Why do cosmopolitan individuals tend to be more pro-environmentally committed? The mediating pathways via knowledge acquisition and emotional affinity toward nature

Past research offered evidence that cosmopolitan individuals behave more pro-environmentally. The current study systematically examined two mechanisms explaining why. One the one hand, cosmopolitan individuals acquire knowledge about global challenges concerning environmental crises and become aware of mitigating strategies. On the other hand, cosmopolitan individuals extend their prosociality beyond humankind and develop an emotional affinity toward the natural environment. We set out to provide the first empirical support for these cognitive and emotive pathways accounting for why cosmopolitan individuals tend to be more environmentally friendly. We recruited a total of 1,159 participants to systematically investigate the simultaneous mediation of cognitive and emotive characteristics of cosmopolitan individuals on their commitment to and engagement in pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs). The results from both the large community study (a Singaporean sample; N = 959) and the replication study (an American sample; N = 200) revealed that cosmopolitan orientation fostered both the acquisition of knowledge and emotional affinity toward nature, while emotional affinity was a stronger predictor for commitment to and frequency of PEBs. Theoretical and practical implications for a nuanced understanding of the motivational value of the cognitive and emotive pathways on PEBs are discussed.