An explorative socio-psychological model for determining sustainable behavior: Pilot study in German and Mexican Universities

This paper presents a proposal for a socio-psychological model which examines behavior for sustainability of individuals in higher education institutions (HEIs). The model aims to offer an alternative to the theory of social dilemmas, which is often proposed to explain unsustainable behavior. This model focuses on values and moral norms grounded within individuals, rather than on rational choice and self-interest. Key variables are universal values, awareness of consequences, ascription of responsibility, and personal intelligences. Results of this exploratory study show that not all of these key variables can be proven to be significant. However, ascription of responsibility, universal values, and personal intelligences seem to be the main factors which explain behavior for sustainability. This model is promising because it shows, in an explanatory manner, an increase in behavioral variance.