Social class and the shaping of environmental willingness: end of the month vs. end of the world

Abstract

This study explores how social class shapes environmental willingness because it is unclear which social class-related factors shape environmental willingness. Therefore, a sequential mixed-methods design is used to answer this main research question. Firstly, the most distinct social classes with regard to environmental willingness are explored. Descriptive (comparing means) and inferential (multiple linear regression analyses) statistics show that socio-cultural (semi-)professionals are the most distinct social class regarding environmental willingness. Secondly, semi-structured interviews are conducted with both socio-cultural (semi- )professionals and production workers to unravel what the social class-related factors are that shape this distinction. The results of a thematic narrative analysis show that cognitive (e.g., political sophistication), material (e.g., ability to make it to the “end of the month”), and cultural (e.g., differences in lifestyles) factors are social class-related and shape environmental willingness. Therefore, this study shows how social class-related factors shape in a complex interplay environmental willingness differently for socio-cultural (semi-)professionals and production workers.