Influence of Positive and Threatening Awe on Pro-Environmental Behavior: The Mediating Role of Connection to Nature

This study aimed to verify the effect of positive awe and explore the effect of threatening awe on promoting pro-environmental behavior, as well as examine the role of connection to nature in this relationship. An online experiment (Experiment 1) and a laboratory experiment (Experiment 2) were conducted in two different samples to replicate the results. The results of Experiment 1 demonstrated that both positive and threatening awe promoted participants’ willingness to pay a premium for ecotourism, and the connection to nature played mediating roles in these processes. The results of Experiment 2 demonstrated that positive awe improved participants’ intention to conduct a series of pro-environmental behaviors, and the connection to nature played a mediating role, while threatening awe did not have this effect. These findings suggest that positive awe can encourage people to conduct more pro-environmental behaviors, while threatening awe can encourage pro-environmental behaviors in the form of financial support, and the feeling of connection to nature is one of the psychological mechanisms in these processes. The results of the present research not only enrich the literature related to both awe and pro-environmental behavior, but also provide managerial implications for policy makers and ecotourism operators.