Predicting Individual Behavior and Collective Action Against Climate Change: Extending the RPA Framework

Employing the risk perception attitude (RPA) framework and its extension, this study investigated how perceived risk and efficacy at both individual- and societal-levels as well as individuals’ consideration of future consequences (CFC) affected intentions to engage in individual behavior and collective action against climate change. The results of two-wave online survey of Chinese citizens (NT1 = 891 and NT2 = 439) revealed that perceived individual-level efficacy served as a major antecedent of performing individual behavior, whereas perceived societal-level risk served as a major antecedent of engaging in collective action. Furthermore, for individuals with an immediate-mind (i.e., low CFC), the joint effect of perceived risk and efficacy, at both individual- and societal-levels, was positively associated with their behavioral intention. The findings demonstrated the utility of the RPA framework in predicting individual behavior and collective action to mitigate climate change, and identified CFC as a boundary condition of the theoretical framework.