Enhancing intentions to reduce meat consumption: An experiment comparing the role of self- and social pro-environmental identities

Research has consistently shown that a pro-environmental identity plays a critical role in motivating and sustaining pro-environmental actions. However, few studies have directly compared the effects of pro-environmental self- and social identities on pro-environmental behaviors. In the present study, we experimentally tested the effect of increasing self- and social identity salience on the intention to reduce meat consumption. A total of 678 young Italian adults were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: 1) past behavior recall plus personal feedback aimed at enhancing pro-environmental self-identity salience; 2) past behavior recall plus social feedback to reinforce pro-environmental social identity salience; 3) no feedback, where participants only recalled their past behavior; 4) control condition, i.e., recall of past behaviors unrelated to sustainability. In addition, we explored the mediating role of attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. The results revealed that recalling past eating-related pro-environmental behaviors enhances both the pro-environmental self-identity and the pro-environmental social identity, regardless of whether feedback was received. All experimental conditions indirectly fostered the intention to reduce meat consumption with respect to the control condition. In conclusion, recalling past pro-environmental behaviors, even without receiving specific feedback, can activate pro-environmental identities, thereby creating pathways toward stronger intentions to reduce meat consumption.