From individual to system change and back again: sufficiency-oriented consumer and citizenship behaviour for a transformative path toward degrowth

O'Dell, Dallas (2024) From individual to system change and back again: sufficiency-oriented consumer and citizenship behaviour for a transformative path toward degrowth. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

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Abstract

To avoid climate catastrophe, the IPCC has called for system-level transformations, such as equitable downscaling of production through degrowth, as well sufficiency-oriented behaviour change to reduce aggregate consumption. However, these approaches remain mostly separate within academic literature. This thesis aimed to address this disconnect between reduced consumption behaviours at the individual level and a degrowth agenda at the system level, as neither mitigation strategy alone will adequately deliver the scale and speed of emissions reductions required. Three empirical research projects investigated how sufficiency within a degrowth agenda might be facilitated through institutional change. Project 1 used sufficiency-promoting marketing and deep framing to promote consumption reduction and degrowth, finding that deep framing in non-commercial settings was more effective for promoting degrowth values. Project 2 investigated how a human needs approach might inform government regulations on consumption in the context of chemical pollution, finding that people considered functional products more essential than experiential products, though this depends on the level of risk and one’s subjective status. Project 3 connected the general public’s engagement in sufficiency behaviours with their support for eco-social degrowth policy proposals, finding a complex relationship between these factors which varies by individual characteristics. Lastly, a commentary is included on how environmental psychologists can engage with system-level processes. By focusing on consumption reduction and applying insights from psychological and behavioural science using experimental methods, this thesis aimed to make the degrowth agenda more concrete to increase its relevance and accessibility to the general public.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Additional Information:	© 2024 Dallas O'Dell
Library of Congress subject classification:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions
Sets:	Departments > Psychological and Behavioural Science
Supervisor:	Shreedhar, Ganga and Mourato, Susana
URI:	http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/4733

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