j.isci.2025.112389

PMCPMC12049809

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.