Self-Presentational Barriers to Resource Conservation

Four experiments examined the attributional consequences of engaging in conservation-oriented behavior. Based on symbolic interactionist and self-presentational theory, it was hypothesized that behaviors associated with resource conservation would tend to affect the perceived status of the performer and would lead to systematic attributions regarding the performers identity. In the three initial experiments, each manipulating a different conservation behavior, subjects were asked to judge the identity of a target person based on a description of the targets activities. Results indicated that stereotypes regarding the identity of people who engaged in the manipulated conservation-oriented behaviors were widely shared. Further, the performance of these particular energy conservation behaviors was found to stigmatize the target by lowering the target's perceived status and by negatively influencing other dimensions of identity. A final study explored the perceived appropriateness of engaging in particular conservationist activities given specific self-presentational concerns. The data revealed considerable inter subject agreement as to the appropriateness of such behavior in situations in which the goal is to convey a specific image of the self to a social audience. The research suggests that the self-presentational connotations of conservation-oriented activities may be important determinants of their performance.