Efficacy Beliefs and Natural Resource Conservation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analytic Investigation

Environmental degradation represents a critical global challenge. Given its profound impact on ecosystems and societies, understanding the psychological factors that motivate individuals to engage in natural resource conservation behaviors has become increasingly important. Because efficacy beliefs (i.e., self-efficacy, response efficacy, and collective efficacy) are key psychological drivers of both plans and actions, a meta-analytic approach was used to estimate the associations between efficacy beliefs and conservation-related intentions and behaviors. The moderating roles of data collection method, population type, culture, and participants’ gender were also examined. Five meta-analyses synthesized the findings from 50 studies on conservation intentions and behaviors, revealing medium-sized positive associations with self-efficacy (intention, r = 0.47; behaviors, r = 0.41) and response efficacy (intention, r = 0.36; behaviors, r = 0.34), whereas the association with collective efficacy was small (single index, r = 0.28). Although substantial heterogeneity was observed, none of the tested moderators reached statistical significance, highlighting the need for future studies. Overall, these findings underscore the importance of strengthening individuals’ beliefs in their ability to engage in conservation behaviors.