This study aimed to replicate previous research examining how status and political orientation influence pro-environmentalism and green product selection. The researchers found that priming participants with thoughts of status did not make them more likely to select green products over conventional options, failing to replicate past findings. Additionally, liberals did not score higher on an environmental questionnaire than conservatives. The inability to replicate prior results suggests the need for further replication research to validate original study conclusions.

1. Over the past decade, the world has begun to support environmentalist ideologies, such as the importance of recycling
(Haldeman, & Warisse-Turner, 2009). Thus recycling and other environmentalist ideologies have become a growing
concern to develop strategies to encourage and promote individuals to follow the “green movement” to create a cleaner
planet. Growing concern for the environment has led institutions to develop new strategies for promoting pro-
environmentalism, such as “bicycle friendly policies” which reduce car transportation as a way to reduce energy
consumption (Tolley, 1996).
Status and Pro-environmentalism
Past research has shown that status can be a motivating factor for pro-environmentalism and in purchasing green products.
It has been shown that status perception can be enhanced by participation in pro-social behavior such as pro-
environmentalism. Research by Zabkar and Hosta (2011) found that individuals’ pro-social status perceptions by others
were heightened through the usage of green products. Barclay (2004) demonstrated that individuals behave altruistically
in situations where they receive a direct benefit in hope to improve one’s reputation. An additional study found that
material self-interest and self-image concerns combine with altruistic motivation as strong motivations for pro-social
behavior (Bénabou & Tirole (2005). Research also shows that being pro-social is associated with being more likely to
purchase green products (Mazar & Zhong, 2010).
Political Orientation and Pro-environmentalism
Another variable that has been shown to impact pro-environmentalism and purchasing of green products is political
orientation. A study conducted by Hine and Gifford (1991) found that left-wing participants displayed a stronger pro-
environmentalist commitment than conservative participants. Neumayer (2004) found that liberal individuals had
significantly more positive beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors toward pro-environmentalism than right-wing individuals.
This suggests that this pro-social behavior of pro-environmentalism has more benefits than costs for liberal individuals
than conservative individuals; thus liberals, would be more motivated to purchase green products (Neumayer, 2004).
Research Replication
The present research is examining whether status priming and political orientation influence product choice and scores on
environmental questionnaire. The experiment on status priming is a direct replication of study by Griskevicius, Tybur, and
Bergh (2010) with an extension of adding political orientation as an additional variable of interest. Replicating studies is
very important for generalizability and for validation of results. These aspects can increase or refute findings of credibility
and reliability to the research that had been conducted (Schmidt, 2009). Replication could raise value to the original
research conducted and increase general knowledge of concepts (Grahe, 2012).
Introduction
Method
A portion of the environmental questionnaire exhibiting the self-reported ideology question at
the end of the questionnaire.
Effect of Status and Political Ideology
Research Questions
• Does activating thoughts about status make participants more likely to select a pro-
environmental products?
• Does political orientation effect environmentalism, as quantified by scores on an
environmental questionnaire?
Priya Ahluwalia, Cora Derocher, Matthew Mariner, John O’Brien
Psychology Department, Assumption College, Worcester, MA
² This graph exhibits that there was
no significant difference between
the status and control group in the
percentage of green products
chosen:
² car: χ2 (1, N=137)= 2.01, p= .16;
² dishwasher: χ2 (1, N=137)= .44, p= .51
² soap: χ2 (1, N=137)= .30, p= .59
Product Descriptions
Environmental Questionnaire
Participants: 137 undergraduate students (118 females and 19 males) ranging in age
from 18-23 years old, mean age of 20.
Materials/Procedure:
10: Have you contributed to an environmental organization?
(1) Have done
(2) Have not
(3) Do not know
In political matters, people talk of “liberal” and “conservative”. How would you place your
views on this scale, generally speaking?
(1)Liberal
(2)Conservative
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Car Dishwasher Soap
PercentageofGreenProducts
Purchased(%)
Product
Status
Control
² ANOVA with political
ideology as the independent
variable and composite score
on the environmentalism
questionnaire as the
dependent variable, yielded
no significant difference
between groups
² F(1,126=1.72), p=.19
² Car, Dishwasher, Soap
Car product description comparing the pro-environmental car product and conventional car
product, as used in the present study.
Environmental Questionnaire (Neumayer, 2004)
Imagine you recently graduated from college. You were offered several jobs and decided to go work
for a well-known and powerful company. Besides paying well, this job offers you the greatest chance
of moving up—assuming you can prove that you have what it takes.
As you pull into the parking lot on your first day of work, you immediately notice that the lot is full
of expensive new cars. Walking to your building, you eye these impressive vehicles and think about
the kind of car you should get now that you’ve graduated, perhaps an upscale luxury sedan or a new
sports car.
A short excerpt from the status activating story
Status
Activating
Story
Control
Story
Control
No Story
Sample Product Descriptions
Environmental
Questionnaire
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Conservatives Liberals
AverageScoreonEnvironmental
Questionnaire
Political Ideology
Honda Accord EX-L V-6 ($30,000)
Has a high-performing 244-horsepower
engine
Fully equipped with leather seats, GPS
navigation system, and a full stereo system
Averages 22 miles per gallon
Honda Accord HYBRID ($30,000)
Has a low-emission hybrid 120-horsepower
engine
Comes with standard cloth seats and standard
AM-FM radio
Average 35 miles per gallon
Effect of Status Condition
Effect of Political Orientation Condition
² ANOVA with condition (status
or control) as the independent
variable and green product
composite (total number of
green products selected) as the
dependent variable, revealed no
significant difference between
groups:
² F(1, 135= .40), p=.53
1.45
1.5
1.55
1.6
1.65
1.7
Status Story Control Story Control No Story
MeanNumberofGreenProducts
Selected
Condition
Status Activating Story Control Story Control No Story
Effect of Condition
Conclusions
Griskevicius et al. (2010) Findings not Replicated
² Status participants did not significantly select more green products than control participants.
Implications for Inability to Replicate
² The inability to replicate the findings could be due to methodological differences, such as
fewer male participants and inability to device all participants.
² Griskevicius et al. (2010) findings may not indicate robust effect, suggesting the need for
future replications to validate the original studies findings.
Results of Political Orientation
² Liberals did not significantly score higher on the environmental questionnaire than
conservative participants.
² Explanations for our hypothesis not being supported are misunderstanding of the terms
liberal and conservative and generational differences in political beliefs.
Implications for Future Research
² Future implications of this research demonstrate the need for replication and use of different
independent variables such as morality, geographical area, and use of different terminology
for political orientations (Colarelli, 2002; Crough & Abbot, 2009; Feinberg & Willer, 2013)
Results