Mapping behavioral restraint: a dual perspective on individual actions for climate and environmental sustainability

Adapting individual behavior is one tool to reduce the human impact on climate and environment. However, some behavioral adaptions may be perceived as restraint, especially when associated with individual costs. Commencing from the Theory of Planned Behavior, we conducted an online questionnaire with n=108 participants. In contrast to most studies that focus on the perception of specific behavior, we conducted a study on the perception (cost-benefit-ratio, climate effect, social norm, feasibility to restrain) of 45 different action restraints and therefore allow a cross-sectoral understanding of restraint options. This approach enables two analytical perspectives: one centered around individual motivation to restrain and another around different action restraints. The results of a regression analysis indicate that within the human-centered perspective, perceived feasibility to restrain is mostly impacted by perceived climate effect and cost-benefit-ratio. However, when predicting the perceived feasibility to restrain from a specific behavior, only the perceived cost-benefit-ratio is of relevance. The article concludes with a discussion of the results, wherein each behavior examined is assigned into one cluster according to its perceived feasibility to restrain and cost-benefit-ratio, the derivation of practical implications for each cluster, and recommendations for future research. Our results hold value not only for an academic audience but also for executive departments such as environmental NGOs, sustainability managers, and environmental education institutions.