The Effects of Social Class on Green Consumption

As many environmental issues are caused by human activities, promoting green ‎consumption could help ameliorate the situation. My thesis research examines how ‎consumers’ self-perceptions of social class influence their propensity for buying green ‎products. Across seven experiments, I found that middle-class consumers had greater ‎propensity for green ‎consumption compared to lower- and upper-class consumers. This ‎curvilinear effect of social class was driven by the opposing forces of social acceptance ‎‎(positive) and essentialism (negative). ‎Furthermore, the curvilinear effect was stronger ‎among consumers with a low (vs. high) belief in a ‎just world. These novel findings make ‎significant theoretical and practical contributions.