Pro-environmental behaviour, self-regulation and mindfulness: an outlook on their interplay

Human responsibility for the environmental crisis is increasingly supported by scientific evidence, and climate change has become a major public concern. Despite this, greenhouse gases emissions remain far above levels deemed acceptable to keep global warming within the 1.5°C/2°C threshold set by the Paris Agreement, raising the likelihood that we may miss the opportunity to prevent the climate system from entering an irreversible trajectory. While extensive scientific research has been dedicated to understanding the drivers and barriers to pro-environmental behaviour (i.e., actions aimed at minimising one’s negative impact on the ecosystem), much of this research has focused on factors such as environmental knowledge, individual motivation, and contextual opportunities. However, these studies often fail to explain why intentions to act for the environment do not always lead to concrete actions, a phenomenon known as the environmental attitude-behaviour gap. To address this gap, this thesis explores the role of self-regulation (i.e., the ability to modify one’s automatic responses and internal states to pursue long-term goals and adapt to one's environment) and of mindfulness - as both a source and a manifestation of enhanced self-regulation - in encouraging pro-environmental behaviour. The first section of the thesis (Chapters 1, 2, and 3) reviews the literature on pro-environmental behaviour, self-regulation, and mindfulness, highlighting the interactions between these constructs and establishing a reference framework for the studies conducted during the Ph.D programme, which are presented in the subsequent chapters (Chapters 4-8). The first study discussed in the thesis is a systematic review of 41 studies investigating the role of self-regulation processes, and the underlying executive functions, in explaining pro-environmental behaviour. The review reveals a positive relationship between self-regulation processes and pro-environmental behaviour, although findings regarding executive functions were mostly inconclusive. The second study, using a correlational design, explored the relationship between mindfulness, pro-environmental attitudes, and pro-environmental behaviours. The findings indicate that the observing facet of mindfulness directly predicts pro-environmental behaviour, while the acting with awareness and nonjudging facets moderate the link between attitudes and behaviours, enhancing their consistency. Using the same correlational method, the third study examined the relationship between mindfulness, climate anxiety, and pro-environmental behaviour. The results show that mindfulness moderates anxiety with a dual effect on pro-environmental engagement: it fosters adaptive coping when anxiety is more severe but may reduce engagement when it downplays more adaptive levels of anxiety. The fourth study tested the effects of a cognitive manipulation intervention designed to enhance self-regulation abilities on individuals' reactions to climate change. The findings indicate that while environmental education increased pro-environmental attitudes and behaviours, complementing the programme with self-regulation training improved individuals' emotion regulation, a critical skill in responding to the escalating threat of climate change. The final study investigated the effects of different brief mindfulness inductions on individuals’ emotional responses to climate change information and their pro-environmental actions. The findings revealed that mindfulness training focused on both awareness and acceptance skills was significantly more effective at regulating negative emotions compared to partial training or no training. However, it did not significantly impact pro-environmental actions. The findings of this thesis highlight the complex dynamics of the relationship between self-regulation, mindfulness and pro-environmental behaviour whilst providing a theoretical foundation for interventions aiming to promote constructive responses to climate change, combining essential behavioural change with psychological resilience.