The relationship between materialistic values and environmental attitudes and behaviors: a meta-analysis

A growing body of evidence suggests that materialistic values may be negatively associated with pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors. This research used meta-analytic techniques to assess: the mean effect size of the correlation between materialistic values and pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors; the ‘true effect size’ adjusting for the reliability of the measures; and the effects of gender, age, population type and publication year on the size of the correlation. A significant, medium-sized association was found between materialistic values and both environmental attitudes and behaviors; these relationships were moderated by population type and publication year, but not by gender or age. Adjusted for reliability, the effects increased considerably, largely due to the low reliability of both types of environmental measures. The implications for future research are discussed, particularly with regard to the importance of using more reliable environmental measures and collecting data from more cultures. Practical applications are also highlighted, particularly as they might apply to environmental campaigns.