Perceived person-group alignment and collective action intentions in environmental movements

Abstract

Addressing environmental destruction requires collective action, as its escalating impact on ecosystem sustainability continues to intensify due to global warming. Effective collective efforts depend on interactions among individuals within groups, underscoring the importance of person-group fit dynamics in motivating group members. The present study examines how person-group fit, specifically, congruence and discrepancy, influences socio-structural factors (stability and legitimacy) and psychosocial factors (moral conviction, anger, and collective efficacy) in predicting intentions to engage in environmental collective action. We collected data from 261 individuals who self-identified as environmentalists. Polynomial regression and response surface analyses revealed significant congruence effects for legitimacy, moral conviction, anger, and collective efficacy. Participants whose perceptions aligned with their group at high levels of these factors reported the strongest intentions to act, whereas congruence at low levels was associated with weaker intentions. We also observed significant discrepancy effects for legitimacy, moral conviction, and collective efficacy, indicating that individual perceptions exerted a stronger influence on collective action intentions than group perceptions when the two were misaligned. These findings demonstrate that both congruence and discrepancy between individual and group perceptions meaningfully shape collective action intentions. This study provides valuable insights into the social-psychological processes that drive collective environmental engagement and highlights the importance of considering group-level dynamics in environmental mobilization.