Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Impacts of Big Five Personality Traits on Household Energy Conservation Behavior: A Preliminary Study in Xi’an China

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Proceedings of the 2020 International Conference on Resource Sustainability: Sustainable Urbanisation in the BRI Era (icRS Urbanisation 2020) (icRSUrbanisation 2020)

Part of the book series: Environmental Science and Engineering ((ESE))

  • 424 Accesses

Abstract

The residential sector has become a significant energy consumer and carbon emitter in China. Behavior-driven solutions are widely used for building energy conservation. Research gap exists to understand the impacts of personality traits on the individual differences in energy conservation behavior. This study aims to explore the roles of Big Five personality traits in household energy conservation behavioral process. The research connects the Big Five personality traits with attitude in the theory of planned behavior. Through a detailed questionnaire-based survey, the study collected demographics, energy conservation intentions, and personality characteristics from households in two typical communities in Xi’an China. The sample size of the survey consists of 213 households. The structural equation modelling results show that two personality traits play critical roles in household energy conservation behavioral process. Agreeableness positively contributes to energy conservation attitude while Extroversion presents a negative relationship with the attitude towards household energy conservation. The research offers a shred of an empirical demonstration on the connection between personality traits and pro-environmental behaviors. The findings would contribute to the energy conservation campaigns in China.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Zhang, Y., He, C.-Q., Tang, B.-J., Wei, Y.-M.: China’s energy consumption in the building sector: a life cycle approach. Energy Build 94, 240–251 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Yu, Z., Fung, B.C., Haghighat, F., Yoshino, H., Morofsky, E.: A systematic procedure to study the influence of occupant behavior on building energy consumption. Energy Build 43(6), 1409–1417 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Klein, L., et al.: Coordinating occupant behavior for building energy and comfort management using multi-agent systems. Autom Constr 22, 525–536 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Anderson, K., Lee, S., Menassa, C.: Impact of social network type and structure on modeling normative energy use behavior interventions. J Comput Civil Eng 28(1), 30–39 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Kosonen HK, Kim AA (2017) Advancement of behavioral energy interventions in commercial buildings. Facilities

    Google Scholar 

  6. Liu, X., Wang, Q., Wei, H.-H., Chi, H.-L., Ma, Y., Jian, I.Y.: Psychological and demographic factors affecting household energy-saving intentions: a TPB-based study in Northwest China. Sustainability 12(3), 836 (2020)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Zhang, Y., Wang, Z., Zhou, G.: Antecedents of employee electricity saving behavior in organizations: an empirical study based on norm activation model. Energy Pol 62, 1120–1127 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Hong, T., Chen, C.-F., Wang, Z., Xu, X.: Linking human-building interactions in shared offices with personality traits. Build Environ 170, 106602 (2020)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Kassin SM (2003) Essentials of psychology. Prentice Hall

    Google Scholar 

  10. Tang CMF, Lam D (2017) The role of extraversion and agreeableness traits on Gen Y’s attitudes and willingness to pay for green hotels. Int J Contemp Hospit Manag

    Google Scholar 

  11. Poškus, M.S., Žukauskienė, R.: Predicting adolescents’ recycling behavior among different big five personality types. J Environ Psychol 54, 57–64 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Yazdanpanah M, Hadji Hosseinlou M (2017) The role of personality traits through habit and intention on determining future preferences of public transport use. Behav Sci 7(1):8

    Google Scholar 

  13. Munyaneza, J., Wakeel, M., Chen, B.: Overview of Rwanda energy sector: from energy shortage to sufficiency. Energy Proc 104, 215–220 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Kaygusuz, K.: Energy services and energy poverty for sustainable rural development. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 15(2), 936–947 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Lo, Siu Hing, Peters, Gjalt-Jorn Y., van Breukelen, Gerard J.P., Kok, Gerjo: Only reasoned action? An interorganizational study of energy-saving behaviors in office buildings. Energ Effi 7(5), 761–775 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12053-014-9254-x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Obaidellah, U.H., Danaee, M., Mamun, M.A.A., Hasanuzzaman, M., Rahim, N.A.: An application of TPB constructs on energy-saving behavioural intention among university office building occupants: a pilot study in Malaysian tropical climate. J Hous Built Environ 34(2), 533–569 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10901-018-9637-y

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. De Leeuw, A., Valois, P., Ajzen, I., Schmidt, P.: Using the theory of planned behavior to identify key beliefs underlying pro-environmental behavior in high-school students: Implications for educational interventions. J Environ Psychol 42, 128–138 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Ru, X., Wang, S., Yan, S.: Exploring the effects of normative factors and perceived behavioral control on individual’s energy-saving intention: an empirical study in eastern China. Resour Conserv Recycl 134, 91–99 (2018)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Chiou, J.-S.: The effects of attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control on consumers’ purchase intentions: the moderating effects of product knowledge and attention to social comparison information. Proc Natl Sci Counc ROC (C) 9(2), 298–308 (1998)

    Google Scholar 

  20. Conner, M., Armitage, C.J.: Extending the theory of planned behavior: a review and avenues for further research. J Appl Soc Psychol 28(15), 1429–1464 (1998)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Lim, Y.J., Osman, A., Salahuddin, S.N., Romle, A.R., Abdullah, S.: Factors influencing online shopping behavior: the mediating role of purchase intention. Proc Econ Fin 35(5), 401–410 (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  22. Paul, J., Modi, A., Patel, J.: Predicting green product consumption using theory of planned behavior and reasoned action. J Retail Consum Serv 29, 123–134 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Matthews G, Deary IJ, Whiteman MC (2003) Personality traits. Cambridge University Press

    Google Scholar 

  24. Brick, C., Lewis, G.J.: Unearthing the “green” personality: core traits predict environmentally friendly behavior. Environ Behav 48(5), 635–658 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Pavalache-Ilie, M., Cazan, A.-M.: Personality correlates of pro-environmental attitudes. Int J Environ Health Res 28(1), 71–78 (2018)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Wang, Q.-C., Wang, Y.-X., Jian, I.Y., Wei, H.-H., Liu, X., Ma, Y.-T.: Exploring the “energy-saving personality traits” in the office and household situation: an empirical study. Energies 13(14), 3535 (2020)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Conner, M., Abraham, C.: Conscientiousness and the theory of planned behavior: toward a more complete model of the antecedents of intentions and behavior. Pers Soc Psychol Bull 27(11), 1547–1561 (2001)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Ma, X., Bateson, D.J.: A multivariate analysis of the relationship between attitude toward science and attitude toward the environment. J Environ Educ 31(1), 27–32 (1999)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Hirsh, J.B.: Personality and environmental concern. J Environ Psychol 30(2), 245–248 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Milfont, T.L., Sibley, C.G.: The big five personality traits and environmental engagement: associations at the individual and societal level. J Environ Psychol 32(2), 187–195 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Gosling, S.D., Rentfrow, P.J., Swann, W.B.: A very brief measure of the big-five personality domains. J Res Person 19(21), 139–152 (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  32. Yu, T.-Y., Yu, T.-K.: The moderating effects of students’ personality traits on pro-environmental behavioral intentions in response to climate change. Int J Environ Res Publ Health 14(12), 1472 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Terrier, L., Kim, S., Fernandez, S.: Who are the good organizational citizens for the environment? An examination of the predictive validity of personality traits. J Environ Psychol 48, 185–190 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Hilbig, B.E., Zettler, I., Moshagen, M., Heydasch, T.: Tracing the path from personality—via cooperativeness—to conservation. Eur J Pers 27(4), 319–327 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Wuertz TR (2015) Personality traits associated with environmental concern

    Google Scholar 

  36. Markowitz, E.M., Goldberg, L.R., Ashton, M.C., Lee, K.: Profiling the “pro-environmental individual”: a personality perspective. J Pers 80(1), 81–111 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. A. Busic-Sontic and C. Brick, “Personality trait effects on green household installations,” 2018

    Google Scholar 

  38. Costa, P.T., McCrae, R.R.: Influence of extraversion and neuroticism on subjective well-being: happy and unhappy people. J Pers Soc Psychol 38(4), 668 (1980)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. Han, H., Kim, Y.: An investigation of green hotel customers’ decision formation: developing an extended model of the theory of planned behavior. Int J Hosp Manag 29(4), 659–668 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. Wan, C., Shen, G.Q., Choi, S.: Experiential and instrumental attitudes: interaction effect of attitude and subjective norm on recycling intention. J Environ Psychol 50, 69–79 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Goldberg, L.R.: The development of markers for the Big-Five factor structure. Psychol Assess 4(1), 26 (1992)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. Donnellan, M.B., Oswald, F.L., Baird, B.M., Lucas, R.E.: The mini-IPIP scales: tiny-yet-effective measures of the big five factors of personality. Psychol Assess 18(2), 192 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  43. Hooper D, Coughlan J, Mullen M (2008) Structural equation modelling: guidelines for determining model fit. Articles 2

    Google Scholar 

  44. Hair, J.F., Ringle, C.M., Sarstedt, M.: PLS-SEM: indeed a silver bullet. J Market Theor Pract 19(2), 139–152 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  45. Zhang, Y., Wang, Z., Zhou, G.: Determinants of employee electricity saving: the role of social benefits, personal benefits and organizational electricity saving climate. J Clean Prod 66, 280–287 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  46. Gao, L., Wang, S., Li, J., Li, H.: Application of the extended theory of planned behavior to understand individual’s energy saving behavior in workplaces. Resour Conserv Recycl 127, 107–113 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  47. Prud’homme B, Raymond L (2013) Sustainable development practices in the hospitality industry: an empirical study of their impact on customer satisfaction and intentions. Int J Hospit Manag 34:116–126

    Google Scholar 

  48. Komatsu, H., Nishio, K.-I.: An experimental study on motivational change for electricity conservation by normative messages. Appl Energy 158, 35–43 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  49. Busic-Sontic, A., Czap, N.V., Fuerst, F.: The role of personality traits in green decision-making. J Econ Psychol 62, 313–328 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  50. von der Ohe H, Martins N (2016) Reducing the carbon footprint of research by recycling item level data. In ECRM2016-Proceedings of the 15th European Conference on Research Methodology for Business Management”: ECRM2016, Academic Conferences and publishing limited, p 322

    Google Scholar 

  51. Ribeiro JA, Veiga RT, Higuchi AK (2016) Personality traits and sustainable consumption. Revista Brasileira De Market 15(3)

    Google Scholar 

  52. Kvasova, O.: The big five personality traits as antecedents of eco-friendly tourist behavior. Personal Individ Differ 83, 111–116 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  53. Watson D, Clark LA (1997) Extraversion and its positive emotional core. In: Handbook of personality psychology, Elsevier, pp 767–793

    Google Scholar 

  54. Hebert, J.R., Clemow, L., Pbert, L., Ockene, I.S., Ockene, J.K.: Social desirability bias in dietary self-report may compromise the validity of dietary intake measures. Int J Epidemiol 24(2), 389–398 (1995)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  55. Strahan R, Gerbasi KC (1972) Short, homogeneous versions of the Marlowe-Crowne social desirability scale. J Clin Psychol

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of the Built Environment, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands

    Liu Xuan

  2. Department of Building and Real Estate, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China

    Jian Izzy Yi & Xie Qiao-Peng

  3. Research Institute of Sustainable Urban Development, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China

    Jian Izzy Yi

  4. Department of Land Economy, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB3 9EP, UK

    Wang Qian-Cheng

  5. Faculty of Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK

    Zhou Long-Li

Authors
  1. Liu Xuan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jian Izzy Yi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Wang Qian-Cheng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Zhou Long-Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Xie Qiao-Peng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jian Izzy Yi .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geographical Sciences, University of Nottingham Ningbo China, Ningbo, China

    Faith Ka Shun Chan

  2. Nottingham University Business School China, University of Nottingham Ningbo China, Ningbo, China

    Hing Kai Chan

  3. Nottingham University Business School China, University of Nottingham Ningbo China, Ningbo, China

    Tiantian Zhang

  4. School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Ming Xu

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

About this paper

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

Xuan, L., Yi, J.I., Qian-Cheng, W., Long-Li, Z., Qiao-Peng, X. (2020). The Impacts of Big Five Personality Traits on Household Energy Conservation Behavior: A Preliminary Study in Xi’an China. In: Chan, F.K.S., Chan, H.K., Zhang, T., Xu, M. (eds) Proceedings of the 2020 International Conference on Resource Sustainability: Sustainable Urbanisation in the BRI Era (icRS Urbanisation 2020). icRSUrbanisation 2020. Environmental Science and Engineering. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-9605-6_5

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-9605-6_5

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-15-9604-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-15-9605-6

  • eBook Packages: HistoryHistory (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation