A sociopsychological model predicting motivation to alter behaviour to mitigate climate change: a repeated cross-sectional study from Taiwan

Adopting individual behavioural changes to achieve a low-carbon lifestyle is a key strategy for addressing climate change. However, related studies have generally been conducted in Western contexts. Drawing upon a comprehensive national survey conducted in Taiwan, we developed a sociopsychological model to explain the motivation to alter behaviour to mitigate climate change and to engage in specific mitigation behaviours, including adopting plant-based diets, using public transportation, and donating to environmental nongovernmental organisations. We used a repeated cross-sectional survey design to test our model seven times to investigate general motivation and two times to investigate behaviour-specific motivation. Samples are representative of the Taiwanese population, collected between August 2021 and June 2024 (N = 4446). Our results confirm the validity and stability of the proposed model, demonstrating its potential to advance the understanding of how behavioural changes can mitigate climate change in non-Western contexts. Issues on psychological distance and seasonal changes on climate change risk perceptions are also discussed.