# data[].attributes.body
1.  https://eds.s.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=65&sid=ad2c5276-3d1e-42ef-821b-342ee4b0efaa%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#AN=156022229&db=ccm
2.  https://eds.s.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=67&sid=ad2c5276-3d1e-42ef-821b-342ee4b0efaa%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#AN=151220270&db=ccm
3.  https://eds.s.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=69&sid=ad2c5276-3d1e-42ef-821b-342ee4b0efaa%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#AN=155827602&db=ccm

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Keywords: Anxiety; Experiences; Later internship period; Qualitative study

A shortage of nurses affects hospital stability and quality of patient care [[ 1]]. As the backbone of the future nursing workforce, undergraduate nursing students are vital to the stability of the nursing profession and the consequent quality of care [[ 1]]. The professional values and beliefs instilled into nursing students will influence whether they choose to become nurses; nursing knowledge and skills they learned at school will affect the quality of nursing care they provide as clinical nurses after graduation [[ 2]]. Clinical internships are a crucial period for nursing students to experience clinical nursing and develop a professional identity, enabling them to transition smoothly into professional clinical nurses [[ 3]]. The later period of the internship (internship duration ≥6 months) is an important period for nursing students to decide whether to pursue a nursing career after graduation [[ 4]]; further, their mental health directly affects their lives, studies, and ultimately the stability of the future nursing workforce [[ 5]].

Undergraduate nursing education in China is a four-year program. According to the three-stage training model of public courses, professional courses, and clinical placement, students are required to complete a 10-month clinical internship in their fourth year [[ 3]]. The internship phase requires nursing students to cope with the challenges associated with their academic studies in addition to the demands of clinical practice [[ 5]]. In the later period of their internships, nursing students will have gradually adapted to the clinical work environment but are faced with multiple stressors, including concerns of employment, graduation, and licensure exams. As a result, nursing students view the internship phase as one of the most anxiety-filled periods in nursing education [[ 5]].

Anxiety is a complex emotional state involving tension, entanglement, panic, and irritability caused by confrontation with a potentially dangerous situation [[ 6]]. Certain experiences of anxiety can have positive effects on individuals; however, excessive anxiety can lead to nervousness, boredom, and sullenness; severe anxiety can even cause learning challenges and affect physical health [[ 7]].

Numerous studies have revealed that nursing students who undergo internships experience various degrees of anxiety. The reasons are multifaceted, and the main stressors might be lack of knowledge and skills, and fear of medical error resulting from inadequate preparation [[ 8]]. In addition, Chinese undergraduate nursing students need to make career decisions in the later part of their internship periods, such as deciding whether to join the nursing workforce and become clinical nurses, whether to continue their studies, or even whether to leave the nursing profession [[ 9]], which exacerbates their anxiety. The nursing licensure examination [[10]], operational tests, interviews, and job trials during the process of seeking jobs and thesis writing requirements [[11]] also add to the competitive pressure on Chinese nursing students [[ 2], [12]]. Svitsky et al. [[13]] revealed that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic may also be positively related to high levels of anxiety among nursing students. It was found that perceived anxiety among nursing students in the later period of their internships was much higher than that among experienced nurses [[ 8], [14]]. A high level of anxiety may result in impaired psychological well-being and cause depression and burnout syndrome, and in extreme cases, post-traumatic stress disorder among these students, especially in the stage of clinical practice [[15]].

Li et al. [[ 2], [16]] conducted a systematic review of synthesis interventions that promoted the mental health of nursing students. Various interventions have been found, such as psychotherapy, exercise, and training programs, among which psychotherapy showed a significant effect on decreasing students' anxiety levels. To our knowledge, such an intervention has yet to be developed specifically for undergraduate nursing students in China. Furthermore, there are no qualitative studies examining post-practicum anxiety among nursing students in a Chinese educational context and understanding their experience of anxiety, reactions, and anticipated support during the internship period. It is critical to help students reduce their anxiety and ultimately stabilize the nursing workforce. Therefore, this study aimed to understand the anxiety experiences of undergraduate nursing students in the later period of their internships in a Chinese educational context.

Drawing on the principles of naturalistic inquiry, a descriptive qualitative study was conducted to explore the experience of anxiety among Chinese undergraduate nursing students and strategies to alleviate anxiety during the later period of their clinical internships. Descriptive qualitative research is valuable for exploring the experiences of a phenomenon when a comprehensive summary is desired [[18]]. The aim of descriptive qualitative studies is to provide a descriptive summary of the desired data. Descriptive qualitative analysis is considered the method of choice when a straight description of phenomena is desired [[18]].

Purposive sampling was used to recruit participants from three teaching hospitals in Hunan Province, China [[20]]. After obtaining the required authorization from the nursing departments of each hospital, participants were recruited by research assistants (RAs) under the supervision of the first author. The RAs were nurses working in the participating hospitals. They met the student nurses interning at the hospitals, explained the study to them, and provided them with their contact information. If students felt anxious in the clinical setting and wanted to participate in the study, they contacted RAs by phone. RAs then assessed their anxiety levels using the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS). The SAS is a reliable and validated measure of somatic symptoms associated with anxiety responses [[21]]. In China, in accordance with the China Mental Health Center's recommendation [[22]], the standard score ranges are 25-49 (normal range), 50-59 (mild anxiety), 60-69 (moderate anxiety), and ≥ 70 (severe anxiety). The inclusion criteria for participants were: ( 1) undergraduate nursing interns with an internship duration of ≥6 months; ( 2) SAS score ≥ 50. Students who met the two inclusion criteria were invited to participate in the study. Data saturation was reached when the sample size reached 17 during the interviews. The general profile of the 17 participants, identified by Nl to N17 as their serial numbers in the chronological order of the interviews are shown in Table 1. Six of the participants were men and 11 were women. The ages of the participants ranged from 19 to 22 years (u = 20.7 years).

Table 1 Participant characteristics ( n = 17)

This study is based on Jiang's theory of "Psychological Stress System" [[23]], in which stressors lead to physiological, psychological, and behavioral reactions among nursing students in the later period of their clinical internships. Coping styles and social support for nursing students were considered stress-mediating variables, and anxiety was the outcome of the stress response [[24]]. The research interview outline was designed based on "Psychological Stress System" and is shown in Table 2. Specifically, the second question aimed to find the stressors (i.e., sources) that led to anxiety among participants; the third and fourth questions were designed to understand the coping styles participants adopted, and the social support they expected from nursing schools and hospitals.

Table 2 Interview guide exploring the experiences of anxiety among nursing students in the later period of their clinical internships

The study data were collected from March 2021 to April 2021. Data were collected through face-to-face, semi-structured interviews at three teaching hospitals in the Hunan Province. Interviews were held in quiet and accessible rooms to enable participants to speak confidently. All interviews were conducted by the first author, who had 26 years of clinical training experience and was proficient in qualitative research. Participants signed the consent forms and were briefed on the purpose, procedures, and significance of the study before the face-to-face interviews. Before the interviews, the first author sought the informed consent of the participants through phone calls. Interview dates and times were also set through phone calls prior to the interviews. All participants completed a form seeking demographic information according to the instructions of the first author. The form contained questions about gender, place of residence, month of internship, graduation, or employment intention and self-assessment of thesis progress and clinical competence. All questions were open-ended except for the self-assessment portions, and were assigned a scale measuring satisfaction from 0 (very dissatisfied) to 5 (very satisfied). None of the participants dropped out during formal interviews. The researcher also tried to avoid verbal or non-verbal signs of bias to allow participants to speak freely. Interviews averaged between 20 and 30 min and were audio-recorded and then transcribed verbatim.

After the interview, descriptive statistical analysis was applied to the participants' demographic characteristics using SPSS 23.0 [[25]]. Two nursing professionals with qualitative research experience transcribed the audio data into text in a timely manner and compiled it into a case file. The recordings were transcribed within 24 h after the completion of the interviews. The transcribed interview data were recorded using Nvivo 11.0 software and analyzed according to Colaizzi's [[26]] seven-step method:

Transcripts were reviewed numerous times to obtain a general picture of students' perceptions and experiences of anxiety.

We first underlined the significant statements from the transcription that could be attributed to the three interview questions (i.e., sources of perceived anxiety, psychological journey of coping with anxiety, and suggestions for nursing management and education). The questions were developed based on a psychological stress system theory [[12]].

Each underlying meaning was coded and typed in the code system of Nvivo 11.0.

We compared the determined codes and organized formulated meanings into themes such as career decision dilemma and competitive pressure for employment which could be attributed to the "sources of perceived anxiety."

In this step, the significant statements, formulated meanings, and sub-themes were integrated into exhaustive descriptions of each question.

We narrowed the themes and explanations of their fundamental structures. We merged similar or meaningfully similar subthemes into the main categories and reached a consensus.

A follow-up appointment was conducted between the researchers and each participant via telephone call. Each participant was given the chance to respond to the analyzed data, and alterations were made according to their feedback. Eventually, all of them agreed that the results reflected their real experiences.

We followed Denzin and Lincoln to ensure credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability to verify the trustworthiness of the data [[28]]. The interviewer listened carefully to the thought shared by the participants during the interviews, and when there was ambiguity or any unclear statements from a participant, the interviewer repeated the participant's statement to obtain the most accurate information. Each participant was offered a chance to correct the summary of the interview. We provided a quiet and private environment by reassuring the participants regarding the confidentiality of the information provided by them; moreover, we carried out constant reviews and detailed descriptions of how we collected data. Confirmability and constant reflection encouraged us to consider our own positionality.

Anxiety experiences included nervousness ( n = 17), sleep disturbance ( n = 15), unfortunate premonitions ( n = 13), fatigue ( n = 12), fear ( n = 12), frequent urination ( n = 11), excessive sweating ( n = 10), facial flushing ( n = 10), dizziness ( n = 9), hand and foot tremors ( n = 8), panic ( n = 8), dyspnea ( n = 8), nightmares ( n = 6), somatic pain ( n = 6), palpitations ( n = 6), and stomach pain and indigestion ( n = 6). The main themes and subthemes were categorized, as shown in Table 3. "Sources of perceived anxiety" refers to reasons which led to nursing students to perceive mild to moderate (SAS scores = 50-69) levels of anxiety. "Psychological journey of coping with anxiety" involved positive and negative methods nursing students adopted to cope with the anxiety. "Suggestions for nursing management or education" involved proposals from students regarding the potential support provided by nursing schools and hospitals to ease their levels of anxiety.

Table 3 Main themes and sub-themes categorized from the study

3.1.2 Competitive pressure for employment

3.1.3 Worries about the progress of the graduation project

3.1. 4 Challenges of the nursing licensure examination

3.1.5 Low confidence in clinical competence

3.2.2 Positive preparation and response

3.3.2 Comprehensive guidance from nursing school and hospital

3.3.3 Psychological assistance and counseling

Career decision dilemmas refers to the dilemmas faced by nursing students who were confused or unprepared to make career decisions. As nursing students approach graduation, they are faced with choices such as taking up employment or continuing their studies. Some of the interviewees chose to continue their studies in graduate school, some chose to switch to other majors for graduate studies, and others gave up their nursing majors for jobs in other fields for various reasons. Some nursing students were confused and perplexed about their career decisions and did not have clear goals." I do not know whether I should choose to be an on-the-job postgraduate student or a full-time postgraduate, so I am a bit torn."-N3"I did not pass the postgraduate examination this year, so I will consider holding off on employment and will continue to try again next year."-N16 For many reasons, I may not choose clinical nursing, and I may not even pursue this specialty."-N13Negative internship experiences also have an impact on students' career decisions. Negative experiences include painful experiences during the internship, negative comments and actions of teachers, a perceived lack of respect for nursing staff in society, hard work on evening and night shifts, and the challenge of COVID-19."I can't stand the evening and night shifts and the job's social status is not high. My parents want me to work in a pharmaceutical company. Moreover, I would feel upset if I gave up the nursing specialty, because I have spent four years studying this subject."-N7'There was a shortage of protective equipment during COVID-19, and I am a little afraid that I may choose to join the civil service."- N16Some nursing students have a preference for certain employment units, such as the employment units in big cities. However, the reality of the employment situation is far from their expectations, thus creating psychological pressure."Although I like big provincial cities, I am afraid that I will not find a job in the provincial cities. I will hence consider returning to the local hospital for future employment as the competition there is relatively small!"-N7

Nursing students, especially those in the later period of their internships, felt pressure in competing with peers when looking for jobs. Seven nursing students cited anxiety due to high levels of employment stress."The competition for employment is tremendous, and although there are many positions available, there are also many competitors competing with each other, and my bachelor's degree is just of the average standard in the provincial capital!"-N4"My parents have high expectations of me and thus, part of my concern originates from them."-N8.

Most employers conduct several rounds of assessment before hiring, and some nursing students worry that they will not pass the recruitment exam, which triggers their anxiety."'The competitive pressure is tremendous, and I have not properly prepared for the written recruitment test, skill assessment, and interviews. Moreover, some units require a trial of practical work that makes me very nervous because operating skills are often my shortcoming."-N13Recruitment information determines the amount of participation in employment opportunities, and recruitment information resources are like a lighthouse that determines the direction of individual action. Six nursing students indicated that their level of ability to actively access recruitment information resources was weak, and although they entered the career selection stage later in their internship, they still did not understand the recruitment requirements and methods, leading to anxiety."Currently, I am most worried about the limited resources of recruitment channels and not knowing how to prepare for the prospective recruitment process, resume creation, etc. I was losing sleep and feeling anxiety all night."-N4

Undergraduate institutions require senior students to complete their research and defend their theses. Students were worried about whether they could finish the project in time for different reasons. Seven nursing students indicated that they were too busy to write their thesis because of their clinical internship, and the limited resources available to nursing students in the internship hospitals caused problems for their graduation projects."I think I have difficulty coordinating between my internship and the [research] project. Currently, my graduation process is slow, and I want to finish my project by the end of May. Furthermore, I still have to defend my thesis in June, so I am really worried!"-N16

In April or May, before their graduation, nursing students are required to take the national licensing exam. One of the requirements for employment at many hospitals is passing the nursing licensing exam. Nursing students in the later period of their internships face challenges in preparing for the exam while simultaneously interning in hospitals and looking for jobs. Five students said that they were currently anxious about the licensure exam."I am worried that I will not be able to pass the licensing exam without enough revisions, and I am worried that the hospital will not accept my application when I apply for the job."-N12

Upon graduation and obtaining a license, nursing students become registered nurses. However, some nursing students do not have a high degree of confidence in their nursing knowledge and clinical skills; such lack of self-confidence leads to anxiety and fear. Only three nursing students rated themselves as being "confident" of their clinical competence."Realizing that I am about to work alone, I feel scared and feel that my self-confidence is not enough. I believe that my operational skills need more practice, and that I should strengthen my knowledge of the theory that I have learned."-N16

Anxiety often leads to negative emotional experiences among nursing students, such as nervousness, anxiety, worry, and even fear, causing corresponding cognitive, physiological, and behavioral changes. Some nursing students reported negative effects such as feeling overwhelmed, avoidance, withdrawal, insomnia, doubts about their careers and goal shifting."I am not able to sleep when I feel nervous and anxious, and sometimes I try to distract my negative emotions by shifting my attention to other areas."-N3"I know that I should focus more on learning or practicing my operational skills to improve my nursing abilities, but I really cannot take action on it while anxiety is dragging me back."-N16

Moderate anxiety is protective and can improve the body's ability to respond to environmental stimuli, which can have positive effects on work and learning. In this study, anxiety enabled some nursing students to respond actively, by paying attention to employment information, adjusting employment expectations, and preparing for employment in advance."I have actively looked for information related to employment exams, such as communicating with friends, collecting information online, and preparing while studying."-N1"Get help from family members to ask if there are suitable positions, read professional books to prepare, look for opportunities to apply for large hospitals, and be admitted successfully."-N8Some students generated positive behaviors, such as actively learning and seeking support, to successfully defend their research projects, improve their clinical competencies, and successfully pass their nursing licensure exams."Advance the project as soon as possible and strive for a successful defense."-N17)"Read and study for two hours a day, complete the predetermined small goals, communicate with friends, and communicate with parents to obtain support and comfort."-N7

Considering the fierce competition in finding jobs, nursing students seek policy support at the government level that could provide more employment opportunities. For example, raising wages in county and municipal hospitals, and promoting specialized training in geriatric nursing, community nursing, rehabilitation nursing, hospice care, and traditional Chinese medicine nursing."Big hospitals have bigger development platforms with better benefits, so they attract people who are desperate to squeeze in. If county- and city-level hospitals can increase recruitment positions as well as improve job benefits and future career development security, I am happy to change my direction of employment."-N8Some nursing students also suggested the establishment of an employment platform to provide employment information. "There is a lot of job information on the internet, but it feels like the information is scattered. A platform dedicated to providing employment information could increase our chances of getting information on employment."-N16.

With respect to nursing schools, nursing students expressed their desire to have career planning education immediately after they entered the school and to receive guidance on graduation projects, on how to balance the graduation project with other commitments, on licensure exams, on employment, and on how to improve clinical competency."I hope that teachers will inform students of the employment situation through continuous lectures from freshman year and by holding mock recruitment scenarios and mock job application competitions in junior year."-N6"Through meetings or information, systematically analyze the employment situation, inform students what they need to prepare for the nursing exams, how to balance subjects, nursing exams and work, so that nursing students are not so confused."-N13"I hope that the school can help broaden professional knowledge and provide skills training for skills such as first aid skills, cardiac monitoring, indwelling needle usage, and other operations to enhance professional skills."-N16Regarding the hospital, nursing students believed the hospital could provide more employment information in the later period of their internships by providing guidance on the employment scenario, simulations and competitions to further improve their clinical skills, and give students sufficient time to work on their graduation projects and prepare for licensure exams."I hope that hospitals will provide more recruitment information in the middle and later period of the internship, so that nursing students can think more and prepare early according to the recruitment requirements and their own conditions."-N14"Training on the process and form of job applications and simulating job interviews so that students can be prepared by being familiar with the form of job applications."-N4"I hope the skills training room can be expanded to provide opportunities for nursing students to practice operational skills."-N16

The participants mentioned that they would like clinical teachers to pay more attention to the psychological state of students, especially in the later period of their internships, and to give positive guidance and comfort to students when they ask questions or are emotionally tense. Some nursing students suggested setting up a counseling room or establishing activity groups to carry out psychological guidance activities so that nursing students can have an organization to rely on when they need it, which can effectively relieve anxiety."Sometimes I feel like I need a place to breathe or someone to talk to. However, in the internship hospital, we are not familiar with each other, so I hope there could be a special psychological studio."-N3Another nursing student -N13-also said, "When I feel stressed and can't bear it alone, I hope to find a place like this."

The later period of the clinical internship is a decisive period for nursing students considering a career in nursing [[ 4]]. Our study revealed that nursing students at this stage face multiple stressors that caused anxiety, including the dilemma of making care decisions, pressure to compete for employment, worry about graduation projects and nursing licensure exams, and low self-confidence in clinical competence.

In the process of career selection, undergraduate nursing students face various psychological pressures and conflicts. For example, some nursing students desire to pursue postgraduate studies but are worried about not being shortlisted or have difficulty deciding; some nursing students wish to transfer to civil service or start their own business because they do not identify enough with nursing work or because of its physical nature, but do not want to give up their 4-year professional education. In summary, they are very confused about career decisions, and this dissonance between ideals and reality makes nursing students feel lost, confused, and anxious when choosing a career in the later period of their internships [[29]].

The shortage of human resources for nursing professionals is a global challenge according to the World Health Organization [[13]], especially challenging for countries such as China [[29]]. The population-to-nurse ratio in China is approximately 3 per 1000, much lower than the average of more than 8 per 1000 in developed countries [[31]]. As a reserve of nursing professionals, undergraduate nursing students are crucial to the stability of the workforce and to ensure the quality of patient care. Students affected by anxiety are at greater risk for poor academic and clinical performance, as well as decreased well-being, and this may lead to dissatisfaction with clinical practice, in turn resulting in students considering leaving the profession, thus leading to brain drain [[13]]. Therefore, the anxiety of nursing students in the later period of their internship deserves attention. Nursing educators and administrators should provide the necessary guidance and support, directing hospitals and academic institutions to help nursing students establish a positive career outlook and successfully complete the transition from a trainee role to a nurse's role. This would ensure the stability and sustainable development of the nursing workforce.

Our study found that undergraduate nursing students who were affected by anxiety in the later period of their internships exhibited poor cognizance of their professional identities and showed negative professional attitudes toward nursing. Such negative attitudes by nursing students include them considering changing majors in graduate school, changing careers, and being reluctant to engage in clinical nursing; they were even ready to give up clinical nursing work, which would result in the loss of nursing professionals.

To strengthen nursing students' professional identities, schools can introduce ideological elements in the curriculum design and find ways to inspire nursing students and guide them in their career planning [[33]]. Additionally, internship hospitals can arrange nursing experts or nursing staff who have received commendations to give lectures related to professional identity by combining their personal work experience with role-model demonstrations, thereby inspiring nursing students' professional identities.

Our study revealed that nursing students need targeted training and support from the government, schools, and hospitals during the later period of their internships. For example, a sound employment service platform should be provided to undergraduate nursing students. Internship hospitals should provide employment guidance and group-based mock interviews on recruitment examination content, procedures, and skills, and help students analyze the employment scenario to improve their self-identity and mental health [[ 9]]. Interns themselves should pay attention to the integration of theory and practice, develop the ability to adapt to their environment, improve their communication skills, and continuously enhance their own professional qualities [[34]].

In the later period of their internships, support from family, institutions, hospitals, and friends can help nursing students make a smooth transition out of nursing school [[ 7]]. As shown in our study, parents had an impact on the anxiety of nursing students. Parents should be reminded to give reasonable advice and support to nursing students to reduce anxiety through family involvement. Schools can set up student counseling stations to provide positive psychological interventions to college students free of charge, to ensure that nursing students can have a suitable channel to address and release their anxiety.

Students should also seek help from their supervising teachers for psychological guidance to relieve them from their anxiety. Meanwhile, clinical preceptors should pay attention to the psychological condition of nursing students during the post-internship period, conduct regular assessments, and provide group or individual psychological counseling to students with different personality traits, such as relaxation training, breathing training, guided reflection, positive meditation training, music therapy, and aromatherapy to help nursing students regulate their own emotions [[ 7]]. When severe anxiety symptoms last for more than 2 weeks, a visit to the psychology department is required [[35]].

Our results, combined with the literature review, suggest that nursing students in the later period of their internships faced multiple stressors that caused anxiety. Nursing educators and nursing administrators should pay attention to the factors that cause anxiety among nursing students in the later period of their clinical internships and take appropriate measures to reduce the anxiety conditions of nursing students to help them transition smoothly to nursing positions. More particularly, we recommend that nursing schools provide specific career planning courses, psychological support, and employment guidance for nursing students throughout their study. In addition, the government could set up an employment service platform that provides timely employment information. Internship hospitals should also pay attention to the psychological condition of nursing students during the post-internship period and provide psychological counseling services regularly.

There were some limitations to our study. First, we used a relatively small sample size with samples from only three hospitals; hence, the results may not be applicable to all nursing students at different levels and in different regional hospitals in China. Further research is necessary with students working in different institutions and regions to obtain more conclusive evidence. Another matter to consider is that the interviews were conducted in Mandarin. The verbatim data presented in this study are directly translated from Chinese, and in places the text may be difficult to understand due to cultural differences. In spite of these limitations, we believe that the study adds to the knowledge of the experience of anxiety among nursing undergraduate students in the later period of their internships and could serve as a reference for future research.

This study suggests that undergraduate nursing students are prone to anxiety during the later period of their clinical internships. Specific sources of anxiety are career decision-making, job pursuit, graduation, and licensure examination. Our study revealed both positive and negative approaches adopted by undergraduate nursing students in coping with anxiety during the later period of their clinical internships, and provided specific suggestions for nursing educators and administrators in developing appropriate instructions and support systems to reduce anxiety among undergraduate nursing students.

The study was approved by the Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, so we appreciate all the research assistants as well as students who participated in the study. We also extend our thanks to Nursing Department of Ningxiang People's Hospital and Pingjiang People's Hospital in Hunan Province for their kind support. We also thank AiMi Academic Services ( http://www.aimieditor.com) for English language editing and review services.

QFY and JY conceived and designed the project. QFY, HH, YY and CJZ collected data. QFY and GLY were involved in the data analysis. QFY and CJZ wrote the manuscript draft. GLY and JY read the draft and provided suggestions for revisions. All authors have agreed both to be personally accountable for the author's own contributions and to ensure that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work. All the authors read and approved the version for submission.

All authors are interested in clinical education and are familiar with the methodology of qualitative research. The first author is a nursing professor. The second author is a professor of nursing and expert in qualitative research. The third author is a head-nurse and have 13 years of clinical training experience. The fourth author is a PhD and works in a teaching Hospital. The fifth and the sixth authors has witnessed the anxiety of nursing students during the latter internship period.

This project was supported by 1) Changsha Science and Technology Bureau of COVID-19 Emergency Special Science and Technology Program (kq2001045); 2) Education and Teaching Reform Project of Central South University (2019JY188).

The datasets generated and/or analysed during the current study are not publicly available due to limitations of ethical approval involving the anonymity but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of the Third Xiang-ya Hospital of Central South University (No. I20011). The objectives and procedures of the study were explained to the participants, with an emphasis on voluntary participation, anonymity, and confidentiality. All participants provided written informed consent. Each participant was assigned a number to maintain anonymity, and all information collected was kept strictly confidential. The study was performed in accordance with the general ethical principles of the International Ethical Guidelines on Biomedical Research Involving Human Subjects (2016).

The article does not contain any individual's details and consent for publication is not applicable.

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

* SAS

Self-Rating Anxiety Scale

* RA

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
References 1 Shen Y, Jian W, Zhu Q. Nurse staffing in large general hospitals inChina: an observational study. Hum Resour Health. 2020; 18; 3: 2-7 2 Ye J, Mao A, Wang J, Okoli CTC, Zhang Y, Shuai H. From twisting to settling down as a nurse in China: a qualitative study of the commitment to nursing as a career. BMC Nurs. 2020; 19; 1: 1-11. 10.1186/s12912-020-00479-x 3 You LM, Ke YY, Zheng J. The development and issues of nursing education in China: a national data analysis. Nurse Educ Today. 2015; 35; 2: 310-314. 10.1016/j.nedt.2014.10.004. 25456256 5 Walker A, Costa BM. Transition into the workplace: comparing health graduates' and organisational perspectives. Contemp Nurse. 2017; 53; 1: 1-12. 10.1080/10376178.2016. 27785977 6 Macauley K, Plummer L, Bemis C, Brock G, Larson C, Spangler J. Prevalence and predictors of anxiety in healthcare professions students. Health Prof Educ. 2018; 4; 3: 176-185. 10.1016/j.hpe.2018.01.001 Wang Z. Study on Chinese nurse registration and licensure examination based on literature analysis. [Master]. 2020: Changchun; Changchun University: 123 Yang QYO, Cheng H, Xiong Z. A survey on related attitude and behavior about dissertation among nursing undergraduates. Nurs J Chin Peoples Liberation Army. 2016; 33; 17: 57-59. 10.3969/j.issn.1008-9993.2016.17.017 Gao X, Zhong M. The relationship between college Students' social support and employment anxiety: mediating effects of self-efficacy. Chin J Health Psychol. 2020; 12; 2: 622-624 Savitsky B, Findling Y, Ereli A, Hendel T. Anxiety and coping strategies among nursing students during the covid-19 pandemic. Nurse Educ Pract. 2020; 46: 102809. 10.1016/j.nepr.2020.102809. 32679465. 7264940 Bhurtun HD, Azimirad M, Saaranen T, Turunen H. Stress and coping among nursing students during clinical training: an integrative review. J Nurs Educ. 2019; 58; 5: 266-272. 10.3928/01484834-20190422-04. 31039260 Smith GD, Yang F. Stress, resilience and psychological well-being in Chinese undergraduate nursing students. Nurse Educ Today. 2017; 49: 90-95. 10.1016/j.nedt.2018.05.025. 27889584 Fang W, Zhang Y, Mei J, Chai X, Fan X. Relationships between optimism, educational environment, career adaptability and career motivation in nursing undergraduates: a cross-sectional study. Nurse Educ Today. 2018; 68: 33-39. 10.1016/j.nedt.2018.05.025 Li C, Yin H, Zhao J, Shang B, Hu M, Zhang P. Interventions to promote mental health in nursing students: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. J Adv Nurs. 2018; 74; 12: 2727-2741. 10.1111/jan.13808. 30019393 Sandelowski M. Whatever happened to qualitative description? Res Nurs Health. 2000;23(4):334-40. https://doi.org/10.1002/1098-240x(200008)23:4<334:aid-nur9>3.0.co;2-g. Al-Hamdan ZM, Muhsen A, Alhamdan M, Rayan A, Banyhamdan K, Bawadi H. Emotional intelligence and intent to stay among nurses employed in Jordanian hospitals. J Nurs Manag. 2020; 28; 2: 351-358. 10.1111/jonm.12932. 31841256 Campbell S, Greenwood M, Prior S, Shearer T, Walkem K, Young S. Purposive sampling: complex or simple? Research case examples. J Res Nurs. 2020; 25; 8: 652-661. 10.1177/1744987120927206. 34394687. 7932468 Olatunji BO, Deacon BJ, Abramowitz JS, Tolin DF. Dimensionality of somatic complaints: factor structure and psychometric properties of the self-rating anxiety scale. J Anxiety Disord. 2006; 20; 5: 543-561. 10.1016/j.janxdis.2005.08.002. 16198532 Li H, Jin D, Qiao F, Chen J, Gong J. Relationship between the self-rating anxiety scale score and the success rate of 64-slice computed tomography coronary angiography. Int J Psychiatr Med. 2016; 51; 1: 47-55. 1:CAS:528:DC%2BC28XitFKgtrzF. 10.1177/0091217415621265 Qianjin J. Medical psychology. 2010: Beijing; Peoples Health Publishing House: 326 Beltrán-Velasco AI, Bellido-Esteban A, Ruisoto-Palomera P, Clemente-Suárez VJ. Use of portable digital devices to analyze autonomic stress response in psychology objective structured clinical examination. J Med Syst. 2018; 42; 2: 1-6. 10.1007/s10916-018-0893-x Kirkpatrick LA. A simple guide to IBM SPSS statistics-version 23.0. Cengage Learning. 2015 Colaizzi PF. Psychological research as the phenomenologist views it. 1978 Shosha GA. Employment of Colaizzi's strategy in descriptive phenomenology: a reflection of a researcher. Eur Sci J. 2012;8(27). https://doi.org/10.19044/esj.2012.v8n27p%25p. Denzin Norman K, Lincoln Yvonna S. The sage handbook of qualitative research. 2011; Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications Tongtong L, Li S, Renyong Y. Job preferences of student nurse interns'in eastern China: a discrete choice experiment. Hum Resour Health. 2019; 17; 1: 2-12. 10.1186/s12960-018-0340-6 Chen W, Chen J, Hu J, Zhao J, Zhang J, He G. The professional activities of nurse managers in Chinese hospitals: a cross-sectional survey in Hunan Province. J Nurs Manag. 2021; 29: 145-151. 10.1111/jonm.13110 Liu W. National Health Commission of the PRC: the total number of registered nurses in China exceeds 4 million. 2019 Organization W.H. WHO Global Health Workforce Statistics WHO. Available from: https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/themes/topics/health-workforce. Cited 21-01-2022. Jang MH, Gu SY, Jeong YM. Role of coping styles in the relationship between nurses' work stress and well-being across career. J Nurs Scholarsh. 2019; 51; 6: 699-707. 10.1111/jnu.12523. 31621194 Lent RW, Brown SD. Career decision making, fast and slow: toward an integrative model of intervention for sustainable career choice. J Vocat Behav. 2020; 120: 103448. 10.1016/j.jvb.2020.103448 Wang AH, Lee CT, Espin S. Undergraduate nursing students' experiences of anxiety-producing situations in clinical practicums: a descriptive survey study. Nurse Educ Today. 2019; 76: 103-108. 10.1016/j.nedt.2019.01.016. 30776531
~~~~~~~~

By Qi-Feng Yi; Jin Yan; Cui-Jiao Zhang; Guo-Li Yang; Hui Huang and Yan Yang

Reported by Author; Author; Author; Author; Author; Author

This article is copyrighted. All rights reserved. Source: BMC Nursing

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The experience of anxiety among Chinese undergraduate nursing students in t...: San Jac Super Search

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Keywords: Anxiety; Experiences; Later internship period; Qualitative study A shortage of nurses affects hospital stability and quality of patient care [[ 1]]. As the backbone of the future nursing workforce, undergraduate nursing students are vital to the stability of the nursing profession and the consequent quality of care [[ 1]].

# data[].attributes.body
1.  https://eds.s.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=88&sid=ad2c5276-3d1e-42ef-821b-342ee4b0efaa%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#AN=edsdoj.46507046ce24eb28bd57516e9c4845e&db=edsdoj
2.  https://eds.s.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=90&sid=ad2c5276-3d1e-42ef-821b-342ee4b0efaa%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#AN=edsdoj.0511350dab646ca9764171693baab47&db=edsdoj
3.  https://eds.s.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=91&sid=ad2c5276-3d1e-42ef-821b-342ee4b0efaa%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#AN=edsdoj.01d9644658484c27a3645c4f794e7a39&db=edsdoj

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Sign in with your credentials to access the EBSCOhost premium information resources provided by your subscribing institution.

# data[].attributes.body
1.  https://eds.s.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=56&sid=ad2c5276-3d1e-42ef-821b-342ee4b0efaa%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#AN=147270339&db=ccm
2.  https://eds.s.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=59&sid=ad2c5276-3d1e-42ef-821b-342ee4b0efaa%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#AN=edshol.hein.journals.gmlr28.19&db=edshol
3.  https://eds.s.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=62&sid=ad2c5276-3d1e-42ef-821b-342ee4b0efaa%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#AN=edsglr.A269337722&db=edsglr

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Frequently Asked Questions About the Seventh Edition APA Citation

# data[].attributes.body
1.  https://eds.s.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=44&sid=ad2c5276-3d1e-42ef-821b-342ee4b0efaa%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#AN=edsgcl.679075580&db=edsgao
2.  https://eds.s.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=45&sid=ad2c5276-3d1e-42ef-821b-342ee4b0efaa%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#AN=edsgcl.204655181&db=edsgao
3.  https://eds.s.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=51&sid=ad2c5276-3d1e-42ef-821b-342ee4b0efaa%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#AN=edsbro.A426901883&db=edsbro

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How to write an MLA format paper in Google Docs using a template or other b...: San Jac Super Search

# data[].attributes.body
1.  https://eds.s.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=95&sid=ad2c5276-3d1e-42ef-821b-342ee4b0efaa%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#AN=156105312&db=f6h
2.  https://eds.s.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=96&sid=ad2c5276-3d1e-42ef-821b-342ee4b0efaa%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#AN=154880247&db=ccm
3.  https://eds.s.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=97&sid=ad2c5276-3d1e-42ef-821b-342ee4b0efaa%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#AN=154682258&db=ccm

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Using Social Cognitive Theory as our theoretical framework, we analyse how beliefs about group efficacy among team members, together with transformational leadership are two group-level constructs (aggregated members' shared beliefs), which predicts individual members self-efficacy over time. We conducted a three-wave longitudinal study with 456 participants that were randomly distributed in 112 groups working in three simulated creative collective tasks. We computed random coefficient models in a lagged-effects design. Findings were as expected and group efficacy beliefs and group-level transformational leadership were relevant cross-level predictors of individual over time (even after controlling for baseline levels of individual ). Results suggested that these group-level factors are relevant cross-level constructs that explain how individual self-efficacy among group members is developed over time.

Keywords: Group efficacy beliefs; Transformational leadership; Individual self-efficacy; Multilevel analysis; Longitudinal design

For decades, psychological research showed about the positive benefits of self-efficacy on performance (Lisbona et al. [41]; Peterson et al. [47]; Schneider and Preckel [59]; Stajkovic et al. [64]; Talsma et al. [66]) and well-being (Buric and Macuka [16]; Guarnaccia et al. [29]; Nielsen and Munir [44]; Salanova et al. [57]), to name just a few. Research is clear that self-efficacy helps people (employees, students, etc.) to manage their task/job demands and motivates them to be more engaged in their jobs, leading to better performance and feelings of positive subjective well-being.

However, most of this self-efficacy literature has focused almost exclusively on one level of analysis, i.e. self-efficacy or collective efficacy beliefs and their consequences (i.e., performance and/or well-being). Less is known about multilevel drivers of self-efficacy. For example, is there a contagion effect such that when the group feels efficacious, the individual members can feel self-efficacious as well? Or does a transformational leader make us believe in our ability to successfully manage specific challenges in our activity?

According to Bandura ([ 3]), collective efficacy beliefs are "shared beliefs in group capacities to organize and execute the courses of action required to produce given attainments" (p. 447). Research carried out in organizations demonstrates that when individuals cooperate, they may share convictions and attitudes thus showing comparable persuasive and personal conduct standards (George [25], [26]) furthermore, encountering a common group emotional tone (Barsade [ 6]; Bartel and Saavedra [ 8]). A developing group of research accentuates the effect (e.g. affective, motivational and, behavioural effects) of perceived collective efficacy on group processes (Alavi and McCormick [ 2]; Gully et al. [30]; Nielsen and Daniels [43]; Salanova et al. [56]; Salanova et al. [57]; Stajkovic et al. [64]).

Moreover, Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) identifies four predictors of efficacy beliefs: enactive mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, social influence through verbal persuasion, and (positive/negative) affective states. According to Bandura ([ 4]; [ 5]), research indicates that performing a challenging task (i.e. mastery experience) can improve people's self-efficacy beliefs. In addition, self-efficacy is affected by vicarious learning, which takes place when people observe efficacious people (working individually or in teams) performing a similar task. According to Bandura, the more noteworthy the apparent similitude between the role model and the objective individual, the more prominent the model's effect on the individual's self-efficacy will be. Verbal influence through social persuasion, for example, by positive leaders, is another mechanism to improve self-efficacy. Finally, the fourth major source of self-efficacy consists of (positive/negative) affects. For example, when individuals feel eager or fulfilled, they are likely to trust that they are useful and efficacious as well.

According to the SCT, and at the collective level, we could expect that when a group shares efficacy beliefs about good group performance (enactive mastery and vicarious experiences), they could feel more efficacious as individuals due to psychological mechanisms such as positive emotional contagion, defined by Hatfield et al. ([31], p.5) as the "tendency to automatically mimic and synchronize facial expressions, vocalizations, postures and movements with those of another person and, consequently, to converge emotionally". This emotional contagion has been applied to many contexts, including organizations and, specifically, research on teams and leadership processes (Tee [67]; Torrente et al. [68]). We could expect that when group members feel efficacious, they also potentially exchange other positive emotions, such as joy, satisfaction, or pride in a job well done. According to Bandura, emotional expression is a valuable source of self-efficacy (the fourth source of self-efficacy). We propose that collective expressions of positive emotions about work well done could lead members to feel other positive emotions and, in turn, increase their individual self-efficacy over time.

It is important to understand whether collective beliefs of efficacy have crossed effects on individual self-efficacy over time and previous research has not studied these effects. A collective shared perception that a group feels efficacious in obtaining a specific goal could encourage each individual's beliefs that s/he can achieve the goal/s as well ("If my group can, so can I"). We expect that individuals who work in a group where members believe that they have the capabilities to achieve group goals may, over time, come to believe that they can achieve their individual goals as well. Thus, we expect to find a positive relationship between collective efficacy and individual self-efficacy over time.

Hypothesis 1: Group-level collective efficacy at T2 has a significant cross-level effect on individual self-efficacy at T3, above and beyond previous levels of self-efficacy at T2 and at T1.

Transformational leaders develop close inter-relationships with collaborators minimizing the distance between leaders and collaborators, in spite of "their ability", and by individualized beliefs about members' needs and abilities (Bass [ 9]). This relationship is based on trust between leaders and followers, transparent communication, and empathy between leaders and followers, thus potentially enhancing their individual efficacy beliefs through vicarious experiences and social persuasion (Wallumbwa et al. [69]). In this regard, leaders' behaviours influence cognitions, emotions, and behaviours of followers. Legood et al. ([40]) recently showed that leaders' trustworthy behaviour influenced organizational trust via trustworthiness perceptions and followers' trust in their leaders. Research suggests that a positive leadership style may exert its influence on followers through other psychological mechanisms such as self-efficacy (Stetz et al. [65]). For example, Pillai and Williams ([48]) found that transformational leadership was related to followers' self-efficacy in a sample of American fire service organizations. Salanova et al. ([58]) found a direct path between transformational leaders and nurses' self-efficacy in 280 dyads (supervisors and nurses). Moreover, in a sample of nurses, Afsar and Masood ([ 1]) demonstrated that creative nurses' self-efficacy is a psychological mechanism (in interaction with others such as trust in supervisor and uncertainty avoidance) that explained how transformations leadership, influenced on nurse's innovative job behaviour.

According to SCT, enactive mastery is an important antecedent of self-efficacy (Bandura [ 3]), which depends on previous success on similar tasks. Other important antecedents of self-efficacy may include social persuasion, vicarious experiences, and positive affect, all of these strategies may be employed by positive leaders (Sivanathan et al. [62]). In this regard, Podsakoff et al. ([49]) showed that transformational leaders influence collaborators' self-efficacy because leaders are modelling the right behaviours and followers identify with leaders through observational learning. Transformational leaders may improve followers' self-efficacy when they express high expectations that followers can successfully overcome difficulties (the Pygmalion effect, Eden [21]). Transformational leaders also affect their collaborators' sense of efficacy through intellectual stimulation when they encourage followers to develop solutions to the challenges they face, rather than suggesting solutions themselves, thus encouraging followers to find better ways of doing things (Sivanathan et al. [62]).

A group's perception that they have a transformational leader who encourages trust, empathy, and authenticity (social persuasion) may contribute to enhancing the individual efficacy beliefs of the followers. Research has found that positive leadership behaviours (i.e., transformational, authentic, ethic...) predicted collaborators' self-efficacy (Afsar and Masood [ 1]; Dvir et al. [20]; Kark et al. [37]; Nielsen and Munir [44]; Wallumbwa et al. [69]). In his review, Tee ([67]) also showed that emotional contagion processes are developed from bottom-up through intra-individual and between-individual factors to top-down from leaders to followers affecting to different organizational outcomes (Barsade and Knight [ 7]).

Furthermore, based on emotional contagion as an explanatory mechanism and the fourth source of individual self-efficacy, research has shown the effect of how the moods of leaders influence on group positive affect. Chi et al. ([17]) showed that these positive leader emotions influence the group's positive affect. Also, group positive affect is associated with job performance and, in turn, on individual self-efficacy (Seong and Choi [61]; Zhang et al. [73]).

Based on previous research, we expect that:

Hypothesis 2: Shared perceptions of transformational leadership at T2 have a significant cross-level effect on individual self-efficacy at T3, above and beyond previous levels of self-efficacy at T2 and T1.

A three-wave longitudinal laboratory study was carried out with 481 participants randomly distributed in 118 small groups and involved in three group tasks. Participants were recruited via a website the research group created for this purpose, as well as through ads posted on notice sheets around the college and in the city where the university is located. Participation in the study was voluntary. Participants were informed that the purpose of this study was to know more about how groups work in the context of creative tasks. For the purposes of the study, each group had a leader. These leaders (who were part of each group) were assigned using the same criterion for all the groups, i.e., status depending on age. The oldest member (highest status) of each group was designated as the leader at the beginning of the study. Before beginning the tasks, all the groups received the same instructions for the tasks and the leader's role.

Participants were randomly assigned to each group. To guarantee cooperation on the three tasks and avoid dropouts, members received a monetary reward (20 €) for their participation in the study.

Because the measurement referent for two variables (i.e. group efficacy beliefs and perception of transformational leadership) is the group, agreement indices were performed in order that all the groups shared similar perceptions of the study variables. Six groups with low agreement were excluded from the beginning. So sum up, 456 individuals nested in 112 groups (ranging from four to six members each) are the final participants in the study.

The final sample was a heterogeneous mixed sample consisting of 66% females, with an average age of 22.5 years. They were university students (80%) from different degree programmes (Law, Design, Engineering, Languages, Economics, Chemistry, Psychology, Business Management, Teaching and Educational Sciences), full-time workers (11.6%) representing different occupations, and the unemployed (8.4%). Participants were allocated to one of the 112 groups in such a way as to ensure that the groups have similar size (i.e. ranging from four to six) and diversity (i.e. similar combinations of students, employed/unemployed people).

Groups were working together during the three laboratory occasions, one time per week in three consecutive weeks. Moreover, each group worked on three creativity tasks (one different creative task per week) in order to avoid learning effects, (Ziessler and Nattkemper [74]). Tasks were not complex and involved a unified creative project for 2 weeks with three face-to-face meetings among the group members. These three specific tasks, as well as the need to achieve a final group product, were chosen to promote important social interactions among group members, group decisions, feelings of efficacy (or not) during the three specific tasks, and the opportunity for leaders to interact with group members. Past research has used creative tasks that were accomplished in three similar time periods (Peñalver et al. [46]; Rodríguez-Sánchez et al. [54]; Salanova et al. [56]). At time 1 (T1), groups had to (imaginatively) work for a toy company. During each of the three sessions, participants would perform a creative task for 45 min. In the first session (T1), they worked on an idea generation task (i.e., a creative slogan). Next lab session (T2), they worked on another creative task, which was to develop a toy prototype composed of recyclable materials. One week later (T3), they designed a poster to market this toy. Upon completing each task, participants, they completed a questionnaire.

Transformational Leadership was assessed by the validated Transformational Leadership Scale (Rafferty and Griffin [52]), with five dimensions. Vision (three items, e.g. "As a leader, I am perfectly aware of the group's objectives"); Inspirational communication (three items, e.g. "As a leader, I say positive things about the group"); Intellectual stimulation (three items, e.g. "As a leader, I have ideas that stimulate group members to think about questions they had never thought about before"); Support (three items, e.g. "As a leader, I think about the personal needs of the group members"); and Personal recognition (three items, e.g. "As a leader, I congratulate group members when they do an excellent job"). Items were answered on a 7-point Likert-scale ranging from 0 (never) to 6 (always). Group members had to assess their leader's transformational style, and so the referent was the leader (level 2). We used transformational leadership at level II because it included the aggregated scores of all the members of each group related to their individual perceptions of each dimension of transformational leadership. We used a single scale of transformational leadership, and not its highly intercorrelated sub-components, as recommended by Bass ([10]).

Individual self-efficacy was assessed by a scale composed of 4 items, following Bandura's ideas (validated in Salanova et al. [56]), but using "I" instead of "We" in order to evaluate "individual" self-efficacy. Thus, the self-efficacy scale is specific rather than general, i.e., creative self-efficacy. An example of an item is "I can carry out this creative task even though I am not familiar with this kind of task". Items were answered on a 7-point Likert-scale ranging from 0 (never) to 6 (always). Each member of the group had to evaluate his/her own self-efficacy belief, and so the referent is the individual (level 1).

First, we computed descriptive analyses with the study variables. Furthermore, to assess the convergent validity of the scales, the composite reliability (CR) level was calculated (Chin [18]). According to Nunnally ([45]), CR should be greater than 0.7. Moreover, discriminant validity was checked by using the Average Variance Extracted (AVE) (Fornell and Larcker [23]), being acceptable when it is greater than 0.5 (Chin [18]). Second, because some of the study variables are collective, to test whether the group members showed sufficient agreement on the variables (i.e. group efficacy beliefs and perceived transformational leadership), we examined several indicators of within-group consensus, such as the r wg index of within-group agreement (James et al. [36]) and the intra-class correlation coefficients ICC( 1) (Bliese [14]; Bryk and Raudenbush [15]). Values higher than.12 for ICC1 indicate an adequate level of within-unit agreement (James et al. [36]). ICC2 values greater than.60 were recommended by Glick ([27]). r wg(j) cut-off point values ranging between.51 and.70 have moderate, and values between.71 to.90 strong agreements (LeBreton and Senter [39]). So far, these indices support the individual responses aggregation at the next (group) level.

Table 1 Means, standard deviations, correlations, internal consistencies, Composite Reliability (CR) and Average Variance Extracted (AVE)

Individual-level intercorrelations below the main diagonal (N = 456) and group-level intercorrelations above the main diagonal (k = 112). Alpha coefficients on the diagonal *** p <.01, * p <.05 According to Cohen's ([19]) conventions to interpret effect size: A correlation coefficient of.10 is thought to represent a weak or small association; a correlation coefficient of.30 is considered a moderate correlation; and a correlation coefficient of.50 or larger is thought to represent a strong or large correlation

Regarding the aggregation of our study variables, the ICC1 value for T2 collective efficacy was.24; the T2 transformational leadership ICC1 value was:.38; the ICC2 value for T2 collective efficacy was.58; and for T2 transformational leadership, the value was.71. The mean r wg(j) value for T2 collective efficacy at the group level was.81 (SD =.11), and for T2 transformational leadership, it was.73 (SD =.13). This means there is strong agreement on both variables, according to the cut-off points of LeBreton and Senter ([39]). Hence, given the satisfactory ICC1, ICC2 (except T2 collective efficacy, for which the ICC2 was.58, but very close to.60), and r wg(j) values, we aggregated at the group level the variables of the present study.

Table 2 Hierarchical linear models predicting Self-efficacy T3 (level 1 individuals N = 456; level 2 groups N = 112)

Note. Standard errors are in parentheses * p <.05. *** p <.001

Results showed that Model 1 is better than Model 0. Variables at the individual level (T1 and T2 self-efficacy) are significantly related to T3 self-efficacy, and gender and age had no significant effect on T3 self-efficacy. In Model 2, we tested predictor variables at the group level, and T2 group efficacy beliefs and T2 shared transformational leadership were found to exert a significant effect on T3 self-efficacy. According the deviance levels, there is a significant improvement over Model 1. Thus, Model 2 got the better fit, showing significant effects of both individual (i.e. T1 and T2 self-efficacy) and group variables (i.e., T2 group efficacy beliefs, T2 shared transformational leadership) on the development of future self-efficacy (at T3). In other words, perceived collective efficacy of the group and perceived transformational leadership at T2 predicted participants' self-efficacy at T3, and these relationships were significant beyond previous levels (T1 and T2) of individual self-efficacy (thus confirming our hypotheses) (see the multilevel model in Fig. 1).

Graph: Fig. 1 Multilevel Model Results (N = 112 groups at level 2, and N = 456 participants at level 1)

The present study builds on our understanding of the role of "collective" sources of individual self-efficacy over time, i.e. shared group perceptions of transformational leadership and group efficacy beliefs, extending the Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura [ 3], [ 4], [ 5]). The study expands our understanding about what are relevant indicators that explain the development of individual self-efficacy over time, providing support for the idea that collective efficacy and leadership together play a relevant role as group-level drivers of the development of individual self-efficacy over time. The results simultaneously show the effects of collective psychosocial mechanisms on self-efficacy over time.

The study demonstrates a comprehensive multilevel and longitudinal model of the interplay between collective (group) antecedents or drivers of individual self-efficacy involving cross-level links between the group and individual levels of analysis. Previous research has shown that sources of self-efficacy, such as enactive mastery, social persuasion, positive emotions and vicarious experiences are able to influence efficacy beliefs (Bandura [ 4], [ 5]), but our findings extend previous literature on antecedents of self-efficacy from a multilevel perspective, by considering the dynamics of changes in self-efficacy over time. In this regard, the main study contributions reside in empirically testing the idea that the group may be responsible for building self-efficacy. In other words, working in an efficacious group helps to build the future self-efficacy of its members. Previous research has focused on individual effects of self-efficacy (Bandura [ 5]; Buric and Macuka [16]; Guarnaccia et al. [29]; Lisbona et al. [41]; Peterson et al. [47]; Salanova et al. [57]; Schneider and Preckel [59]; Stajkovic et al. [64]; Talsma et al. [66]) or collective predictors of collective efficacy beliefs (Alavi and McCormick [ 2]; Gully et al. [30]; Nielsen and Daniels [43]; Salanova et al. [56]; Salanova et al. [57]; Stajkovic et al. [64]). Our findings confirm that individual self-efficacy can be explained by group variables (perhaps through emotional contagion) such as shared collective efficacy beliefs and shared perceptions of positive leaders. Our results support the Tee ([67]) study, which stressed that emotional contagion processes are developed not only bottom-up, but also top-down where leadership processes are relevant as well. Future studies could test these emotional mechanisms more in-depth.

Prochazka et al. ([51]) suggested that factors such as feedback from customers and colleagues, and work performance could affect self-efficacy. In our study, we showed that there are other drivers of individual self-efficacy apart from transformational leadership, such as group collective efficacy beliefs in combination with baseline levels of previous self-efficacy levels.

Our findings have important practical implications, they suggest managers need to be made aware of how they influence others' efficacy beliefs over time. Idealized influence may be a mechanism that leads group members to feel more efficacious as employees of a company. Through intellectual stimulation, transformational leaders motivate followers to achieve new inspiring goals at work in the future. In fact, previous research has established a link between self-efficacy and future job performance (Lisbona et al. [41]; Peterson et al. [47]; Schneider and Preckel [59]; Stajkovic et al. [64]; Talsma et al. [66]). Therefore, it is important for companies to understand the drivers of self-efficacy in order to enhance employees' self-efficacy beliefs and improve their performance. Our findings highlight the importance of developing individual self-efficacy as a powerful psychological resource to achieve goals at work and improve performance.

We strongly recommend that leaders develop a transformational style in order to enhance the individual self-efficacy of their followers. Specific healthy practices, such as open dialogue with followers through an empathic attitude, group training showing leaders how to engage in these positive behaviours, individual interactions with followers with a compassionate attitude encouraging leaders to enact positive behaviours with their groups, and getting feedback from group members, may help managers adopt a transformational style with positive benefits for leaders, followers, and companies.

In addition, the positive cross-level influence of group collective efficacy beliefs on individual efficacy beliefs over time is an important finding in SCT because it seems that some of the variance in individual self-efficacy is explained by more collective (group) levels of shared efficacy beliefs about their own group. Organizational practices oriented towards building a sense of "group identity" and collective efficacy seem to be important to enhance individual perceptions of self-efficacy over time.

This study has provided some new insights into collective drivers of individual self-efficacy over time, however it has some limitations. We included a heterogeneous mixed sample of students, workers, and unemployed people, which limits generalizability to specific companies or occupations. Another limitation is the use of self-report measures. However, in our study we used psychological constructs such as "beliefs", and in these cases it is not appropriated to use objective data. In that cases, we common-method bias could treat to our results, however, we followed Podsakoff et al. ([50]) recommendations in constructing our survey in order to minimize bias. Furthermore, we did not observe high correlations among the study variables, and so common method variance is not a threat to our data (Spector [63]). Finally, using three creative tasks, we achieved the study objectives; however, our results could be limited to creative tasks in groups, and replication of these findings using other tasks should be carried out.

This study was supported by a grant from Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad. Gobierno de España (#PSI2015-64933-R) and Universitat Jaume I (UJI-B2017-81).

The corresponding author, and coauthors, states that there are no conflicts of interest.

We obtained the informed consent from all participants in the study.

The procedures performed in our study involved human participants and they agreed the ethical standards of the institutional research committee, and also with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
References 1 Afsar B, Masood M. Transformational leadership, creative self-efficacy, Trust in Supervisor, uncertainty avoidance, and innovative work behavior of nurses. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science. 2018; 54; 1: 36-61. 10.1177/0021886317711891 2 Alavi SB, McCormick J. Why do I think my team is capable? A study of some antecedents of team members' personal collective efficacy beliefs. Educational Psychology. 2018; 9; 38: 1147-1162. 10.1080/01443410.2018.1500680 3 Bandura A. Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. 1997: New York; Freeman 4 Bandura A. Social cognitive theory: An agentic perspective. Annual Review of Psychology. 2001; 52: 1-26. 10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.1. 11148297 5 Bandura A. On the functional properties of perceived self-efficacy revisited. Journal of Management. 2012; 38; 1: 9-44. 10.1177/0149206311410606 6 Barsade SG. The ripple effect: Emotional contagion and its influence on group behavior. Administrative Science Quarterly. 2002; 47; 4: 644-675. 10.2307/3094912 7 Barsade SG, Knight AP. Group affect. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior. 2015; 2; 1: 21-46. 10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-032414-111316 8 Bartel CA, Saavedra R. The collective construction of work group moods. Administrative Science Quarterly. 2000; 45; 2: 197-231. 10.2307/2667070 9 Bass BM. From transactional to transformational leadership: Learning to share the vision. Organizational Dynamics. 1990; 18; 3: 19-32. 10.1016/0090-2616(90)90061-S Bass BM. Two decades of research and development in transformational leadership. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology. 1999; 8; 1: 9-32. 10.1080/135943299398410 Bausch S, Michel A, Sonntag K. How gender influences the effect of age on self-efficacy and training success. International Journal of Training and Development. 2014; 18; 3: 171-187. 10.1111/ijtd.12027 Beas MI, Salanova M. Self-efficacy beliefs, computer training and psychological well-being among information and communication technology workers. Computers in Human Behavior. 2006; 22; 6: 1043-1058. 10.1016/j.chb.2004.03.027 Beauregard TA. Perfectionism, self-efficacy and OCB: The moderating role of gender. Personnel Review. 2012; 41; 5: 590-608. 10.1108/00483481211249120 Bliese PDKlein KJ, Kozlowski SW. Within-group agreement, non-independence, and reliability: Implications for data aggregation and analyses. Multilevel theory, research, and methods in organizations: Foundations, extensions, and new directions. 2000: San Francisco; Jossey-Bass: 349-381 Bryk A, Raudenbush S. Hierarchical linear models: Applications and data analysis methods. 1992: Thousand Oaks; Sage Publications, Inc. Buric I, Macuka I. Self-efficacy, emotions and work engagement among teachers: A two wave cross-lagged analysis. Journal of Happiness Studies. 2018; 19; 7: 1917-1933. 10.1007/s10902-017-9903-9 Chi N-W, Chung Y-Y, Tsai W-C. How do happy leaders enhance team success? The mediating roles of transformational leadership, group affective tone, and team processes. Journal of Applied Social Psychology. 2011; 41; 6: 1421-1454. 10.1111/j.1559-1816.2011.00767.x Chin WW. The partial least squares approach to structural equation modeling. Modern Methods for Business Research. 1998; 295; 2: 295-336 Cohen SSpacapan S, Oskamp S. Perceived stress in a probability sample of the United States. The Claremont symposium on applied social psychology. The social psychology of health. 1988: Thousand Oaks; Sage Publications, Inc.: 31-67 Dvir T, Eden D, Avolio BJ, Shamir B. Impact of transformational leadership on follower development and performance: A field experiment. Academy of Management Journal. 2002; 45; 4: 735-744. 10.5465/3069307 Eden D. Pygmalion in management: Productivity as a self-fulfilling prophecy. 1990: D.C. Health; Lexington Felfe J, Heinitz K. The impact of consensus and agreement of leadership perceptions on commitment, organizational citizenship behaviour, and customer satisfaction. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology. 2010; 19; 3: 279-303. 10.1080/13594320802708070 Fornell C, Larcker DF. Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research. 1981; 18; 1: 39-50. 10.1177/002224378101800104 Fukudome K, Morinaga Y. Age-related differences in the positive and negative method factors on self-evaluation scales: The Rosenberg self-esteem scale and the self-efficacy scale. The Japanese Journal of Educational Psychology. 2018; 66; 3: 212-224. 10.5926/jjep.66.212 George, J. M. (1990). Personality, affect, and behavior in groups. Journal of Applied Psychology, 75, 107-116. George, J. M. (1996). Group affective tone. In M. A. West (Ed.), Handbook of work group psychology (pp. 77-93). Chichester, UK: Wiley. Glick, W. (1985). Conceptualizing and measuring organizational and psychological climate: Pitfalls in multilevel research. The Academy of Management Review, 10(3), 601-616. Grau R, Salanova M, Peiró JM. Moderator effects of self-efficacy on occupational stress. Psychology in Spain. 2001; 5; 1: 63-74 Guarnaccia C, Scrima F, Civilleri A, Salerno L. The role of occupational self-efficacy in mediating the effect of job insecurity on work engagement, satisfaction and general health. Current Psychology. 2018; 37; 3: 488-497. 10.1007/s12144-016-9525-0 Gully SM, Incalcaterra KA, Joshi A, Beaubien JM. A meta-analysis of group efficacy, potency, and performance: Interdependence and level of analysis as moderators of observed relationships. Journal of Applied Psychology. 2002; 87; 5: 819-832. 10.1037//0021-9010.87.5.819 Hatfield, E, Cacioppo, J, & Rapson, R. (1994). Emotional contagion. New York: Cambridge University Press. Hirschfeld RR, Bernerth JB. Mental efficacy and physical efficacy at the team level:Inputs and outcomes among newly formed action teams. Journal of Applied Psychology. 2008; 93: 1429-1437. 10.1037/a0012574 Hox JJ. Multilevel analysis techniques and applications. 2002: Manwah; Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 10.4324/9781410604118 Huang C. Gender differences in academic self-efficacy: A meta-analysis. European Journal of Psychology of Education. 2013; 28; 1: 1-35. 10.1007/s10212-011-0097-y Huszczo G, Endres ML. Gender differences in the importance of personality traits in predicting leadership self-efficacy. International Journal of Training and Development. 2017; 21; 4: 304-317. 10.1111/ijtd.12113 James LR, Demaree RG, Wolf G. Estimating within-group interrater reliability with and without response bias. Journal of Applied Psychology. 1984; 69; 1: 85-98. 10.1037/0021-9010.69.1.85 Kark R, Shamir B, Chen G. The two faces of transformational leadership: Empowerment and dependency. Journal of Applied Psychology. 2003; 88; 2: 246-255. 10.1037/0021-9010.88.2.246 Kozlowski SWJ, Klein KKlein KJ, Kozlowski SWJ. A multilevel approach to theory and research on organizations: Contextual, temporal, and emergent processes. Multilevel theory, research, and methods in organizations. 2000: San Francisco; Jossey-Bass: 3-90 LeBreton JM, Senter JL. Answers to 20 questions about interrater reliability and interrater agreement. Organizational Research Methods. 2007; 11; 4: 815-852. 10.1177/1094428106296642 Legood A, Thomas G, Sacramento C. Leader trustworthy behavior and organizational trust: The role of the immediate manager for cultivating trust. Journal of Applied Social Psychology. 2016; 46; 12: 673-686. 10.1111/jasp.12394 Lisbona A, Palací F, Salanova M, Frese M. The effects of work engagement and self-efficacy on personal initiative and performance. Psicothema. 2018; 30; 1: 89-96. 29363476https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=727/72754594014 Liu J, Siu O, Shi K. Transformational leadership and employee well-being: The mediating role of trust in the leader and self-efficacy. Applied Psychology. An International Review. 2010; 59; 3: 454-479. 10.1111/j.1464-0597.2009.00407.x Nielsen K, Daniels K. Does shared and differentiated transformational leadership predict followers' working conditions and well-being?. The Leadership Quarterly. 2012; 23; 3: 383-397. 10.1016/j.leaqua.2011.09.001 Nielsen K, Munir F. How do transformational leaders influence followers' affective well-being? Exploring the mediating role of self-efficacy. Work and Stress. 2009; 23; 4: 313-329. 10.1080/02678370903385106 Nunnally JC. Psychometric theory. 1967: New York; McGraw-Hill Peñalver J, Salanova M, Martínez IM, Schaufeli WB. Happy-productive groups: How positive affect links to performance through social resources. The Journal of Positive Psychology. 2019; 14; 3: 377-392. 10.1080/17439760.2017.1402076 Peterson SJ, Luthans F, Avolio BJ, Walumbwa FO, Zhang Z. Psychological capital and employee performance: A latent growth modeling approach. Personnel Psychology. 2011; 64; 2: 427-450. 10.1111/j.1744-6570.2011.01215.x Pillai R, Williams EA. Transformational leadership, self-efficacy, group cohesiveness, commitment, and performance. Journal of Organizational Change Management. 2004; 17; 2: 144-159. 10.1108/09534810410530584 Podsakoff PM, MacKenzie SB, Moorman RH, Fetter R. Transformational leader behaviors and their effects on followers' trust in leader, satisfaction, and organizational citizenship behaviors. The Leadership Quarterly. 1990; 1; 2: 107-142. 10.1016/1048-9843(90)90009-7 Podsakoff PM, MacKenzie SB, Podsakoff NP. Sources of method bias in social science research and recommendations on how to control it. Annual Review of Psychology. 2012; 63: 539-569. 10.1146/annurev-psych-120710-100452. 21838546 Prochazka J, Gilova H, Vaculik M. The relationship between transformational leadership and engagement: Self-efficacy as a mediator. Journal of Leadership Studies. 2017; 11; 2: 22-33. 10.1002/jls.21518 Rafferty AE, Griffin MA. Dimensions of transformational leadership: Conceptual and empirical extensions. The Leadership Quarterly. 2004; 15; 3: 329-354. 10.1016/j.leaqua.2004.02.009 Rashbash J, Browne W, Healy M, Cameron B, Charlton C. MlwiN (version 2.02): Interactive software for multilevel analysis. 2005: London; Multilevel Models Project, Institute of Education, University of London Rodríguez-Sánchez AM, Devloo T, Rico R, Salanova M, Anseel F. What makes creative teams tick? Cohesion, engagement, and performance across creativity tasks: A three-wave study. Group & Organization Management. 2017; 42; 4: 521-547. 10.1177/1059601116636476 Salanova M, Peiró JM, Schaufeli WB. Self-efficacy specificity and burnout among information technology workers: An extension of the job demands-control model. European Journal on Work and Organizational Psychology. 2002; 11: 1-25. 10.1080/13594320143000735 Salanova M, Llorens S, Cifre E, Martínez IM, Schaufeli WB. Perceived collective efficacy, subjective well-being and task performance among electronic work groups: An experimental study. Small Group Research. 2003; 34; 1: 43-73. 10.1177/1046496402239577 Salanova M, Llorens S, Schaufeli WB. Yes, I can, I feel good & I just do it! On gain cycles and spirals of efficacy beliefs, affect, and engagement. Applied Psychology. An International Review. 2011; 60; 2: 255-285. 10.1111/j.1464-0597.2010.00435.x Salanova M, Lorente L, Chambel MJ, Martínez IM. Linking transformational leadership to nurses' extra-role performance: The mediating role of self-efficacy and work engagement. Journal of Advanced Nursing. 2011; 67; 10: 2256-2266. 10.1111/j.1365-2648.2011.05652.x. 21535088 Schneider M, Preckel F. Variables associated with achievement in higher education: A systematic review of meta-analyses. Psychological Bulletin. 2017; 143; 6: 565-600. 10.1037/bul0000098. 28333495 Schweder, S. (2018). The role of control strategies, self-efficacy, and learning behavior in self-directed learning. International Journal of School and Educational Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1080/21683603.2018.1459991. Seong JY, Choi JN. Effects of group-level fit on group conflict and performance. Group & Organization Management. 2014; 39; 2: 190-212. 10.1177/1059601113517138 Sivanathan N, Arnold KA, Turner N, Barling JLinley A, Joseph S. Leading well: Transformational leadership and well-being. Positive psychology in practice. 2004: Hoboken; Wiley: 241-255. 10.1002/9780470939338.ch15 Spector PE. Method variance in organizational research: Truth or urban legend. Organizational Research Methods. 2006; 9; 2: 221-232. 10.1177/1094428105284955 Stajkovic AD, Lee D, Nyberg AJ. Collective efficacy, group potency, and group performance: Meta-analyses of their relationships, and test of a mediation model. Journal of Applied Psychology. 2009; 94; 3: 814-828. 10.1037/a0015659 Stetz TA, Stetz MC, Bliese PA. The importance of self-efficacy in the moderating effects of social support on stressor-strain relationships. Work and Stress. 2006; 20; 1: 49-59. 10.1080/02678370600624039 Talsma K, Schüz B, Norris K. Miscalibration of self-efficacy and academic performance: Self-efficacy ≠ self-fulfilling prophecy. Learning and Individual Differences. 2019; 69: 182-195. 10.1016/j.lindif.2018.11.002 Tee EYJ. The emotional link: Leadership and the role of implicit and explicit emotional contagion processes across multiple organizational levels. The Leadership Quarterly. 2015; 26; 4: 654-670. 10.1016/j.leaqua.2015.05.009 Torrente P, Salanova M, Llorens S. Spreading engagement: On the role of similarity in the positive contagion of teamwork engagement. Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology. 2013; 29; 3: 153-159. 10.5093/tr2013a21 Wallumbwa FO, Mayer DM, Wang P, Wang H, Workman K, Christensen AL. Linking ethical leadership to employee performance: The roles of leader-member exchange, self-efficacy, and organizational identification. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. 2011; 115; 2: 204-213. 10.1016/j.obhdp.2010.11.002 Wang G, Oh I, Courtright SH, Colbert AE. Transformational leadership and performance across criteria and levels: A meta-analytic review of 25 years of research. Group & Organization Management. 2011; 36; 2: 223-270. 10.1177/1059601111401017 Yammarino FJ, Dionne SD, Chun JU, Dansereau F. Leadership and levels of analysis: A state-of-the-science review. The Leadership Quarterly. 2005; 16; 6: 879-919. 10.1016/j.leaqua.2005.09.002 Ye L, Posada A, Liu Y. The moderating effects of gender on the relationship between academic stress and academic self-efficacy. International Journal of Stress Management. 2018; 25; 1: 56-61. 10.1037/str0000089 Zhang L, Zhang N, Qiu Y. Positive group affective tone and employee work engagement: A multilevel investigation. Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal. 2017; 45; 11: 1905-1918. 10.2224/sbp.6751 Ziessler M, Nattkemper D. Learning of event sequences is based on response-effect learning: Further evidence from a serial reaction task. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition. 2001; 27; 3: 595-613. 10.1037/0278-7393.27.3.595. 11394669
~~~~~~~~

By Marisa Salanova; Alma M. Rodríguez-Sánchez and Karina Nielsen

Reported by Author; Author; Author

Current Psychology is a copyright of Springer, 2022. All Rights Reserved.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The impact of group efficacy beliefs and transformational leadership on fol...: San Jac Super Search

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Using Social Cognitive Theory as our theoretical framework, we analyse how beliefs about group efficacy among team members, together with transformational leadership are two group-level constructs (aggregated members' shared beliefs), which predicts individual members self-efficacy over time. We conducted a three-wave longitudinal study with 456 participants that were randomly distributed in 112 groups working in three simulated creative collective tasks.

# data[].attributes.body
1.  https://eds.s.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=19&sid=ad2c5276-3d1e-42ef-821b-342ee4b0efaa%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#AN=153978455&db=hft
2.  https://eds.s.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=21&sid=ad2c5276-3d1e-42ef-821b-342ee4b0efaa%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#AN=EJ1315402&db=eric
3.  https://eds.s.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=22&sid=ad2c5276-3d1e-42ef-821b-342ee4b0efaa%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#AN=145733348&db=f6h

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A popular stance amongst philosophers is one according to which, in Lewis' words, " identity is utterly simple and unproblematic". Building from Lewis' famous passage on the matter, we reconstruct, and then criticize, an argument to the conclusion that identities cannot be grounded. With the help of relatively uncontroversial assumption concerning identity facts, we show that not all identities are equi-fundamental, and, on the contrary, some appear to be provided potential grounding bases using two-level identity criteria. Further potential grounding bases for identities are presented. Identity might be utterly simple and unproblematic, but this is not sufficient to conclude that identities are ungrounded, or fundamental.

Keywords: Identity; Identity criteria; Grounding; Fundamentality

In a brief yet well-known passage from On the Plurality of Worlds, Lewis states that no problem concerning the so-called "transworld identity" is ever a problem about identity: in his own words,"[i]dentity is utterly simple and unproblematic. Everything is identical to itself; nothing is ever identical to anything else except itself. There is never any problem about what makes something identical to itself; nothing can fail to be. And there is never any problem about what makes two things identical; two things never can be identical."[ 1]

This passage is widely acknowledged and helped built a somewhat silent consensus concerning the identity relation: given a standard notion of identity, no analysis nor philosophically interesting story about identities can ever be given. One can, of course, provide an interesting story as to how two terms came to co-designate, but that is a distinct matter: there is something interesting to tell about how "Hesperus" and "Phosphorus" came to designate the same thing, but that Hesperus is Phosphorus is a basic fact which deserves no further investigation. This attitude is in fact so ingrained that is not often implicitly stated; we will call it the "Knee-Jerk Reaction".[ 2] In this paper, we will argue that the Lewis' passage fails to establish a clear motivation in favor of the Knee-Jerk Reaction, and in fact offers a wide variety of counterexamples involving identities. We will not assume anything peculiar about identity: identity is the relation that everything has with itself and nothing else, or the smallest equivalence relation -whose classes of equivalence are singletons. Similarly we will assume that identities are necessary. No funny business there. We will, however, make some more substantive assumptions cashing out talk of "making it the case" in Lewis' passage: in what follows, we will employ the notions of metaphysical grounding and fundamentality to properly articulate the Knee-Jerk Reaction.[ 3] Other ways to make sense of it will wait for another occasion.

In the next Section, we will introduce the basics of metaphysical grounding, and reconstruct Lewis' passage into an argument to the conclusion that identities, insofar as they are necessaries, cannot be grounded. The crucial premise that necessities cannot be grounded will be criticized. In Section 3, a different argument against the grounding of identities might be formulated by noticing not the necessity of identity, but its fundamentality. This argument also will be criticized, based on the crucial idea that identity facts are not all equi-fundamental; on the contrary some appear to be very derivative, and thus may be offered grounding bases with the help of the so-called two-level identity criteria. Finally, in Section 4, additional potential grounding bases for identities will be offered, eventually leading to the conclusion that if the Knee-Jerk Reaction against the analysis of identity wants to be defended, metaphysical grounding and fundamentality are not the right tools for the job.

Someone familiar with recent developments in metametaphysics may think that the presence of "what makes it the case" locutions in Lewis' passage betrays the presence of metaphysical grounding. We will - in a nutshell - take metaphysical grounding to be a non-causal determinative or explanatory connection, a strict partial order of relative fundamentality.[ 4] With that in mind, Lewis' passage may be reconstructed as an argument scheme ( p being, in this instance, a placeholder for names of sentences).

The argument scheme is deductively valid, and, for every true identity sentence p, yields the conclusion that nothing grounds [p]. So the argument quite straightforwardly states that identities, being necessary, cannot be grounded.

As before, grounding may not be the only way to make sense of the Knee-Jerk Reaction - not even when the necessity of identity is at stake. For example, Kim ([17]: 102) suggests that identities, to the extent in which they are necessaries, are not explainable - as nothing "makes it the case" that an identity is the case. Thus, we could expand the (P1)-(C) argument with an additional premise, as follows:

Under an Unionist conception of grounding and explanation - according to which grounding is an explanatory relation (e.g., Thompson, [31]; Maurin, [21]) - the difference between the two arguments is negligible; but let us focus on the first one, and the grounding of identities proper.

The crucial premise is (P2), according to which all necessary facts are ungrounded. As Cameron ([ 6]: 262) points out "[that] a demand for grounding vanishes when the truth in question is necessary is a familiar thought"; that said, a claim as robust as this should not be accepted without motivation, its popularity notwithstanding.[ 5] Rather than exploring which conception of metaphysical grounding underpins (P2) in the argument scheme above, we can quickly find counterexamples to it deploying standard grounding notions. For one, it is standardly accepted (e.g., using the "impure logic of ground" in Fine, [12]) that disjunctions are grounded in their true disjuncts, which straightforwardly turns disjunctive tautologies in counterexamples to (P2): for any given sentence p, it is necessary that p or not-p, yet [p ∨ ¬p] is grounded in either [p] or [¬p] (depending on whether p is true or false). And similarly, as in Fine ([13]: 6), if p is a necessary truth, [p] likely grounds [p ∧ q], for any q, although p's necessity makes [p∧q] necessary as well.

Easy counterexamples aside, it is not difficult to see how (P2) might be at odds with how we usually conceive metaphysical grounding; for one, we conceive it as hyperintensional (in the sense that, for any true sentences p, q, and r, such that q and r are intensionally equivalent, it might be the case that [p] grounds [q] but not that [p] grounds [r]). One of the motivations for this feature is that any weaker conception would fail to detect grounding in the case of necessities, thus implicitly admitting that there are non-trivial differences amongst the grounds of necessities.[ 6]

In conclusion, we shouldn't uphold the Knee-Jerk Reaction as the position according to which identities, as necessary, cannot be grounded, although the necessity of identity might motivate the Knee-Jerk Reaction in another way.[ 7] We will follow a more closely related thread to that of grounding, however, and wonder whether the problem of identity does not stem from its necessity, but rather from its fundamentality.

If we extent our treatment of grounding with the principle that grounding is well-founded, there will be a number of absolutely fundamental facts at the bottom of the hierarchy, which are not grounded by anything else, and upon which the rest of the metaphysical hierarchy ultimately rests. Are identity facts amongst them? As Lewis rightfully claimed, identity is a very basic and unproblematic notion, a thought-process which can only be vindicated by noticing that identity cannot be non-circularly defined at the first-order (furthermore, purported second-order definitions may suffer from impredicativity). Perhaps the notion of numerical identity can be provided some additional meat by clarifying that if Hesperus is identical to Phosphorus then Hesperus and Phosphorus are one, but this heuristically useful procedure shouldn't be given too much metaphysical weight (after all, Hesperus and Phosphorus are one because they are identical). If there is a realm of fundamental facts, identities definitely look like they belong there.

Our retort to this inviting line of thought is that identity facts are not equi-fundamental, and while we do not deny that some identities are absolutely fundamental, we very much doubt whether all of them are. The reason hides in plain sight: given plausible assumptions, the fundamentality of an identity is not merely determined by the fundamentality of the identity relation, but by the fundamentality of the entities being identified. This is very clear with a structuralist conception of facts in mind,[ 8] but in whatever metaphysical box identities belong to, it is very much possible that their prospects of grounding depend not entirely on the features of the identity relation (its necessity, or fundamentality), but also on the metaphysical status of the entities being identified. The kind of items picked out by the [...], be they events, facts, or what have you, can on many accounts be thoughts as involving, for lack of a more specific term, not only properties and relations, but the objects that instantiate them; thus, the presence of a somewhat derivative item such as Istanbul in [Istanbul is beautiful] is bound to make [Istanbul is beautiful] itself somewhat derivative; and the presence of Istanbul, or Constantinople, in [Istanbul is identical to Constantinople] is bound to make [Istanbul is identical to Constantinople] somewhat derivative too. More generally, the identities between ontologically dependent, or metaphysically derivative items may be open to grounding in a way that others are not.

We may formulate this train of thought with the help of two claims. Firstly, that there are differences in fundamentality between entities of different kinds (maybe entities, like facts, can be ordered with the help of a notion of relative fundamentality): according to this view, philosophically suspicious items such as directions of lines and numbers of concepts (but also boy-bands and parliaments) should not be excised from existence altogether, but be allowed to live as second-class citizens of reality - effectively striking a middle ground between eliminativism and egalitarianism that many will find appealing.[ 9] Secondly, that the relation of numerical identity is absolute, in the sense that everything (unrestrictedly) is self-identical, be they electrons or boy-bands. Thus, the world may be layered, yet the same relation of numerical identity obtains across all layers: although the identity relation is the same for everything, the things which are said to be identical may enjoy very different metaphysical status; as a result the ensuing identity facts might enjoy very different metaphysical status, with only some identities being fundamental, while others being provided a grounding base.

As hinted before, some identities, more than others, appear to be viable for this kind of treatment: specifically, the identities in the so-called two-level identity criteria (Williamson, [34]: 145-146), in which the identities between entities of a certain kind are characterized through a condition imposed upon entities of another kind; as Lowe ([19]: 4) explicitly noted, there seems to be some kind of ontological dependence relating the two classes of entities (e.g., directions of lines ontologically depend on lines, numbers of concepts ontologically depend on concepts, and so forth...). Although we have no clear account of this relation of ontological dependence between entities, and its relation with metaphysical grounding as discussed so far, this at least paves the way for thinking that some identities can be grounded; to deploy a standard metaphor in grounding literature, after determining that lines a and b were parallel, God didn't need to add anything to the world to make it so that their directions are identical; and similarly, after deciding that forks and knives on a table are in a bijection, God didn't need to add anything else to make it so that the number of forks is identical to the number of knives (for a discussion see Carrara & De Florio, [ 7]).

Not all identity criteria can be reduced to the kind of two-level identity criteria considered above (as discussed in Lowe, [19]: 4, 1991), and such, not all identities are provided such a potential grounding base.

It may at this point be worthwhile to notice that, once we make peace with the idea that identities might be grounded after all, a huge variety of potential grounding bases are immediately available: in this Section we present two, based respectively on indistinguishability and existence - with no pretense of exhaustiveness. The crucial difference between these potential grounding bases and the ones offered in the previous Section, through two-level identity criteria, is that these grounding bases are supposed to work for all identities, as opposed to only some.

Firstly, indistinguishability. One may extract grounding principles through a metaphysically robust reading of equivalence principles involving identities (or, weakly still, entailment principles). The more straightforward option is, of course, the problematic Identity of Indiscernibles, as in (at the second-order):

Graph

which may be read as offering grounding principles of numerical identities between objects in terms of their qualitative identity. The first problem about (II) and the correspondent grounding principles is the well-known problem about the scope of the second-order quantifier: either the bound variable 'F' ranges over all properties, including identity-involving ones that would make (II) trivial, or some kind of restriction is imposed upon the quantifier, at the risk of making (II) false.

Yet even if that problem is solved, and the right balance is struck when restricting the quantification over properties (so as to make (II) both true and interesting), the risk exists that a circularity is involved insofar as qualitative identity somehow involves numerical identity.[10] That qualitative identity presupposes numerical identity might be a problem if we wish to define numerical identity along the lines of (II) and its converse (the Indiscernibility of Identicals, as in McGinn, [22]: 7); yet assuming that such a definition is not forthcoming ( identity is already given), we must now understand what are its consequences for the grounding of identities instead. Let us consider a toy world in which there only are three monadic properties P, Q, and R, and no relations; now let us consider objects a and b, such that a= b; if (II) can really offer grounding principles, then [a=b] is grounded in the fact that a and b share all the properties. Thus, [ a= b] is grounded by [∀F(F a ↔ F b)]; assuming universally quantified facts to be jointly grounded by their instances, the ultimate ground for both [ a= b] and [∀F(F a ↔ F b)] in our toy-world would be [P a & P b], [Q a & Q b] and [R a & R b].[11]

One may note that, although [P a & P b], [Q a & Q b], and [R a & R b] can be described as stating that a and b possess the same properties P, Q, and R, they are not identify facts, nor they have identity as parts.

What is more, an advantageous peculiarity of taking [ a= b] to be grounded in [∀F(F a ↔ F b)] is that it neutralizes a well-known problem in the grounding of universal quantification in its instances (as discussed in Fine, [12]: 60-62). The problem is the following: assume another toy-world in which [∀ xP x] is jointly grounded by [Pa] and [Pb], being a and b the only things that exist, which are both P; now assume that grounding is necessary in the sense that for every sentences p and q such that [p] is grounded by [q], then ☐(q⟶p). Let us call this thesis grounding necessitarianism, or (N).[12] Given these assumptions, at all worlds in which it is the case that both a and b are P, it should also be the case that everything is P; yet this is patently false. It is easy to conceive of a world in which another entity c exist, which is not P. The idea is that [Pa] and [Pb] are not sufficient to ground the universal fact: one also has to add that a and b are all that exists (perhaps in the form of a totality or a negative fact). A similar counterexample might be formulated against the claim that [Pa & Pb], [Qa & Qb] and [Ra & Rb] jointly ground [∀F(Fa ↔ Fb)]. In fact, consider a qualitatively expanded world with the additional alien property S (which does not actually exist), such that, in that world, a possess S, but not b (or vice versa); in that world, however, a and b share P, Q and R as before. S does not exist in the original toy-world, and thus does not fall in the scope of the quantifier in ∀F(F a ↔ F b). In our qualitatively expanded world, [Pa & Pb], [Qa & Qb] and [Ra & Rb] are the case, but not [∀F(Fa ↔ Fb)], contra (N).

Interestingly, such considerations cut no ice in our present case, given that we are already assuming that [a=b] is grounded by [∀F(Fa ↔ Fb)]; a and b being identical, and necessarily so, makes it impossible that in this qualitatively expanded world a has S, but not b (by the uncontroversial Indiscernibility of Identicals). Taking an identity [a=b] to be grounded by [∀F(Fa ↔ Fb)] makes it so that even if (N) is true, qualitatively expanded worlds do not provide counterexamples to the idea that [Pa & Pb], [Qa & Qb] and [Ra & Rb] ground [∀F(Fa ↔ Fb)] --although in such worlds P, Q, and R are not all the properties that exist.[13]

Secondly, existence. We might consider the possibility that identities may be grounded by existence facts (e.g., Salmon, [24]: 153; Burgess, [ 5]: 90). One of the reasons behind the Knee-Jerk Reaction is that identity is, by standard definition, a very undemanding thing to occur: not much is required from Hesperus and Phosphorus for them to be identical. However, something is in fact required of them: it is required that they exist. Thus, or so the idea goes, existence facts may be a suitable grounding base for identities. To employ the same metaphor as above, once God had added things to the world (and thus, their existence), She didn't need to add identities between them: identity comes for free once objects are put into existence, and thus appears particularly suitable to be grounded upon existence facts. Alternatively, the identity between Hesperus and Phosphorus may not be grounded by the fact that Hesperus exists (or, equivalently, the fact that Phosphorus exists), but rather by Hesperus (Phosphorus) itself -viz. the planet Venus-, a suggestion that would force us to reconsider grounding as a trans-categorical relation, which can also related objects, as in Schaffer ([25]). A similar consideration can be put forward by those who think that facts need to be composed by properties and relations, yet deny existence the status of (real) property.

Another reason to eschew existence talk entirely, as noted in Shumener ([28]: 5), is that the most common definition of the existence predicate crucially deploys identity. Here is how the problem may be formulated: assuming the fact [a=a] to be grounded in the fact that a exists, the fact that a exists may take the form [∃x(x=a)]; however, existential quantifications are standardly taken to be grounded in their true instances; thus, [∃x(x=a)] is grounded in [a=a]. Thus, if we start with the assumption that [a=a] needs to be grounded in the fact that exists, the transitivity of grounding dictates that [a=a] is grounded upon itself. Yet if grounding is irreflexive, that is a problematic conclusion.[14][15]

Identity might be utterly simple and unproblematic as Lewis claimed, but given certain assumptions on grounding as a relation of relative fundamentality between facts, it is not so obvious that identity facts are either ungrounded or fundamental. While some potential grounding bases have been offered with the help of indiscernibility and existence facts, we have also highlighted the crucial fact that not all identities are on the same boat in this respect: depending on the metaphysical status of the items being identified, some identities are bound to be more fundamental than others, and more derivative identities may have grounds through two-level identity criteria.

These results fit more general considerations regarding the status of identities. A popular knee-jerk reaction amongst philosophers regarding identity is that once it is stated that, say, Hesperus and Phosphorus are identical (or equivalently, that Hesperus and Phosphorus are one), there's nothing left to say on the matter of philosophical interest. That said, even accepting that there's hardly any conceptual analysis or definition of identity forthcoming, it remains to be seen whether there is no explanatory or otherwise metaphysical value to entailment principles concerning identities, such as indiscernibility principles or identity criteria.

Open access funding provided by Università degli Studi di Padova within the CRUI-CARE Agreement.

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
References 1 Azzano, L. & Carrara, M. (2020) (MS). Explaining identities: Towards a non-causal contrastive explanation of identities. Theozia. A Swedish Journal of philosophy, online first (18/11/20). 5 Burgess A. A puzzle about identity. Thought: A Journal of Philosophy. 2012; 1; 2: 90-99 7 Carrara, M. & De Florio, C. (2018). Identity criteria: An epistemic path to conceptual grounding. Synthese Online first (21 July 2018). Dasgupta S. On the plurality of grounds. Philosophers' Imprint. 2014; 14: 1 Dasgupta S. Constitutive explanation. Philosophical Issues. 2017; 27; 1: 74-97. 10.1111/phis.12102 Fine, K. (2012). Guide to ground. In Fabrice Correia & Benjamin Schnieder (eds.), Metaphysical grounding (pp. 37-80). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Fine K. Identity criteria and ground. Philosophical Studies. 2016; 173; 1: 1-19. 10.1007/s11098-014-0440-7 Horsten L. Impredicative identity criteria. Philosophy and Phenomenological Research. 2010; 80; 2: 411-439. 10.1111/j.1933-1592.2010.00325.x Jenkins CS. Is metaphysical dependence irreflexive?. The Monist. 2011; 94; 2: 267-276. 10.5840/monist201194213 Jubien M. The myth of identity conditions. Philosophical Perspectives. 1996; 10: 343-356 Kim, J. (2008). Reduction and reductive explanation: Is one possible without the other? In Jakob Hohwy & Jesper Kallestrup (eds.), Being reduced: New essays on reduction, explanation, and causation. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Lewis DK. On the plurality of worlds. 1986: Oxford; Wiley-Blackwell Lowe EJ. What is a criterion of identity?. Philosophical Quarterly. 1989; 39; 154: 1-21. 10.2307/2220347 Lowe EJ, Noonan HW. Substance, identity and time. Aristotelian Society Supplementary. 1988; 62; 1: 61-100. 10.1093/aristoteliansupp/62.1.61 Maurin AS. Grounding and metaphysical explanation: It's complicated. Philosophical Studies. 2019; 176; 6: 1573-1594. 10.1007/s11098-018-1080-0 Mcginn C. Logical properties: Identity, existence, predication, necessity, truth. Bulletin of Symbolic Logic. 2000; 9; 1: 39-42 Rosen GHale B, Hoffmann A. Metaphysical dependence: Grounding and reduction. Modality: Metaphysics, logic, and epistemology. 2010: Oxford; Oxford University Press: 109-136. 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199565818.003.0007 Salmon NU. Metaphysics, mathematics, and meaning. 2005: Oxford; Oxford University Press. 10.1093/0199284717.001.0001 Schaffer JManley D, Chalmers DJ, Wasserman R. On what grounds what. Metametaphysics: New essays on the foundations of ontology. 2009: Oxford; Oxford University Press: 347-383 Schaffer JCorreia F, Schnieder B. Grounding, transitivity, and contrastivity. Metaphysical grounding: Understanding the structure of reality. 2012: Cambridge; Cambridge University Press: 122-138. 10.1017/CBO9781139149136.005 Schnieder B. A logic for 'because'. Review of Symbolic Logic. 2011; 4; 3: 445-465. 10.1017/S1755020311000104 Shumener E. The metaphysics of identity: Is identity fundamental?. Philosophy Compass. 2017; 12; 1: 1. 10.1111/phc3.12397 Sider, T. (2011). Writing the book of the world. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199697908.001.0001 Skiles A. Against grounding necessitarianism. Erkenntnis. 2015; 80; 4: 717-751. 10.1007/s10670-014-9669-y Thompson N. Grounding and metaphysical explanation. Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society. 2016; 116; 3: 395-402. 10.1093/arisoc/aow012 Trogdon KHoeltje M, Schnieder B, Steinberg A. An introduction to grounding. Varieties of dependence: Ontological dependence, grounding, supervenience, response-dependence (basic philosophical concepts). 2013: Munich; Philosophia Verlag: 97-122 Trogdon K. Grounding: Necessary or contingent?. Pacific Philosophical Quarterly. 2013; 94; 4: 465-485. 10.1111/papq.12009 Williamson T. Identity and discrimination. 1990: Oxford; Wiley-Blackwell Lewis ([18]: 192-193). E.g., Lowe and Noonan ([20]: 80-81), Williamson ([34]: 144-145), Jubien ([16]), Block and Stalnaker ([4]: 24), Salmon ([24]: 153), Kim ([17]: 102), Horsten ([14]), and Fine ([13]). Other ways to make sense of it will wait for another occasion. (At this juncture, it might be worth pointing out that we are not interested in the exegetical reconstruction of Lewis' thought process on the matter: on the contrary we will happily help ourselves with resources that he may or may not had intended to deploy.) The true story is obviously much more complicated than that, as grounding is one of the most discussed notions in contemporary philosophy. For an introduction, see Correia & Schnieder, [9]; Clark & liggins, [8]; Trogdon, [32]; Bliss & Trogdon, [3]). Although, like us, there are those who take metaphysical grounding to be a heavy-duty relation (usually between facts, as in Rosen, [23]), many subscribe to a deflated notion, usually by taking grounding to be a sentential connective instead (e.g., Dasgupta, [10], [11]). We do not hope, in this paper, to weight the toll that metaphysical grounding takes on reality, and we provisionally take metaphysical grounding to relate facts. Thus, we take whatever it is that makes the case that p, to be the ground of [p] - where [p] is the fact that p. We take grounding to be a dyadic relation for the time being (e.g., [p] is grounded by [p]). Standardly, metaphysical grounding is a strict partial order (Maurin, 2018), although the irreflexivity of grounding has been questioned in Jenkins ([15]), and its transitivity (qua relation between facts) in Schaffer ([26]). Some further features of the notion (e.g., its modal status) will be discussed later on in this section. One last thing should be noted: in this paper we will restrict the discussion about the grounding of identities to the discussion about the metaphysical grounding of identities - although we do not presume that all grounding is metaphysical. We leave for another time, an extension of our reconstruction of the broadly Lewisian argument against the grounding of identities which encompasses non-metaphysical grounding. Fine ([13]: 6) was of a similar advice. E.g., Schaffer ([25]: 364), Schnieder ([27]: 445-446), Dasgupta ([10]: 4). E.g., it might lead to the conclusion that identities, as necessary, cannot be explained. See Cameron ([6]: 262-263) for the difference between grounding and explanation when necessity is involved. For a treatment of the Knee-Jerk Reaction involving the explanation of identities - as opposed to their grounding -, see Azzano and Carrara ([1]). An argument in this direction may be extrapolated with the help of Sider's ([29]: 170-171) so-called "purity", according to which no fact can be more fundamental than any of its components; therefore, identity facts come in varying degrees of fundamentality, depending on the metaphysical status of its component objects. It may be worth noticing that Sider ([29]) does not formulate fundamentality in terms of grounding, but joint-carving; and, for him, identity is. For one, Bennett ([2]: 28) famously takes the egalitarian option to be "crazypants", and one in regarding to which "every fiber of my being cries out in protest". Whether the position is false, is another matter entirely. Also see Schaffer ([26]: 123). This is especially a danger for property realists according to which two objects being similar in such-and-such respect amounts to them having the same property, where "same" is to be read as expressing numerical identity between properties; for nominalists, on the other hand, "qualitative identity" is not necessarily a matter of identity tout court, as in primitivists variants of nominalism (like Resemblance Nominalism) two objects resembling each other in some respect might be a primitive matter. Two things to notice. Firstly, we introduced grounding as a binary relation, but perhaps it would be best to consider it as a variably polyadic relation in which one item is grounded by a plurality of items, where the one-to-one case of grounding constitutes a limiting case of it (in the sense that a plurality of one is a limiting case of plurality). Secondly, assuming grounding to be transitive, it makes little difference to take [a=b] to be grounded by [Pa & Pb], [Qa & Qb], and [Ra & Rb], rather than [Pa], [Pb], [Qa], [Qb], [Ra], and [Rb], if in turn we assume that conjunctions are grounded by their conjuncts. Although it is hard to say whether grounding necessitarianism is part of the orthodoxy about metaphysical grounding, it is often assumed. See Trogdon ([33]) and Skiles ([30]) for critical discussion. This case highlights the difference between grounding necessitarianism as in (N), and the stronger thesis that if a (collection of) facts grounds a fact, it necessarily does. This thesis is presumably falsified here: although at no world [Pa & Pb], [Qa & Qb] and [Ra & Rb] are the case without [∀F(Fa ↔ Fb)] also being the case, in a qualitatively expanded world with the additional alien property S, it would probably not be the case that [Pa & Pb], [Qa & Qb] and [Ra & Rb] jointly ground [∀F(Fa ↔ Fb)]. The correct grounding base would probably be [Pa & Pb], [Qa & Qb], [Ra & Rb] and [Sa & Sb]. We leave this matter for another time. Fine ([12]: 59-60) offers additional consideration as to why the existence of a (in the sense of [∃x(x=a)], or in a more generic sense) should not be grounded in a's self-identity fact [a=a]. One may argue that, identity being a fundamental relation, the self-grounding of identity facts such as [a=a] may in fact constitute a palatable option; this would of course expand the landscape of potential grounds for identity in a way that violates the irreflexivity of metaphysical grounding. We would like to thank an anonymous reviewer for suggesting this possibility to us.
~~~~~~~~

By Lorenzo Azzano and Massimiliano Carrara

Reported by Author; Author

Source: Philosophia, Nov2021, Vol. 49 Issue 5, p1943, 10p
Item: 153978455

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A popular stance amongst philosophers is one according to which, in Lewis' words, " identity is utterly simple and unproblematic". Building from Lewis' famous passage on the matter, we reconstruct, and then criticize, an argument to the conclusion that identities cannot be grounded.

# data[].attributes.body
1.  https://eds.s.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=110&sid=ad2c5276-3d1e-42ef-821b-342ee4b0efaa%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#AN=ED382247&db=eric
2.  https://eds.s.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=111&sid=ad2c5276-3d1e-42ef-821b-342ee4b0efaa%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#AN=109178887&db=f6h
3.  https://eds.s.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=112&sid=ad2c5276-3d1e-42ef-821b-342ee4b0efaa%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#AN=117655283&db=lfh

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Citation

Title:

Author(s):

Source:

9 pp.

Availability:

Peer Reviewed:

N/A

Publication Date:

1995

Descriptors:

Keyword:

Abstract:

San Jacinto College's Central Campus developed a 4-year plan to bring the library's technology, college, and facilities to a level equal to libraries of other Texas Community Colleges. The first major goal for the library is to select and deliver information that students and faculty need at the time of need, thereby redefining library resources in terms of access and holdings. This is to be accomplished through increased training, increased collection expenditures from $104,000 to $180,000 over 4 years to rebuild the collection in each subject field, and improving access to journals and other materials. The second goal is to create and maintain systems that provide information for students and faculty, including widening access to the Internet resources, upgrading the online catalog, developing guides to electronic resources, and improving acquisitions, reserves, and security systems. The third goal is to educate faculty and students to better access information by adding staff and improving links between the library and the faculty. The fourth goal is to support the building, furnishings, and infrastructure of the library to provide information services for the students in an attractive learning environment. The replacement of wall coverings, furniture, and carpeting, and other needed facilities improvements is expected to cost $117,654 over the 4-year period. The final goal is to continue planning for library information services. The costs of the improvements are projected to be $72,554 in 1996, $108,260 in 1997, $205,100 in 1998, and $113,500 in 1999. (KP)

Language:

English

Number of Pages:

9

Publication Type:

Reports - Descriptive

Entry Date:

1995

Accession Number:

ED382247

Database:

ERIC

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Sign in with your credentials to access the EBSCOhost premium information resources provided by your subscribing institution.

# data[].attributes.body
1.  https://eds.s.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=5&sid=ad2c5276-3d1e-42ef-821b-342ee4b0efaa%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#AN=EJ1316053&db=eric
2. https://eds.s.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?
vid=6&sid=ad2c5276-3d1e-42ef-821b-342ee4b0efaa%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#AN=EJ1297082&db=eric
3. https://eds.s.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=7&sid=ad2c5276-3d1e-42ef-821b-342ee4b0efaa%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#AN=33146787&db=cmedm

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
University Students' Understandings, Attitudes and Experiences on Plagiaris...: San Jac Super Search

# data[].attributes.body
1.  https://eds.s.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=22&sid=ad2c5276-3d1e-42ef-821b-342ee4b0efaa%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#AN=145733348&db=f6h
2.  https://eds.s.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=28&sid=ad2c5276-3d1e-42ef-821b-342ee4b0efaa%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#AN=111199227&db=a9h
3.  https://eds.s.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=29&sid=ad2c5276-3d1e-42ef-821b-342ee4b0efaa%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#AN=edsdoj.36b7bbb5d4ba8aeb493a20b5d95a0&db=edsdoj

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The objective of the study was to diagnose changes in the of individuals with mild intellectual disability (ID) in late adolescence and emerging adulthood, comparing them to their non-disabled peers. The dual-cycle model of identity formation of Luyckx et al. was employed (Developmental Psychology, 42, 366-380, 2006). The study included 127 participants living in Poland. Three waves were performed at half-year intervals. The Dimensions of Identity Development Scale in its modified version for people with ID was used (DIDS/PL-1; Rękosiewicz Studia Psychologiczne, 53, 19-31, 2015). People from the four study groups (A - late adolescents with ID, B - emerging adults with ID, C - late adolescents within the intellectual norm, D - emerging adults within the intellectual norm) in the main did not differ from one another in respect of the dimensions of formation. Over time, there was an increase in commitment making and identification with commitment, but only among adolescents with ID. None of the groups demonstrated significant changes in exploration in breadth, in depth, nor in ruminative exploration. It was successfully demonstrated that people with mild ID are not distinct on all dimensions of formation when compared to their peers within the intellectual norm. Minor changes in may indicate a longer period of identity formation, or dynamic changes coming earlier - during early adolescence or later - in early adulthood.

Keywords: Commitment; Emerging adulthood; Exploration; Identity; Late adolescence; Mild intellectual disability

Identity is a theoretical construct frequently explored by social scientists, both in theoretical deliberations and in empirical studies (Brubaker and Cooper [ 4]). Although it is understood in various ways, as a phenomenon impacting individuals or a collective, in the most general terms it can always be defined as a subjective response to the question "who am I (are we)?" Psychological studies to date have been focused mainly on the subjective conditions for the formation of identity or its subjective correlates. We know far less about the social mechanisms involved in identity formation (Schwartz [36]). One particular unknown consists of groups of individuals with unique experiences: social minorities, non-students, people not attending school, people of low socio-economic status, and people with disabilities, especially those with intellectual disability.

In the psychological sense, Erikson's theory defines identity as a set of beliefs about oneself, the world and people, as the perception of sameness and continuity of one's own person despite the passage of time, and also as the feeling of distinctness and integrity (Erikson [11]). This theory was then developed by Marcia, and in that form later reflected in numerous empirical studies (e.g. Marcia [28]; Marcia and Friedman [29]; Slugoski et al. [38]; Toder and Marcia [39]). Marcia understood identity as the effect of exploration and of commitment, which constituted consecutive stages. Exploration is an orientational and exploratory activity, which means it consists in actively attempting and assessing diverse alternatives before taking the decision to engage in action. Commitment is the stage which comes after exploration, consisting in taking a decision and engaging in action. Scores on these two dimensions then serve as the basis for distinguishing four statuses of identity: achievement, moratorium, foreclosure, and diffusion.

Koen Luyckx et al. performed research in which they demonstrated that the process of identity formation is more complex than the two-stage model would suggest (Luyckx et al. [21]). They uncovered the existence of three types of exploration, and two types of commitment (Luyckx et al. [23]). Exploration in breadth (i.e., exploration as captured by Marcia) is the search for alternatives in respect of one's values, goals, and convictions prior to making a choice. Exploration in depth is a detailed assessment of previous choices in order to determine whether the commitments that have been made are acceptable to the individual. Ruminative exploration refers to the fears and doubts that concern commitment in spheres of relevance to the formation of identity. Commitment making (i.e., commitment as captured by Marcia) entails making choices and commitments important in the development of identity. Finally, identification with a commitment means identification with choices made and is associated with a feeling of certainty that those choices are the right one for the individual.

Exploration in breadth and commitment making are equivalents to the concepts of exploration and commitment according to Marcia, and they constitute the first cycle in the formation of identity - the cycle of commitment formation. This is the time when the individual makes an initial decision as to the best alternative for him/herself. In the second cycle - evaluation of commitment - assessment of the choice already made is performed, that is the exploration in depth and identification with the commitment. This is why the model developed by Luyckx is sometimes referred to as the dual-cycle model of identity formation (Luyckx et al. [22]). However, it is difficult to definitively demarcate normative age borders applicable to each cycle in the development of identity.

Scores on the dimensions of identity change with age - generally, a small decline in exploration and a strong increase of commitment are observed from the period of adolescence (earlier and later), through emerging adulthood and into early adulthood (Waterman [40]). Later adolescence (roughly 15-18 years old) and emerging adulthood (roughly 18-25 years old) seem, however, to be quite similar in respect of the process of identity development. The demands of the social environment in emerging adulthood as to making commitments remain relatively small, and mainly concern education. During this period a high level of exploration is maintained (Schwartz et al. [37]).

On the basis of results of studies on identity development it is difficult to definitively determine the age or developmental period in which specific changes in identity dimensions occur. Large differences among individuals seem to be prevalent in this process. For example, a study conducted with the participation of individuals in developmental phases from adolescence to emerging adulthood (from 14 to 30 years old) uncovered an increasing level of commitment making and identification with commitments as age increased (Luyckx et al. [26]). Exploration in breadth and in depth, and, to a lesser degree, rumination, increased from adolescence to emerging adulthood (reaching a peak around 22 years), after which it declined slightly, while remaining in the oldest age group (30-year-olds) at a higher level than among the youngest adolescents. In Polish studies it has been observed that among several age groups (19-21 years, 22-25 years, 26-35 years) the last of them was characterized by the highest frequency of achieved identity, that is, with a high prevalence of "positive" explorations (not rumination), as well as making and identifying with commitments (Piotrowski et al. [33]).

The small body of longitudinal studies also does not provide us with definitive results. In one of them, no changes were observed among adolescents (five waves at 12-month intervals) in terms of commitment, and also constancy in the level of exploration in depth from early to middle adolescence, as well as its increase from middle to late adolescence (Klimstra et al. [19]) - this could attest to the beginning of a cycle of commitment evaluation at the end of adolescence. In turn, in longitudinal studies among emerging adults (four waves over two years) increase was observed in two dimensions of exploration - in breadth and in depth - but also in commitment making, along with a decline in commitment identification (Luyckx et al. [21]), which would entail intensification of the search for the best alternatives in that age (cycle of commitment making) along with the beginnings of commitment evaluation. In another study involving the same age group (three waves in three years) no significant changes were observed, although a slow increase in the level of commitment making was noticed (Luyckx et al. [23]).

As a variable, age itself turns out to be insufficient to determine the process of identity formation. It could be assumed that internal-group differences (both in adolescence and emerging adulthood) are an effect of the dependency of identity formation on other factors than age, such as social factors (experiences of young people), or broader cultural elements (such as social norms referring to milestones and the time of entry into adulthood). Grounds for such an assumption can be supplied by longitudinal studies conducted among individuals in the same developmental phase but with different formative experiences at that age (e.g. type of education selected by adolescents - Brzezińska ([ 5]); undertaking studies or work in emerging adulthood - Karaś et al. [17]).

Although it is suggested in the theory of identity development (see e.g. Slugoski et al. [38]) that a necessary condition of its formation is the prior development of formal operations as described by Piaget (see Piaget [32]), study results in this area present us with a muddy picture. Among some participants who were subjected to a diagnosis of identity status according to the Marcia model, it was observed that achievement (high level of exploration and commitment) and moratorium (high level of exploration and low level of commitment) - the two most mature statuses, each involving a high level of exploration, are associated with high results in tasks measuring the capacity to conduct formal operations (e.g. Rowe and Marcia [35]; Slugoski et al. [38]). There are, however, studies in which this relationship was not confirmed, such as Berzonsky et al. [ 3]; Cauble [ 9]; Leiper [20]. Today it is held that when analysing cognitive development in the form of successive stages, children and youngsters with intellectual disability (ID) develop according to the same sequence as their non-disabled counterparts (Zigler [42]). Among both groups the same phases of cognitive development take place, with the difference that children and youngsters with ID proceed from one phase to the next more slowly than their non-disabled peers. If identity is dependent on cognitive development, then individuals with ID should be characterized by identity different from their non-disabled peers but similar to younger individuals within the intellectual norm.

Hypothetically speaking, a low level of intelligence could directly impact the formation of identity by impeding understanding of the consequences of one's own actions, planning, imagination of self in various roles, insight into own motivations, and also indirectly by liberating certain social processes - for instance when the ID of a child leads that child's parents to hamper him/her in initiating independent exploration, or they incur and impose commitments in the child's name without consultation. Studies on identity previously conducted among individuals with ID primarily address social and gender identity, feelings of stigmatization, and feelings of being different and disabled (e.g. Beart et al. [ 2]; Craig et al. [10]). Disability identity is a topic increasingly often addressed by researchers (Forber-Pratt et al. [13]). It is defined in various ways, but in the most general terms it is an answer to the following questions: "Do I perceive myself as a person with a disability?" and "How do I understand my disability?" Models of disability identity development describe its successive stages (e.g., Gibson [14]; Gill [15]) or statuses (Forber-Pratt and Zape [12]). Disability identity is reflected in the individual's perception of themselves (with their disability) and in the perception of their own defective organism as well as their possibilities of interacting with the environment - both social and physical. Personal identity discussed in the present paper is understood more broadly, as a way of perceiving oneself not only through the lens of one's disability but also in terms of one's resources and weaknesses unrelated to the disability. At the same time, functional limitations seem to be an important, if not crucial, element in personal identity formation and in making future plans, particularly if the disability is severe. Individuals with mild intellectual disability are a special group here. On the one hand, limitations in intellectual functioning may impair in-depth reflection necessary for building one's disability identity. For individuals with ID, "disability identity" may develop on the level of feelings or perceptions rather than on the intellectual level. Standard methods of testing disability identity would therefore have to be replaced with different ones, adjusted to the capabilities of individuals with ID - such as observation or qualitative methods. On the other hand, compared to people with other degrees of ID, individuals with mild ID exhibit cognitive functioning efficient enough to realize their disability and seem to be aware of its impact on the development of their personal identity (though probably in a specific domain - e.g., career plans). This problem, however, should be treated as an area for further research to explore.

There is a lack of studies focused in the strict sense of the term on the formation of individual identity. Perhaps one of the reasons for this is the lack of appropriate diagnostic instruments that would facilitate research among this social group. The current study had two primary objectives. The first was to diagnose the dimensions of personal identity formation of individuals in late-adolescence and emerging adulthood with mild ID, comparing them to their intellectually non-disabled peers. The second was to diagnose the development of their personal identity over time. It was expected that individuals with ID would be characterized by a lower prevalence of exploration in breadth and in depth, of commitment making and identification, and a higher level of ruminative exploration than their intellectually non-disabled counterparts. This difference may result directly or indirectly from ID. A hypothesis was also formulated as to increase of commitment making and identification over time; these changes, however, are likely to be greater among individuals in the phase of emerging adulthood rather than those in late adolescence (as an effect of a greater „coming closer" to adulthood). This should also be more likely among non-disabled individuals compared to those with ID (as an effect of the reduced tempo of cognitive development potentially associated with the formation of personal identity).

Study participants belonged to one of two age groups: ( 1) late adolescence (16-17 years old at Wave 1), and ( 2) emerging adulthood (20-21 years old at Wave 1); they were also divided into two groups distinguished by level of intellectual functioning: ( 1) with mild ID, and ( 2) within intellectual norm. Thus four groups distinguished by developmental stage and level of intellectual functioning were created (groups A, B, C, D, Table 1). The sample was selected purposefully, with attention paid to the assumed criteria. Participants lived in Poland, and all of them continued their education in schools. They attended one of four types of school: general upper-secondary schools or vocational schools - preparing students for a trade (Group C), special vocational schools - preparing students with disabilities for a trade (Groups A and B - all subjects with ID), and higher education institutions (Group D). ID diagnosis was not made in the study. Subjects with ID were selected from vocational special schools (from classes only for students with mild ID). All of them had been qualified for special education by psychological and educational counselling centres based on mild ID diagnosis, in accordance with ICD-10 guidelines and Polish education law. All subjects with ID lived with their families in villages and small towns, and during school time (from Monday to Friday) they lived in boarding school dormitories.

Sample characteristics

ID intellectual disability, ND non disabled

At Wave 1 143 people participated, at Wave 2 132, and at Wave 3 127. Thirteen people resigned from further participation in the study, whereas 3 left the school they had previously attended and then refused further meetings at the site of their new school. The final analysis took a total of 127 participants into consideration as having taken part in all three waves.

The scale is based on the dual-cycle theory of identity formation by Luyckx et al. ([21]), and it examines the five dimensions of identity. The original DIDS was adapted in Poland by Brzezińska and Piotrowski - DIDS/PL (Brzezińska and Piotrowski [ 6]), and its modified version DIDS/PL-1 is a simplified (both linguistically and in terms of content) version, suitable for use among individuals with mild ID (for a detailed description of the development of the scale, see Rękosiewicz [34]). DIDS/PL-1 is not a Polish translation of the original English version; it is a simplified form of the Polish version, DIDS/PL.

The modified version, similarly to the original, is composed of 25 items in the form of declarative sentences concerning plans for the future made by the participant. These items comprise five scales (with five items in each scale) that align with the five dimensions of identity (exploration in breadth, exploration in depth, ruminative exploration, commitment making, commitment identification). In the modified version ( DIDS/PL-1) the number of answers has been reduced from six to four: 1 - no; 2 - rather not, 3 - rather yes, 4 - yes (the DIDS/PL-1 version was tested psychometrically previously - see Rękosiewicz [34]). For each of the five DIDS/PL-1 subscales, scores were averaged across the five constituent items. Each scale has a minimum score of 1 and a maximum score of 4 points.

In the current study, individual items in the questionnaire were read aloud by the researcher, and the participant was tasked with selecting one of four answers which best reflected the degree to which the statement reflected him/her. A piece of paper detailing the possible responses was placed in front of the participant and remained there during the entire testing session. After the participant gave a response, the researcher independently entered it on the response sheet.

Reliability as measured using Cronbach's alpha at the successive waves was: EB scale: 0.72; 0.74; 0.75; ED scale: 0.72; 0.71; 0.71; RE scale: 0.71; 0.72; 0.72; CM scale: 0.83; 0.88; 0.85; IC scale: 0.85; 0.90; 0.87.

During the study, Pearson's r correlations observed in other studies using DIDS were replicated among dimensions of identity (e.g. Luyckx et al. [23], [24]). These are: positive correlation between exploration in breadth and in depth (at a moderate level), moderate and strong positive correlation between scales of commitment, negative correlation between ruminative exploration and commitment making (although at a low level). Among these same dimensions of identity assessed at three waves there is a positive, moderate or strong correlation. Correlations among the DIDS subscales are represented in Table 2.

Correlations amongst the five identity dimensions

* p < 0.05, ** p < 0.001 Number next to the variable means the wave number. EB exploration in breadth, ED exploration in depth, RE ruminative exploration, CM commitment making, IC identification with commitment

Permission to conduct the research at the sites of schools was given by headmasters. Informed consent was obtained in writing from all participants and from the parents of minor participants. A total of 234 people who met the criteria for selection to the research group (and their parents) received information about the study along with a consent form. Of those, 143 expressed their readiness to participate in the study.

Data were collected at three waves (each lasting three weeks) with half-year intervals. At each wave, participants completed the identity measure individually in a school room with only the researcher being present. During the test session, the questionnaire items were read aloud to the participants and their answers were recorded on a response form. Each test session lasted 30 min.

I conducted a single-variable analysis of variance with group (A, B, C, D) as a factor and with dimensions of identity development as dependent variables, followed by post hoc Tukey test. To examine changes over time, I performed a single-factor analysis of variance with an independently repeated measurement. The level of significance was.05 in all tests. All analyses were performed with the IBM SPSS Statistics software, version 24.0.

The posited hypothesis assumed that people with ID are characterised by a lower scores on identity dimensions their intellectually non-disabled peers (excepting ruminative exploration). In order to examine this hypothesis, a single-variable analysis of variance was conducted on a group (A, B, C, D) as a factor, and with five dimensions of identity as dependent variables. A post hoc Tukey test uncovered a difference between groups only at Wave 2, and only for exploration in depth (Table 3). Individuals with ID in the phase of emerging adulthood are characterized by a greater exploration in depth than their non-disabled peers. This is in direct contradiction to the assumptions of the hypothesis.

Univariate ANOVA's and post-hoc comparisons based upon Tukey HSD tests for the four research groups at Wave 1, 2, and 3

Number next to the variable means the wave number. Different indexes next to the mean values indicate significant differences between the groups. ID intellectual disability, ND non disabled, EB exploration in breadth, ED exploration in depth, RE ruminative exploration, CM commitment making, IC identification with commitment

It was expected that together with the passage of time both the group of individuals with ID and those without it would record the increase in commitment making and identification. It was also expected that this increase would be greater among individuals in emerging adulthood than among late adolescents, and also among normally functioning individuals compared to those with ID.

In order to verify this hypothesis, first a single-factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted with an independently repeated measure in each of the four studied groups. Change in the course of three waves concerning dimensions of identity took place only in two cases. First, a change in commitment making was observed in Group A, thus among disabled adolescent individuals [Pillai's Trace = 0.20; F (2; 34) = 4.14; p = 0.03; η = 0.12]. The assumption of sphericity was fulfilled (in Mauchly's W test p = 0.97). The analysis revealed a significant main effect [ F ( 2, 70) = 4.13, p = 0.02, η = 0.11]. A post hoc test (with correction for multiple Bonferroni comparisons) uncovered a significant difference in commitment making at Wave 2 ( M = 2.97) and Wave 3 ( M = 3.33) - together with the passage of time this group showed an increase for this dimension of identity.

Second, a change was observed for identification with commitment in the same group [Pillai's Trace = 0.18; F (2; 34) = 3.63; p = 0.04; η = 0.18]. Because the assumption of sphericity was not met (in Mauchly's W test p = 0.04), corrections were made using the Greenhouse-Geisser test. The analysis uncovered a significant main effect [ F ( 2, 70) = 4.15, p = 0.02, η = 0.11]. A post hoc test (with correction for multiple Bonferroni comparisons) indicated a significant difference between Wave 2 ( M = 3.38) and Wave 3 ( M = 3.63). As in the case of commitment making, the passage of time was accompanied by an increase in commitment identification (Fig. 1). For the remaining dimensions of identity there was no change in any of the four groups studied.

Graph: Fig. 1 Mean-level change in identity dimensions over time in group A (adolescence, ID). EB, exploration in breadth; ED, exploration in depth; RE, ruminative exploration CM, commitment making; IC, identification with commitment

Formation of identity is one of the primary goals of development during the period of adolescence and emerging adulthood. Empirical studies conducted in various countries and cultural contexts, including in Poland, point to the phenomenon of delayed adulthood, meaning the increasingly later commitment to developmental tasks and social roles associated with the period of adulthood (e.g. Arnett [ 1]; Brzezińska et al. [ 7]; Macek et al. [27]; Negru [30]). This phenomenon also applies to the subjective indicator of adulthood that is development of individual identity. Studies on the development of identity, however, generally overlook minority groups in society (Schwartz [36]), including those with ID.

Prior to undertaking the research it was assumed that people with mild ID differed in respect of identity from their non-disabled counterparts. The results of the study did not confirm this hypothesis. Individuals with mild ID take a similar approach in making (at least in their own opinion) the best choices for themselves in their adult lives, they take important decisions, they assess choices made, and they feel good with their choices in the belief that they have made the right decisions. The level of anxiety associated with these actions is also similar to that displayed by normally functioning individuals. ID itself is thus not a sufficiently strong factor to determine the level of dimensions of identity development. It should be noted, however, that the participants in the study were individuals with only mild ID, which means the findings apply only to this particular group. It seems that the higher is the level of ID, the greater differences can be observed. Hypothetically, differences would be caused both by lower capacity for reflection and for making future plans as well as by more limited social experience, which constitutes an important factor in the development of individuals with ID (Hodapp et al. [16]).

At the same time, it is difficult to imagine that there could be absolutely no differences between what are, after all, intellectually differently-functioning groups of the participants in the study. Perhaps they are to be found in the feeling of identity in specific areas, such as education, profession, or religion. The awareness of one's own disability and disability identity probably play a significant role here. Individuals with a disability have to analyze their own limitations and adjust their abilities to the opportunities offered by the environment, as well as choose from the opportunities available in accordance with their disability (Forber-Pratt et al. [13]). After completing their education, people with different kinds of disability experience difficulties connected with the need to take on new developmental tasks characteristic of adulthood. These problems are observed among people with learning difficulties (Carnaby et al. [ 8]), physical disability (Wells et al. [41]), and visual impairment (Keil and Crews [18]). In patients with diabetes, certain difficulties were observed directly in identity formation - namely, lower scores on exploration than in the case of healthy individuals (Luyckx et al. [25]). Withdrawal from undertaking new developmental tasks increases the potential risk of further difficulties in the process of identity formation. In individuals with ID this problem seems to be bigger, since their limited use of activity opportunities in the social environment may be intensified by exclusive behaviors on the part of the social environment. The choice of the way of life is more narrow among people with mild ID than in non-disabled individuals, which, in the Polish conditions, is particularly visible in work domain - people with disabilities, including individuals with ID, seldom work in the open job market and more often find employment in workplaces established especially for them (i.e., occupational activation centres or sheltered employment facilities). What may be of great significance in this case is stereotypes concerning the alleged aggression of people with ID or additionally diminishing their intellectual abilities and, consequently, their capacity for independent action (resulting in these people being thought of as "perennial children").

The only difference, observed at Wave 2, concerned exploration in depth; yet the result recorded was the opposite of that predicted, as people with ID during emerging adulthood assessed that they engaged to a greater extent than their non-disabled peers in an extensive review of their own life choices, deciding whether they were appropriate and satisfactory. However, insofar as a decline in the intensity of in-depth assessments of commitments made during the transition from late adolescence into emerging adulthood has been previously observed in studies (e.g. Brzezińska et al. [ 7]), its lower intensity among normally functioning individuals compared to their intellectually disabled counterparts is a surprising fact in light of the hypotheses offered. It was assumed that ID could be associated with a low level of exploration in depth remaining through late adolescence and emerging adulthood - as a result of cognitive limitations, and thus manifesting itself in difficulties with assessing own choices. However, individuals with mild ID - younger ones - do not differ in this respect from non-disabled counterparts (both younger and older), whereas older ones do differ from their non-disabled counterparts, but in a direction opposite from the one assumed. Perhaps this results should be understood as a positive indicator of self-determination (cf. Nota et al. [31]). Exploration in depth is a manifestation of self-determined activity, namely: ( 1) volitional activity (making an intentional, conscious choice based on one's preferences); ( 2) instrumental activity (self-regulatory and self-directed goal-oriented activity); ( 3) activity with a belief in self-control. Exploration in depth plays an immensely important role particularly with regard to the last of these functions of self-determination. This is because exploration in depth involves asking oneself questions, for example, about whether one has the capacity and possibility to achieve one's goals, or about whether there is a chance of achieving these goals and about how big this chance is. Positive answers to these questions make it possible for an individual to act with more self-awareness and self-knowledge; they also direct the individual towards the goal. Asking such questions is itself the first step to self-determination.

However, in conjunction with the fact that this phenomenon (greater exploration in depth in individuals with ID than in non-disabled individuals) was only recorded in one of three waves, it is difficult to speak of it as a rule.

Additionally, what requires reflection is whether indeed individuals with ID are capable of making fully self-directed decisions. The authors of Casual Agency Theory define self-determined people as those who "act in service to freely chosen goals" (Nota et al. [31], pp. 258). As mentioned above, people with mild ID have limited activity opportunities in Poland (a phenomenon that is not infrequent in other countries, too), which means it can hardly be said that they can make fully independent choices. Certain choices are made for individuals with ID, who are allowed some degree of independence only with a certain limited offer of options provided. Nevertheless, a high level of exploration in depth should be treated as a positive result, though it would be useful to conduct replication studies and probe the causes of this state of affairs - e.g., personality dispositions and, particularly, social factors (e.g., cultural conditions, attitudes towards people with ID and their independence, social inclusion vs. segregation).

When analysing the results of the study, it should be taken into account that the group of non-disabled individuals in the phase of emerging adulthood was comprised entirely of students - they are typically characterized by a continually high level of exploration, and thus do not differ to a significant degree from late adolescents. Perhaps other results could be expected among non-students already professionally active during the phase of emerging adolescence. There are studies indicating that students are characterized by a greater level of exploration than their working peers (Luyckx et al. [23]).

The analyses were conducted according to a longitudinal plan, and the most salient portion of their results concerning precisely the formation of identity, and thus its transformations over time among particular research groups. The results indicate differences in respect of the formation of identity between individuals with ID and their non-disabled peers, but these differences are far smaller and in a different direction than expected. People with mild ID take on serious life commitments to a continually increasing degree, and their impression that they have made choices which are right for them grows. This means that in spite of limitations in intellectual functioning, likely different experiences, and difficulties resulting from disability, they prepare for adulthood to a similar extent as their non-disabled peers. This is a good change, one indicating growth, but not extensive. In both cases, as the size of the effect indicates, time explains 11% of the variance of identity dimensions, so it is a rather weak effect, at best moderate. At Wave 3 that group was not distinguished in terms of those dimensions from the remaining groups. On the one hand, it can be said that this group (alone) took a positive step towards building its own identity, but on the other hand the change is still quite minor.

Analysed in the context of other studies on identity formation (see: Klimstra et al. [19]; Luyckx et al. [21]), it can be concluded from the study at hand that it is difficult to point to the age at which changes in the sphere of identity take place. Perhaps this difficulty could be overcome by conducting multi-annual studies, but beginning of necessity in early adolescence, and concluding at the close of early adulthood. This would complement knowledge acquired during longitudinal studies concerning the difference in particular dimensions among developmental periods. These studies should be initiated at the earliest possible moment, as in accordance with the theoretical description of identity development, one does not enter the adolescence with "tabula rasa". Identity begins to develop in childhood, and this process only intensifies during adolescence and emerging adulthood.

The current study brings new knowledge on the subject of identity development among individuals with ID. At the same time, there are significant limitations. The first of them is the small group sizes, which is a common issue in studies focused on specific groups. It does not allow for generalization of study results, and requires replication. Another weak aspect is limitations in the selection of sample selection to students of selected educational groups, which may have a significant impact on results. The specific educational context would seem to be of importance in shaping personal identity. An interesting expansion of the studies would be to perform an introductory assessment of IQ among participants, not just level of ID. The category of mild ID is quite broad - it encompasses people with an IQ of between 50 and 69 points. People with a different level of IQ but of the same level of disability can operate cognitively in ways markedly different from one another, which can translate into differences in adaptive behaviours, participation in social life, etc., and thus also for engaging in exploratory and commitment-related behaviours. This supposition, however, requires further study. It would also be interesting to empirically investigate the relationship between personal identity and disability identity in people with ID. Finally, the work addresses formal indicators of identity development - it examines the process of formation, not its content. Whereas neither the identity (nor its development) of people with mild ID turned out to differ significantly from the identity of their non-disabled peers, there may be important differences in the unexplored content of identity.

The results would seem to confirm the phenomenon observed in other studies of deferring adulthood among people within the intellectual norm. By the same token, if the results of people with mild ID are similar to those among normally functioning individuals, this group can also be said to exhibit a certain delay in identity formation in respect of that observed in studies conducted several decades ago (e.g. Marcia and Friedman [29]). However, the question of whether among these individuals we are dealing with a delay arising out of socio-cultural changes, or rather for instance restrictions of the social environment cannot be answered. Further studies are vital to seek the social factors which may impact the development of identity among people with mild ID.

This study was funded by National Science Centre in Kraków, Poland (grant number 2012/05/N/HS6/04061).

This study was funded by National Science Centre in Kraków, Poland (grant number 2012/05/N/HS6/04061). I would like to thank Professor Anna I. Brzezińska (Adam Mickiewicz University, Institute of Psychology, Poznań, Poland), my research project supervisor, for her professional guidance and valuable support.

The author declares that she has no conflict of interest.

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed Consent was obtained from all participants included in the study as well as from the parents of minor participants.
References 1 Arnett JJ. Emerging adulthood. A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. American Psychologist. 2000; 55: 469-480 2 Beart S, Hardy G, Buchan L. How people with intellectual disabilities view their social identity: A review of the literature. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities. 2005; 18: 47-56 3 Berzonsky WM, Weiner AS, Raphael D. Interdependence of formal reasoning. Developmental Psychology. 1975; 11: 258 4 Brubaker R, Cooper F. Beyond "identity". Theory and Society. 2000; 29: 1-47 5 Brzezińska AI. Identity before adulthood. Identity of upper-secondary school students in Poland. 2017: Poznań; Wydawnictwo Naukowe Wydziału Nauk Społecznych UAM 6 Brzezińska AI, Piotrowski K. Polska adaptacja Skali Wymiarów Rozwoju Tożsamości (DIDS) [polish adaptation of Dimensions of Identity Development Scale]. Polskie Forum Psychologiczne. 2010; 15: 66-84 7 Brzezińska AI, Czub T, Czub M, Kaczan R, Piotrowski K, Rękosiewicz MNowak E, Schrader DE, Zizek B. Postponed or delayed adulthood?. Educating competencies for democracy. 2012: Frankfurt am Main; Peter Lang Verlag NY: 103-125 8 Carnaby S, Lewis P, Martin D, Naylor J, Stewart D. Participation in transition review meetings: A case study of young people with learning disabilities leaving a special school. British Journal of Special Education. 2003; 30: 187-193 9 Cauble M. Formal operations, ego identity, and principled morality: Are they related?. Developmental Psychology. 1976; 12: 363-364 Craig J, Draig F, Withers P, Hatton C, Limb K. Identity conflict in people with intellectual disabilities: What role do service-providers play in mediating stigma?. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities. 2002; 15: 61-72 Erikson EH. Childhood and society. 1950: New York; Norton Forber-Pratt AJ, Zape MP. Disability identity development model: Voices from the ADA-generation. Disability and Health Journal. 2017; 10: 350-355 Forber-Pratt AJ, Lyew DA, Mueller C, Samples LB. Disability identity development: A systematic review of the literature. Rehabilitation Psychology. 2017; 62: 198-207 Gibson J. Disability and clinical competency: An introduction. The California Psychologist. 2006; 39: 6-10 Gill CJ. Four types of integration in disability identity development. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation. 1997; 9: 39-46 Hodapp RM, Burack JA, Zigler EBurack JA, Hodapp RM, Zigler E. The developmental perspective in the field of mental retardation. Issues in the developmental approach to mental retardation. 1995: Cambridge; Cambridge University Press: 3-26 Karaś D, Kłym M, Wasilewska ŻM, Rusiak D, Cieciuch J. Wymiary tożsamości a satysfakcja z życia u studentów i pracujących [identity dimensions and life satisfaction of students and workers]. Studia Psychologica. 2012; 12: 25-45 Keil S, Crews N. Post-16 and post-18 transitions of young people with visual impairment in Wales. British Journal of Visual Impairment. 2008; 26: 190-201 Klimstra TA, Hale WW III, Raaijmakers QA, Branje SJ, Meeus WH. Identity formation in adolescence: Change or stability?. Journal of Youth and Adolescence. 2010; 39: 150-162 Leiper, R. N. (1981). The relationship of cognitive developmental structures to the formation of ego identity in young men (Doctoral dissertation, Simon Fraser University. Theses (Dept. of Psychology)). Luyckx K, Goossens L, Soenens B. A developmental contextual perspective on identity construction in emerging adulthood: Change dynamics in commitment formation and commitment evaluation. Developmental Psychology. 2006; 42: 366-380 Luyckx K, Soenens B, Vansteenkiste M, Goossens L, Berzonsky MD. Parental psychological control and dimensions of identity formation in emerging adulthood. Journal of Family Psychology. 2007; 21: 546-550 Luyckx K, Schwartz SJ, Berzonsky MD, Soenens B, Vansteenkiste M, Smits I, Goossens L. Capturing ruminative exploration: Extending the four-dimensional model of identity formation in late adolescence. Journal of Research in Personality. 2008; 42: 58-82 Luyckx K, Schwartz SJ, Goossens L, Pollock S. Employment, sense of coherence and identity formation: Contextual and psychological processes on the pathway to sense of adulthood. Journal of Adolescent Research. 2008; 23: 566-591 Luyckx K, Seiffge-Krenke I, Schwartz SJ, Goossens L, Weets I, Hendrieckx C, Groven C. Identity development, coping, and adjustment in emerging adults with a chronic illness: The sample case of type 1 diabetes. Journal of Adolescent Health. 2008; 43: 451-458 Luyckx K, Klimstra TA, Duriez B, Van Petegem S, Beyers W. Personal identity processes from adolescence through the late 20s: Age trends, functionality, and depressive symptoms. Social Development. 2013; 22: 701-721 Macek P, Bejček J, Vaníčková J. Contemporary Czech emerging adults: Generation growing up in the period of social changes. Journal of Adolescent Research. 2007; 22: 444-475 Marcia JE. Development and validation of ego - Identity status. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 1966; 3: 551-558 Marcia JE, Friedman ML. Ego identity status in college women. Journal of Personality. 1969; 38: 249-263 Negru O. The time of your life: Emerging adulthood characteristics in a sample of Romanian high school and university students. Cognition, Brain, Behavior. An Interdisciplinary Journal. 2012; 16: 357-367 Nota L, Ferrrari L, Soresi S, Wehmeyer ML. Self-determination, social abilities, and the quality of life of people with intellectual disabilities. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research. 2007; 51: 850-865 Piaget J. Intellectual evolution from adolescence to adulthood. Human Development. 1972; 15: 1-12 Piotrowski K, Kaczan R, Rękosiewicz M. Off-time higher education as a risk factor in identity formation. Polish Psychological Bulletin. 2013; 44: 299-309 Rękosiewicz M. The construction of the modified Dimensions of Identity Development Scale (DIDS/PL-1) for people with intellectual disability. Studia Psychologiczne. 2015; 53: 19-31 Rowe I, Marcia JE. Ego identity status, formal operations, and moral development. Journal of Youth and Development. 1980; 9: 87-99 Schwartz SJ. The evolution of Eriksonian and neo-Eriksonian identity theory and research: A review and integration. Identity: An International Journal of Theory and Research. 2001; 1: 7-58 Schwartz SJ, Zamboanga BL, Luyckx K, Meca A, Ritchie RA. Identity in emerging adulthood. Reviewing the field and looking forward. Emerging Adulthood. 2013; 2: 96-113 Slugoski BR, Marcia JE, Koopman RF. Cognitive and social interactional characteristics of ego identity statuses in college males. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 1984; 47: 646-661 Toder NL, Marcia JE. Ego identity status and response to conformity pressure in college women. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 1973; 26: 287-294 Waterman AS. Identity development from adolescence to adulthood: An extension of theory and a review of research. Developmental Psychology. 1982; 18: 342-358 Wells T, Sandefur GD, Hogan DP. What happens after the high school years among young persons with disabilities?. Social Forces. 2003; 82: 803-832 Zigler ESwitzky HN. Looking back 40 years and still seeing the person with mental retardation as a whole person. Personality and motivational differences in persons with mental retardation. 2001: Mahwah; Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers: 3-52
~~~~~~~~

By Małgorzata Rękosiewicz

Reported by Author

Current Psychology is a copyright of Springer, 2020. All Rights Reserved.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Identity development in people with mild intellectual disability: A short-t...: San Jac Super Search

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The objective of the study was to diagnose changes in the of individuals with mild intellectual disability (ID) in late adolescence and emerging adulthood, comparing them to their non-disabled peers. The dual-cycle model of identity formation of Luyckx et al. was employed (Developmental Psychology, 42, 366-380, 2006).

# data[].attributes.body
1.  https://eds.s.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=33&sid=ad2c5276-3d1e-42ef-821b-342ee4b0efaa%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#AN=edsjsr.26804707&db=edsjsr
2.  https://eds.s.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=36&sid=ad2c5276-3d1e-42ef-821b-342ee4b0efaa%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#AN=edsdoj.9abdbd16ee1e43bebd393e975287f8d9&db=edsdoj
3.  https://eds.s.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=38&sid=ad2c5276-3d1e-42ef-821b-342ee4b0efaa%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#AN=edsdoj.3d1b68d7a3bd46b3b5d845eb1f32873d&db=edsdoj

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Unsustainable consumption is an important cause of the continued deterioration of the global environment. The authors compare the ecological impact of anticonsumption lifestyles and environmental concern. Findings indicate that high scores on anticonsumption lifestyles (voluntary simplicity, frugality, and tightwadism) and environmental concern are associated with lower ecological impact. More precisely, the findings show that these lifestyles are not associated with a reduction in consumption, as their stereotypes would imply. Voluntary simplicity (β = −.286) and tightwadism (β = −.216) show a stronger association with lower ecological impact (i.e., are less harmful to the environment) than environmental concern (β = −.190), whereas frugality (β = −.089) is not associated with reduced impact after demographic variables were controlled for. The findings pertaining to voluntary simplicity and tightwadism suggest that resisting consumption is an alternative path toward more sustainable consumption. Public policy makers and marketers can build on these findings and include reduced consumption and sufficiency in their sustainability strategies.

Keywords: anticonsumption; ecological impact; frugality; sustainability; voluntary simplicity

Scholars have identified unsustainable consumption patterns as one of the main threats to the environment ([19]; [32], [33]; [49]; [74]). Likewise, the United Nations has listed sustainable consumption and production patterns as key sustainable development goals ([79], [80]). Consumption is a key issue in policies that can potentially lead us toward a more sustainable use of resources ([10]). On an economic level, there is an increasing need to develop alternative, more resilient ecological macroeconomics that are no longer predicated on relentless growth of consumption to stabilize the economy and drive it toward a more sustainable path ([34]; [35]). However, policy initiatives by governments and nonprofit organizations have met with little success in shifting consumer behavior toward sustainability. An expanded agenda is needed that focuses on reducing consumption, considering the full consumption cycle, and expanding the scope of consumption research ([65]).

Research has argued that anticonsumption lifestyles might contribute toward achieving certain sustainability goals ([ 3]; [23]; [57]). Anticonsumption lifestyles are voluntarily adopted by individuals who want to reduce the acquisition, use, and disposal of commoditized goods and services ([46]). Because anticonsumption lifestyles are related to reduced consumption overall, the ecological impact of anticonsumers should also be considerably reduced ([56]). However, to the best of our knowledge, there is no empirical evidence to support this claim. Thus, the goal of the present study is to investigate whether anticonsumption lifestyles lead to lower ecological impact and whether this impact is lower than one of environmental concern. We use the term "environmental concern" to describe an individual's "awareness of the consequences of a given behavior, such as knowing that a particular behavior produces CO2" ([22], pp. 262-63.). Environmentally concerned individuals believe in the need to sustain nature's balance and believe there should be limits for economic growth to avoid human domination over nature ([14]).

Three reasons explain why it is important to determine whether anticonsumption lifestyles have a lower environmental impact than lifestyles of environmental concern. First, policy makers have focused on informing the public on the importance of the environment for sustaining human life. The hope was that by informing the public, people would take action and reduce their environmental impact. However, if anticonsumption lifestyles have significantly lower environmental impact, policy makers should instead disseminate and encourage anticonsumption lifestyles and values. For example, they could motivate people to reduce overall consumption by endorsing values of simplicity or restraint when buying goods and services. Second, understanding how each consumption profile affects the environment could help policy makers decide whether to discourage overall levels of consumption or craft programs that could stimulate the consumption of green products, as this would be sought by environmentally concerned individuals. If anticonsumption lifestyles have lower environmental impact than those of environmental concern, the former solution should be prioritized. Third, by testing whether anticonsumption has lower environmental impact, we advance knowledge in the field and test theories that have been developed but seldom examined empirically ([23]; [57]).

The classic definition of sustainability includes not only an ecological dimension but also social and economic dimensions ([63]). That is, a sustainable practice is one that respects the ecological limitations of our planet by preventing pollution and excessive degradation of natural resources and biodiversity. In addition, it considers the social and economic implications by allowing development to occur only when it improves human well-being (such as by achieving profits and prosperity). However, in this study we focus on the ecological dimension for the following reasons. First, current research on climate change and consumer culture is rooted in the ecological impact of consumption, and a focus on this dimension enables us to contribute to this literature. Second, prior research on anticonsumption has demonstrated the societal motivation of anticonsumption lifestyles ([ 8]; [30]; [59]), suggesting that certain anticonsumption lifestyles are motivated by the positive societal consequences of consumption. Therefore, a focus on the social dimension of sustainability would provide only limited contributions to the field. Third, we are unable to consider the economic dimension of sustainability because we have no access to companies' data that would allow us to test whether anticonsumers or environmentally concerned consumers are more profitable.

Given our focus on the ecological dimension, we designed an online survey to explore the relationship between anticonsumption, environmental concern, and ecological impact. Our survey used reliable scales for all constructs as well as detailed figures on the ecological impact of different product categories to compare the ecological impact and consumption patterns of anticonsumers and environmentally concerned individuals.

Our study provides four key contributions. First, we test whether anticonsumption lifestyles are associated with lower ecological impact. Authors have argued for this possibility ([ 3]; [23]; [57]), and our study is the first to test this assertion. Second, our study contributes to original literature testing the extent to which anticonsumption lifestyles reduce the consumption of products and services. Previous research has argued that certain anticonsumption lifestyles reduce overall consumption ([30]), and we are one of the few studies in the field to provide quantitative evidence on this hypothesis. Third, we examine whether anticonsumption lifestyles lead to lower ecological impact than lifestyles of environmental concern. By exploring this question, we provide key insights for policy makers and theory development. Fourth, our findings offer empirical evidence for the argument that a path toward ecological sustainability might be to reduce overall consumption by adopting anticonsumption lifestyles.

For the purpose of this research, we adopt the definition of anticonsumption proposed by [86], p. 121): "a resistance to, distaste of, or even resentment or rejection of, consumption." Anticonsumers are especially aware of and concerned about the effects that their purchasing, usage, and disposal choices have not only on themselves (e.g., going against the wish to live a simple life) but also on the world around them (e.g., concerns about harming the environment; [25]). According to [ 8], a financially independent nonconsumption behavior can result from three different situations: intention, that is, the deliberate decision not to consume something; incident, when a preferred alternative is chosen (e.g., when a consumer chooses one brand over another, nonconsumption of the unconsidered brand occurs); and ineligibility, occurring when an individual is not able to act as a consumer for a specific product (e.g., due to age restrictions). For this study, we consider anticonsumption to be an intentional nonconsumption behavior; thus, anticonsumers are eligible to consume but, for one reason or another, deliberately choose not to.

Anticonsumption practices, just like consumption practices, enable consumers to express their desired identities and beliefs within the heterogeneous construct of consumer culture, in which each person can choose his or her own subculture or focus of consumption. This identity searching and forming by acts of anticonsumption does not take place outside the marketplace but, rather, in it ([ 9]; [40]).

People who choose a way of life in which they voluntarily reduce their consumption are adopting anticonsumption lifestyles ([45]). By this definition, tightwadism, frugality, and voluntary simplicity are all anticonsumption lifestyles because they aim, in their own particular way, to reduce their consumption of marketplace objects ([54]). In our study, we consider these three anticonsumption lifestyles. We selected these specific lifestyles for two reasons. First, they have been extensively studied in previous research ([ 9]; [28]; [41]; [54], [55]; [64]; [68]; [87]), which makes us more confident in the reliability of the measures and enables us to compare our results to existing literature. Second, even if all three lifestyles lead to less acquisition, use, and disposal of goods and services in general, this reduction occurs for different personal motivations. Moreover, because previous research has already delineated the motivations behind the adoption of each of these lifestyles, we are able to use this literature to understand how particular motivations might lead to higher or lower ecological impact. Next, we briefly define and review the motivations behind each of the selected lifestyles.

Tightwads are consumers who restrict their consumption and spending because spending money or paying for a good or service-especially consumables such as personal care, coffee, beverages, or entertainment outside home-causes them pain ([67]; [68]). This immediate pain of paying can undermine the pleasure the consumer derives from consumption. At the same time, the pain of spending money also plays an important role in consumer self-regulation; people who impute the full cost of consumption in their mental accounting style are likely to be tightwads. Individuals who experience this pain of paying may behave as if spending the money (e.g., on a dinner out) entails having to give up similar spending (e.g., other nice dinners) for a certain period in the future ([64]).

Spendthrifts, the opposite of tightwads, do not feel any pain of paying, which leads them to spend more than they would have preferred ([68]). In contrast to tightwads, who have trouble spending their wealth, spendthrifts might show a consumption behavior "as if there was no tomorrow"-they seem to have the capacity to push costs out of their minds ([64]).

In addition, neuroscience research has closely examined the idea that purchase decisions involve a trade-off between the anticipated pleasure of the acquisition and the pain of paying. In an experiment in which participants decided whether to purchase an object, [39] observed that as soon as the participants saw the price, the activation in the insula-a region associated with painful stimuli-was greater for products that were ultimately not purchased than for the ones that were purchased. This immediate affective reaction in the form of pain of anticipating spending money hampers tightwads from making purchases.

Frugal consumers resourcefully use material goods and services because they feel pleasure when saving ([41]; [68]). This consumer lifestyle is characterized by consumers voluntarily restraining the acquisition of, resourcefully using, and thoughtfully disposing of economic goods and services (this especially pertains to goods, which are already owned). Often, there is an objective of achieving long-term goals ([41]). Frugal individuals are very concerned about the "careful use of resources and the avoidance of waste" ([12], p. 285).

[84] finds that, historically, frugality has been regarded as an individual act of resistance by people looking for an alternative to the mainstream consumption lifestyle by forging a way of life that is more in line with their utopian beliefs. Today, frugality is a concept that applies to different kinds of commonplace activities, such as the items people buy, the activities they pursue, or the way they handle used or waste materials. Frugal individuals try to increase both their source reduction behavior and the recycling of household materials ([12]). Research has found that, as a lifestyle, frugality is an independent and significant predictor of spending little on oneself, saving more money, engaging in positive environmental behaviors, and having high self-esteem ([37]).

[83] suggests that people with a high concern about efficiency or a positive attitude toward frugality would largely save resources. When spending (i.e., consuming) fewer resources and reusing those resources, the impact of the consumption on the environment is expected to decrease, even though the environmental impact might not have been a motivation for consumers to live frugally ([16]).

Tightwads and highly frugal consumers consume less because they spend less, but they do so for different reasons. Frugals restrict their spending because they feel pleasure by saving, whereas tightwads save "involuntarily" because they are driven by a pain of paying and therefore do not want to spend the money ([68]).

Voluntary simplicity is adopted by those who reduce spending on goods and services to live a simple life and to obtain satisfaction by cultivating nonmaterialistic values ([28]; [55]). It is "the practice of reducing clutter in one's life, eliminating burdensome time commitments, and creating peaceful personal space to enjoy life" ([87], p. 150). It comes from the realization that more material possessions do not get you closer to the "chief purpose of life" ([24], p. 2). Alternative phrases describing a voluntary simplicity lifestyle are "soulful living, simple living, [or] conscious simplicity" ([16], p. 13).

Voluntary simplicity is primarily motivated by the desire to find a more authentic identity rather than as opposition toward specific actors in the market. In this case, anticonsumption may still be ideological ([40]), but it is not directed against a specific target of dominance, which it might actively confront ([46]). [ 7] argues that voluntary simplifiers who base their identity construction on discourses against exploitative consumption were also concerned with social and environmental issues. Overall, voluntary simplicity is an inner desire to live a good life. After having met their basic needs, voluntary simplifiers do not try to achieve this desire through means of consumption ([ 9]; [87]).

The essence of voluntary simplicity is to live "in a way that is outwardly simple and inwardly rich" ([17], p. 255). This means a reduction of consumption and the desire to live in more human-scaled environments ("outwardly simple") while striving toward the realization of greater human potential in a psychological and spiritual way ("inwardly rich") ([17]). Voluntary simplifiers refuse to purchase items that do not promise to improve their level of happiness; they also reject all consumption activities that do not correspond to their desired self-concept ([11]; [16]).

Although consumption obviously is not the only concern of voluntary simplifiers, it is a very important and visible element that has implications for related components, such as ecological impact, resource conservation, and waste ([51]). The difference between voluntary simplicity and tightwadism and frugality is that the former is not primarily motivated by monetary aspects. Consumers who adhere to a simple life do not feel pain when spending money, nor do they feel satisfaction when saving money. The reduction of consumption is thus not a purpose for itself, but a means to achieve a "good life"-voluntary simplifiers might even feel joy when acquiring something that fits their self-concept.

A more sustainable consumption behavior is necessary to support the desired sustainable economic growth ([ 5]). The [58], p. 9) defines sustainable consumption as "the use of services and related products which respond to basic needs and bring a better quality of life while minimising the use of natural resources and toxic materials as well as the emissions of waste and pollutants over the life-cycle of the service or product so as not to jeopardise the needs of future generations." The [58] suggests some options for consumers to reduce their environmental[ 4] impact. Consumers could purchase and use fewer resources, products, and services; choose more eco-efficient resources, products, and services; and produce less waste. Some of these options are in line with anticonsumption. In particular, adopting an anticonsumption lifestyle should reduce the purchase of products and services and use of resources. Whereas some anticonsumption lifestyles are motivated by environmental concerns ([30]), others are driven by strong self-interest and identity seeking ([ 3]; [11]; [30]). In particular, tightwadism ([68]), frugality, and voluntary simplicity ([55]) are motivated by self-interest goals. However, regardless of the motivation for anticonsumption, we expect it to lead to more sustainable consumption and a lower ecological impact. This should translate to a negative association between the scores in anticonsumption lifestyles and the ecological impact of consumption.

The communality between the three anticonsumption lifestyles studied is that they all should lead to overall reduction of consumption due to personal motivation. Tightwadism motivates reduction of consumption through a pain of spending, whereas frugality leads to a reduction of consumption through the pleasure of saving. In turn, voluntary simplicity motivates reduction of consumption because simplifiers aspire to live a simple life. We do not test specific hypotheses regarding whether any of these lifestyles are more strongly associated with ecological impact. Extant literature does not enable us to elaborate on these specific hypotheses, and it is difficult to assess a priori whether any of these motivations for reducing consumption plays a stronger role in reducing overall consumption. These three lifestyles have good reasons to do so. Thus, we explore these associations without specific hypotheses. However, it is possible to conjecture that tightwadism and voluntary simplicity are more strongly associated with ecological impact than frugality. The pain of spending experienced by tightwads should make them particularly resilient to buying, whereas simplifiers should not be tempted by consumeristic appeals. As for frugal individuals, it is possible that the pleasure of buying certain products or services might overcome the pleasure of saving, which in turn would lead them to a more modest reduction of consumption. Therefore, we test the following hypothesis:

H1: The ecological impact of consumption is negatively associated with (a) tightwadism, (b) frugality, and (c) voluntary simplicity.

In our study, we compare the impact of anticonsumption lifestyles with the impact generated by environmental concern. We define environmental concern as one's belief in the fragility of nature's balance, in the need to impose limits to growth and human domination over nature ([14]). This definition is in line with [21]), who define environmental concern as a positive attitude toward environmentally relevant behavior and as a value orientation that assigns great importance to concern with the ecosystem. [73]) has identified four value orientations of environmentally concerned consumers: ( 1) environmental concern as a new way of thinking, called the "new environmental paradigm" ([13]) or the "new ecological paradigm" ([14]), which includes limits to growth, anti-anthropocentrism, the fragility of nature's balance, rejection of exceptionalism, and the possibility of an ecocrisis; ( 2) environmental concern tied to anthropocentric altruism (based on the belief that harming the environment poses a threat to people's health); ( 3) environmental concern as an expression of self-interest; and ( 4) environmental concern as function of underlying beliefs or (postmaterialistic) values.

Any of these motivations can lead to increased environmental concern. While the areas and strategies of environmental concern are manifold, there is little agreement on what qualifies as "green" or "environmentally sound" behavior ([51]; [52]; [53]; [61]). The ecological consumer segment might therefore be best defined on a psychological basis in terms of lifestyles, in which the attitude toward a specific topic is expressed by the general way of life, including acquisition, consumption, and disposal patterns ([38]; [76]). Such lifestyles are then shaped by a combination of various proenvironmental attitudes and behaviors ([14]; [82]).

Environmental concern and certain functional product attributes, environmental knowledge, and subjective norms turn out to be major drivers for green purchasing behavior, whereas high prices, low availability, and lack of consumer trust in green products emerge as barriers. Furthermore, emotions and importance of individual consequences as well as perceived power and capability moderate the attitude-behavior relationship for green purchasing. Individuals might show high environmental and social concern but fail to translate this into green buying behavior. Studies also remain divided on the prime motivators behind green purchasing behavior ([18]; [36]).

Environmentally concerned consumers often face the dilemma of what to do to reduce their ecological impact, as they base their decisions on sometimes-contradictory information, which might demotivate them from sustainable consumption ([52]). Prior research has found that environmentally concerned consumers are better informed about the ecological impact of consumption, but they also believe in some bogus causes of global warming (e.g., use of aerosols, which have a nonsignificant effect on global warming; [ 4]). Similarly, [70]) show that consumers have a rather poor knowledge of the ecological impact of even supermarket products.

Although the degree to which environmental concern translates into environmentally friendly consumer behavior is questionable, we assume that high environmental concern will reduce consumers' ecological impact. This should lead to a negative association between one's score in environmental concern and one's ecological impact of consumption. Therefore,

H2: The ecological impact of consumption is negatively associated with environmental concern.

Environmental concern and the anticonsumption lifestyles considered in this study relate differently to consumption behaviors. The focus of environmental concern is on the motivation to reduce negative ecological consequences of consumption, such as hazardous waste or global warming. Thus, environmentally concerned individuals reduce consumption of products and services that they believe cause strong ecological impact (e.g., plastic made of crude oil), but not of all products and services. In turn, tightwads are not environmentally motivated but held back by the pain they feel when spending money ([68]). Only voluntary simplicity, among other self-centered motives, might be driven by a concern for society and the environment ([ 8]; [11]; [16]). [41]) and [22]) also found evidence that resource-saving behaviors were better predicted by a positive attitude about frugality than by a high environmental concern. Environmentally concerned consumers would have to have good knowledge about the ecological impact of specific products to alter their choices, whereas anticonsumers voluntarily reduce their overall level of consumption, which would presumably affect all products and services. Anticonsumers have a different intrinsic motivation, and living in an environmentally sustainable way might just be part of their lifestyle and might not require the same additional and conscious effort one would have if (s)he were striving toward living in an ecologically friendly way.

As reported previously, an environmentally friendly attitude does not necessarily translate into environmentally friendly behavior. We posit that anticonsumption lifestyles might have an even lower ecological impact because overall consumption of products is reduced, whereas environmental concern might not reduce consumption of products and services harmful to the environment, because environmental concern (attitude) does not lead to consistent environmentally friendly consumption (behavior). Therefore,

H3: (a) Tightwadism, (b) frugality, and ( 3) voluntary simplicity are more negatively associated with ecological impact than environmental concern.

We collected the data using an online survey available in English and German. A sample of 245 European participants (68% female; nationality: German = 80%, French = 2.4%, Swiss = 2.0%) took part in the study. The sample represents a rather young population, with an average age of 26.3 years, of which 84% are 30 years old or younger. The income distribution shows that 18% of the respondents have no (own) income and 42% earn less than 1,000 Euro a month. Most of the respondents are single (33.9%), in a relationship (31.8%), or living with a partner (20%), while only 7.8% are married with children. More than half of the respondents (58%) hold a university degree, and approximately a third (34%) completed high school as their highest form of education. The questionnaire contained closed questions testing for anticonsumption, ecological concern, and the consumption frequency of the selected products and services from the Environmental Impact of Products (EIPRO) study (described subsequently). To measure the constructs related to the different anticonsumption lifestyles as well as their environmental concern, we used multi-item self-reported scales that have been tested and reviewed several times, which shows evidence for their reliability and validity. For tightwadism, we used the four-item scale by [68]; for frugality, the eight-item scale developed and tested by [41]; and for voluntary simplicity, the nine-item scale used by [27], [28], [29]) as adapted by [54]. We measured environmental concern with the New Ecological Paradigm scale by [14].

Participants reported the frequency of consumption of 27 products and services taken from a total of 283 products and services reported in the EIPRO study ([78]), which considered the ecological impact of the entire life cycle of a product or service in terms of final consumption for the (as of 2006) 25 European Union (EU) member states. This includes all processes related to resource extraction, production (except production for export), the use of the product, and the product's disposal and waste management, both inside and outside the EU member states, with a reference year around 2000. By taking data from seven existing studies and combining them with new research, [78] developed a model called the "Comprehensive Environmental Data Archive" for the 25 EU member states. Our study builds on the figures and numbers of their model.

[78] also considered different environmental impact categories such as global warming, acidification, and photochemical ozone formation. Their assessment shows that "most of the time, there is a correlation between the different categories of environmental impact for a specific product grouping" ([78], p. 14). However, for four categories of ecological impact, "there were greater methodological or data uncertainties, or else those categories featured less frequently" ([78], p. 11). This could lead to unwanted biases in our research, so to test our hypotheses, we calculated the average ecological impact for all product categories using only the categories of ecological impact identified as more reliable (for results, see Table 1). This led us to exclude the following categories of environmental impact: ozone layer depletion, human toxicity and ecotoxicity, land use and depletion of nonrenewable resources. To calculate the overall ecological impact of each participant, we multiplied the frequency of consumption of each product or service category by its average ecological impact.

Graph

Table 1. Environmental Impact of Each Product/Service According to Type (Tukker et al. 2006).

Products and Their % Contribution To...

Global Warming

Photo-Chemical Oxidation

Eutrophication

Acidification

10743915618810448 Notes: EI = environmental impact.

We chose the product and service categories using the following criteria: relevance of contribution to ecological impact (>.5%), feasibility of quantification, answerability for survey respondents, expected reliability, and comparability of answers. Although the average ecological impact of air transportation and railroads was only.3%, we added them as additional categories because they are frequently used modes of transportation, especially as alternatives to automotive transportation. Examples of products and services selected were sausages and meat products, apparel, driving with motor vehicles, and heating. Table 1 shows a full overview over the different environmental categories for each product or service.

We found strong correlations among frugality, tightwadism, and voluntary simplicity (see Table 2). Therefore, we ran an exploratory factor analysis to ensure that the items loaded on the expected factors. We found that the items for voluntary simplicity loaded in its expected factor. However, for tightwadism, one item loaded in more than one factor, and for frugality, four items loaded in more than one factor. We used [20] method to further examine the convergent and discriminant validity of the factors. The average variance extracted for each factor accounts for.32 for frugality,.52 for tightwadism, and.35 for voluntary simplicity, which shows that frugality and voluntary simplicity fail to obtain convergence validity. However, discriminant validity was obtained, because the average variance extracted was larger than the squared correlation coefficients between factors ([20]). These squared correlations ranged from.18 to.24. The Cronbach's alpha obtained for each construct was equal to.69 for tightwadism,.68 for frugality,.77 for voluntary simplicity, and.78 for environmental concern.

Graph

Table 2. Correlation Between Tightwadism, Frugality, Voluntary Simplicity, and Environmental Concern.

We tested for common method bias among our latent variables using Harman's single-factor score. When forced to load on a single factor, our variables explained only 15.7% of the variance, indicating that common method bias does not affect our data. To further test for common method bias, we ran [47] test, which advocates for including a theoretically unrelated construct in the analyses. We included relationship status for this test because we had no other unrelated construct that could be used (we used few constructs to economize on survey items). For this construct, 1 = "single, never married," 2 = "in a relationship (living separately)," 3 = "living with partner," 4 = "married without children," and 5 = "married with children." Thus, the larger the score, the stronger was the relationship commitment. Four participants were removed from the analyses because they were either divorced or single parents. In this test, we correlated relationship status with the 36 items of our independent variables as well as the four composed scores (i.e., frugality, tightwadism, voluntary simplicity, and environmental concern). The average correlations between the items and relationship status was r = −.013 (average p-value of.52). Out of the 36 correlations with the items, relationship status was negatively correlated with only one item of voluntary simplicity (r = −.137, n = 232, p =.04). As noted by [47], negative correlations are not a source of concern for common method bias. The associations with the four constructs were all nonsignificant (average p-value of.60). This further suggests that there is minimal evidence for common method bias.

To test our hypotheses, we first conducted regression analyses in which the ecological impact of each product category (dependent variable) was associated with tightwadism, frugality, voluntary simplicity, and environmental concern (independent variables). We conducted one regression analysis for each product and service category and for each of the lifestyles. Table 3 presents the results of these regressions. In addition, we conducted similar regression analyses with the overall score on ecological impact as the dependent variable. In these latter analyses, we included the following variables as covariates: sex, age, education level, country of origin, country of residence, income, and relationship status. These are the results of overall ecological impact after controlling for covariates: tightwadism: β = −.216, p <.01; frugality: β = −.089, n.s.; voluntary simplicity: β = −.286, p <.001; environmental concern: β = −.190, p <.01.

Graph

Table 3. Regression Analyses of Anticonsumption Lifestyles and Environmental Concern with Frequency of Purchase Product and Service Categories.

Afterward, we compared the overall ecological impact of high versus low tightwadism, frugality, voluntary simplicity, and environmental concern (see Table 4). Participants who scored higher than the mean plus one standard deviation were included in the high-score group. Participants who scored lower than the mean minus one standard deviation were included in the low-score group.

Graph

Table 4. Ecological Impact of High and Low Scores on Various Lifestyles.

Lifestyle

Ecological Impact (High Scores)

Ecological Impact (Low Scores)

Group Comparison

Table 3 shows that tightwadism correlated negatively with 13 categories. We found the strongest correlations for meat products (β = −.205, n = 241, p =.001), apparel (β = −.189, n = 239, p =.003), beauty and barbershops (β = −.252, n = 242, p <.001), and use of household audio and video equipment (β = −.264, n = 239, p <.001). In addition, in support for H 1a we found a negative association between tightwadism and the overall ecological impact of consumption (β = −.216, p <.001) after controlling for the covariates.

Only two product categories showed a significant relationship with frugality: washing with household laundry equipment (β = −.138, n = 239, p =.033) and the use of household audio and video equipment (β = −.201, n = 239, p =.002). Meat products (β = −.120, n = 240, p =.062) and soft drinks (β = −.110, n = 240, p =.088) were only marginally significant (see Table 3). We found no support for H 1b, given that frugality is not associated with overall ecological impact after controlling for the covariates (β = −.089, p =.20).

For voluntary simplicity, nine product categories were found to have a negative significant relationship with ecological impact, whereas five were marginally significant. The strongest associations were for sausages and prepared meat products (β = −.233, n = 237, p <.001), use of household audio and video equipment (β = −.256, n = 236, p <.001), driving motor vehicles (β = −.210, n = 238, p =.001) and automotive repair shops and services (β = −.204, n = 235, p =.002). For the remaining associations, see Table 3. In support of H 1c, voluntary simplicity correlates negatively with overall ecological impact after controlling for the covariates (β = −.286, p <.001).

Environmental concern was negatively associated with seven categories and marginally associated with three others. The strongest relationships were for meat products (β = −.269, n = 241, p <.001) and poultry and eggs (β = −.291, n = 240, p <.001). Table 3 presents the remaining correlations. Notably, the product categories with highest ecological impact-namely, motor vehicles (13%), eating and drinking establishments (8.3%), and heating (4.4%) either did not correlate significantly or correlated only marginally significantly with environmental concern. Still, after controlling for the covariates, environmental concern is negatively related to ecological impact (β = −.190, p =.007), in support of H ₂.

To further explore the ecological impact of anticonsumption lifestyles and environmental concern, we compared the overall ecological impact of individuals scoring high versus low in the various lifestyles (see Table 4). In support of H 1a, we found that low tightwadism has higher ecological impact than high tightwadism (F( 1, 82) = 11.374, p =.001). In support of H 1c, low-voluntary simplicity has higher ecological impact than high voluntary simplicity (F( 1, 72) = 18.428, p <.001). H ₂ was also supported, given that low environmental concern has higher ecological impact than high environmental concern (F( 1, 71) = 14.999, p <.001). These analyses provided no support for H 1b, because high frugality and low frugality have similar ecological impact (F( 1, 67) =.742, p =.39).

Given that tightwadism (β = −.216) and voluntary simplicity (β = −.286) are more strongly related to ecological impact than environmental concern (β = −.190), we found support for H 3a and H 3c. However, H 3b is not supported, as environmental concern has a stronger negative association with ecological impact than frugality (β = −.089).

One might wonder the degree to which tightwadism, voluntary simplicity, frugality, and environmental concern explain the overall ecological impact. This can be inferred by considering the changes in the adjusted R-squares when the variables were included in each of the analyses. The adjusted R-square measures the proportion of the variance in the dependent variable that is predictable from the independent variable. When the model included frugality, the adjusted R-square increased by.003, which is nonsignificant given that frugality is not significantly associated with overall ecological impact. When the model included voluntary simplicity, the adjusted R-square increased by.078. For tightwadism, the observed increase was.042, whereas for environmental concern the increase was.031. As a reference, the increase in the adjusted R-square was equal to.044 for sex (wherein men have lower impact),.036 for age (wherein older age leads to higher impact), and.053 for income (wherein higher income has higher impact). Overall, these results suggest that the impacts of lifestyles are comparable, if not larger, than the demographic variables included in the study. More importantly, of all variables considered, voluntary simplicity has the strongest influence over overall ecological impact.

Our study shows that some of the anticonsumption lifestyles we studied are negatively related to ecological impact, meaning that their consumption behavior might reduce their personal contribution to harmful impacts on the environment-though the extent of the reduction differs. In our study, the tightwadism (β = −.216) and voluntary simplicity (β = −.286) lifestyles are associated with lower ecological impact than environmental concern (β = −.199), while frugality (β = −.089) is associated with a higher impact on the environment.

Because we found no significant correlation between tightwadism and environmental concern, tightwads' spending behavior is unlikely to be based on environmental concerns but, rather, on their perceived pain of spending ([68]). Interestingly, this pain of spending leads to a reduction in the ecological impact to a greater degree than environmental concern and frugality. Previous research has shown that tightwads are very price conscious and value conscious ([68]), leading one to conclude that the tightwads' motivation to reduce consumption is linked to their motivation of getting products and services at a low price point. However, frugal consumers, whose overall consumption is not reduced as much, are also highly price and value conscious ([41]) and thus motivated to buy when low prices are available. So, one cannot argue that tightwads reduce their overall consumption more so than frugal consumers because they purchase only when the cost-benefit ratio is advantageous. Given that the pain of spending is a key factor that differentiates tightwads from frugal consumers, we believe that this sensibility to spending and this attachment to money are what motivate tightwads to greatly reduce their consumption. In short, the psychological cost of spending is very high for tightwads, causing them to reduce their overall consumption.

In our study, frugality was the only lifestyle that was not related to ecological impact, meaning among the four lifestyles studied, it was the most harmful to the environment. Frugality's limited reduction of ecological impact might be explained by frugal consumers' motivation to resourcefully use goods they acquire, which might include buying in bulk or buying used goods, but not necessarily fewer goods ([41]). Frugal consumers are not necessarily antimaterialistic; on the contrary, their saving behavior can even serve materialistic aspirations ([55]). It would be worthwhile to ask frugal consumers about the intensity or length of time that these consumers used the purchased goods or what kinds of goods they purchase (organic food, recyclable packaging, etc.) to determine whether their environmental concern affects their consumption behavior more strongly after the acquisition of certain products. Yet neither their environmental concern nor their tendency to save money was enough to lower the ecological impact as strongly as for tightwadism or voluntary simplicity.

The lifestyle with the lowest ecological impact in this study is voluntary simplicity. The change in the adjusted R-square explained by voluntary simplicity is more than twice the one obtained by environmental concern and almost twice as much as the one observed for tightwadism. Previous literature has found a positive association between voluntary simplicity and ecological responsibility ([26]), echoed in our sample. In addition, previous research has noted the strong antimaterialistic nature of voluntary simplicity ([ 7]). People who adhere to a simple lifestyle are intrinsically motivated to reduce material consumption to a minimum and to live more independently from the marketplace. The combination of concern for the environment with the desire to live a socially, financially, and ecologically sustainable life explains why voluntary simplicity is the lifestyle with the lowest ecological impact. In short, simplicity is related to a low ecological impact not only because of its relation to environmental concern but mainly because people who live a simplified life have decided to live outside the consumerist market culture.

Environmental concern was defined as an awareness and knowledge about the ecological consequences of a given behavior ([22]). Environmental concern is less negatively associated with ecological impact than tightwadism and voluntary simplicity, suggesting that environmental concern has a stronger ecological impact. Three factors might explain this finding. First, the diverging information and lack of reliable information about the ecological impact of certain categories of products and services can be so confusing that environmentally concerned individuals are unable to follow a green consumption behavior because they cannot be sure of what is the right thing to do ([52]; [70]). In addition, if environmentally concerned individuals do not believe that their consumption behavior has a significant impact on the environment, they will not engage in green habits of consumption ([14]; [69]; [75]).

Second, environmental concern might not lead to reducing consumption in general but, rather, opting for more environmentally friendly products. For example, environmentally concerned consumers might not be reducing the frequency in which they drive motor vehicles but rather driving vehicles that are more fuel efficient and that have a lower ecological impact. Likewise, they might be choosing products and services with reliable green labels or buying locally produced foods that have lower ecological impact than the industry average. Therefore, it is possible that the ecological impact of environmental concern is inflated by the method used in our current study. We are unable to test this hypothesis given that EIPRO's report presents only the ecological impact of categories of products and services, as opposed to specific products and services (e.g., eco-friendly/green product alternatives).

Third, environmental concern can be understood more as a general attitude toward environmental issues and a mindset of caring for the environment ([76]). The resulting gap between a mindset-related attitude and an activism-related behavior is not a new discovery; the findings of previous studies suggest that attitudes seldom explain more than 10% of behavioral variance and that factors such as home ownership or other proenvironmental behaviors better predict environmentally friendly consumption behavior ([50]; [85]). In turn, anticonsumption lifestyles are more closely linked to behaviors. In other words, environmental concern is a more abstract construct than the anticonsumption lifestyles we investigate, which are more concrete and better describe people's behavior. Given that we measured ecological impact using behavioral measures, it seems that the abstract nature of environmental concern might explain its stronger ecological impact.

Although the ecological impacts of tightwadism, frugality, voluntary simplicity, and environmental concern differ, all these lifestyles are associated with less ecological impact because of an overall reduction in consumption. The findings among the anticonsumption lifestyles are particularly revealing, as ours is one of the few studies in the field showing that the adoption of anticonsumption lifestyles is associated with reduced consumption of certain (but not all) goods and services. Even though tightwadism, frugality, and voluntary simplicity should lead to a reduction of all consumption, our findings demonstrate that this reduction is limited to certain goods and services. In particular, we show that for frugality, the reduction in consumption is rather limited and not significant. This finding has important theoretical implications because it tests the limits of current theories.

Our findings on environmental concern are in line with prior research highlighting the "green gap." Like previous studies, we demonstrated that people concerned with the environment are often unable to behave according to their beliefs. In particular, even though environmental concern should lead to an obvious reduction of ecological impact, we found that consumers concerned with the environment perform poorly compared with consumers with simple or tightwad lifestyles. Although tightwadism is not motivated by ecological factors, it has a lower ecological impact than environmental concern. In addition, voluntary simplicity obtained the lowest ecological impact in this study. This is in part motivated by environmental responsibility but largely by resisting consumption to live a simple life. Overall, our study suggests that the motivation to resist consumption is a key factor in reducing one's ecological impact.

Finally, our research supports previous literature that defended anticonsumption as a path to more sustainable societies ([ 3]; [23]; [57]). Our data support this assertion and pave the way for future research that will further investigate the impact of anticonsumption lifestyles on the environment.

Previous research has indicated that green consumption and increasing people's environmental concern cannot be the only paths to ecological sustainability, in part because of the challenge of bridging the "green gap" ([ 2]). As our study suggests, high environmental concern is not the best path for reducing the ecological impact of consumption. Environmental protection will (albeit marginally) contribute to sustainability if it comes at the expense of current consumption ([72]). Even though environmentally concerned individuals are viewed as role models for reducing ecological impact, we found that their contribution is limited compared with anticonsumers.

Promoting a simpler way of life could convince people to change their lifestyle toward a more environmentally friendly way of consuming, which is a crucial element for more sustainable development worldwide. Reducing private consumption in the form of a sufficiency strategy should be part of the official agenda for sustainable development ([81]). Combined with the previously stand-alone strategy of efficiency, and with a stronger focus on consistency, sufficiency can lead us toward a new and more effective path toward "real" sustainability ([ 1]). Sufficiency should also be part of a transformation in the way we think and act. We need a new understanding of values and wealth, of satisfaction of needs, the freedom of "enough," and the acceptance of the depletability of resources. Saving resources and increasing social satisfaction could thus be the double goal of a public sufficiency discourse ([48]).

Two dilemmas must be overcome in creating a policy of sufficiency. First, the interpretation dilemma challenges people to change their perspective and understand abnegation (or nonconsumption) as a personal benefit. This is dependent on not only the personality of the individual consumer but also on his or her social environment. The second dilemma is a socioeconomical one. A policy of sufficiency would also require the economy to transform to a more sufficient one, inducing a multileveled structural change in both society and economy ([66]). Public policy should support this transformation and encourage social acceptance of sufficiency as the new public and individual economic paradigm.

A sufficient economy is closely related to another macroeconomic sustainability strategy, proposed by [60]. He claims that any strategy that does not dare to criticize current mobility and consumption habits will not solve any environmental challenges but, rather, represents the actual problem itself. These kinds of strategies will only admit solutions that are expansive in nature and focus on efficiency but will fail because of the well-known rebound effects ([62]). Like the sufficiency discourse, his alternative is the "degrowth economy" ( Postwachstumsökonomie)-an economy that is free of the paradigm of unlimited economic growth and that respects natural boundaries to production and consumption ([43]; [60]). The goal of a degrowth economy is to "build a society in which we can live better lives whilst working less and consuming less" ([42], p. 9). This "less is more" mentality has long been a conviction shared only by a small group of people resisting the "consumer culture" and adhering to anticonsumption lifestyles ([11]). Nonetheless, it has the potential to service as a new economic paradigm in a transition toward a more sufficient, and thus more sustainable, consumer culture.

A way to achieve a degrowth economy and increased sufficiency is to motivate people to endorse anticonsumption lifestyles. Thus, policy makers and advocacy groups have an important role to play in this context. For instance, advocacy groups related to environmental issues could add degrowth actions to their agendas. Policy makers could communicate the benefits of such lifestyles through advertising campaigns or by creating education programs aimed at young people. Anticonsumption benefits are not limited to lower ecological impact, and recent research has provided strong arguments for convincing consumers. In particular, research has found that well-being is higher for thrifty consumers ([ 6]) and for consumers who spend money wisely ([15]). In addition, by refraining from consumption, people are better able to self-express ([ 3]), perceive a stronger sense of authenticity ([87]), experience positive emotions and a sense of individuality ([ 7]; [71]), and are less likely to fall into debt ([54]). As [44] note, anticonsumption is positively associated with consumer well-being because anticonsumers have a high sense of control over their consumption; focus on personal or societal concerns and the macro motivations for nonconsumption; have low desire for material possessions; and do not attribute their happiness to possessions but, rather, to intrinsically satisfying activities. Therefore, by motivating individuals to reduce consumption, policy makers will not only reduce the ecological impact of consumption but also improve consumers' lives ([31]).

Note that anticonsumption is not a new concept. In human history, saving resources was key for trading and for addressing difficulties in the environment. Practices related to frugality and anticonsumption were the norm before the industrial revolution and the introduction of the consumerist and materialistic cultures ([84]). Indeed, frugality was desirable in Europe and North America until the end of World War II. However, practitioners and policy makers have largely overlooked the high cost of materialistic societies ([37]). Our research suggests that a return to values of frugality and simplicity is desirable to create more environmentally sustainable societies.

In addition to communicating the benefits of anticonsumption lifestyles, consumer policy can support more sustainable consumption by facilitating certain premises for sustainable consumption patterns. For example, by providing tax incentives, it could motivate consumers to repair products. Similar tax incentives could also be applied to products that last longer, reducing the need to constantly acquire new gadgets. In addition, policy could create mandatory disclosure of the environmental impact caused by the consumption of a specific product. This is already done in some countries, where manufacturers are required to inform the average CO ₂ emission of a given car. Similar disclosures should be made in other industries (primarily in the food industry, given its high environmental impact). This would make it easier for environmentally concerned people to reduce their environmental impact. Initiatives like this one have already been implemented successfully, such as by using color schemes to indicate the fat level of foods ([77]).

Hopefully, our study is a first step toward a new direction in sustainability and consumer research. Future studies should research possible moderators, such as trait variables, that might lead to anticonsumption behaviors and investigate their ecological impacts. Furthermore, studies on triggers that cause people to transition into and out of anticonsumption lifestyles would increase the understanding of how and why people choose to not to consume. A differentiation between countries of residence, age, and income groups with more respondents would test the generalizability of our findings. Further studies should also differentiate between more eco-friendly products and regular products. This would allow for the ability to test whether the consumption of environmentally friendly products leads to a significantly lower ecological impact for environmentally concerned consumers and anticonsumers. Including studies on public policy measures, motivational factors and social environments would allow for more concrete suggestions for policy makers and practitioners. Although anticonsumption seems promising for reducing ecological impact, future research needs to identify other factors that might lead to lower ecological impact. In particular, a promising avenue of research is to examine how regulators can reduce ecological impact at the supply side, as opposed to the demand side.

An important limitation of current research is that it is constrained to a single online sample of largely young and female German respondents. One should keep in mind that our results might not be generalizable to other countries and contexts. In addition, certain behaviors are highly dependent on the context (e.g., energy consumption for heating). The mainly European respondents (91.6% by country of origin, 93.6% by country of residence) are nevertheless representative for our study, as the calculation of ecological impact of products and services was based on a European study as well. The online survey might also have excluded some anticonsumers that tend to avoid online services such as email, blogs, social networks, or instant messaging, which were the channels used to distribute this study. Furthermore, we used a self-report measure of consumption. Such measures are greatly influenced by memory and possibly subject to common method bias, so future research would profit from measuring real buying behavior.

Anticonsumption might still be a niche movement, and most people in the Western societies are not willing to question their consumption habits for the sake of ecological sustainability. Our study shows that reducing consumption is one step in the right direction. As we have noted, research and initiatives in other fields suggest that there is potential for support of alternative approaches to a more ecologically sustainable world. Consumer research should join forces with policy makers, marketers, businesses, and organizations to promote the benefits of living a simple-and happy-life.
References BelzFrank-MartinBilharzMichael (2005), Nachhaltiger Konsum: Zentrale Herausforderungen für die Verbraucherpolitik. Monograph Series Consumer Sciences at the Technical University of Munich / Weihenstephan, No. 1: Chair of Business Administration Brewing and Food Industry. München: TU München. https://www.alexandria.unisg.ch/41720/1/DB-1%5fInternet%5fNK%5fBelz-Bilharz.pdf. BlackIain R. (2010), "Sustainability Through Anti-Consumption," Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 9 (6), 403-11. BlackIain R.CherrierHélène (2010), "Anti-Consumption as Part of Living a Sustainable Lifestyle: Daily Practices, Contextual Motivations and Subjective Values," Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 9 (6), 437-53. BordRichard J.O'ConnorRobert E.FisherAnn (2000), "In What Sense Does the Public Need to Understand Global Climate Change?" Public Understanding of Science, 9 (3), 205-18. CohenMaurie J.MurphyJoseph, eds. (2001), Exploring Sustainable Consumption: Environmental Policy and the Social Sciences. Amsterdam: Pergamon. Craig-LeesMargaretHillConstance (2002), "Understanding Voluntary Simplifiers," Psychology and Marketing, 19 (2), 187-210. De YoungRaymond (1986), "Encouraging Environmentally Appropriate Behavior: The Role of Intrinsic Motivation," Environmental Systems, 15 (4), 281-92. DunlapRiley E.Van LiereKent D. (1978), "The New Ecological Paradigm," Journal of Environmental Education, 9 (4), 10-19. DunlapRiley E.Van LiereKent D.MertigAngela G.JonesRobert E. (2000), "Measuring Endorsement of the New Ecological Paradigm: A Revised NEP Scale," Journal of Social Issues, 56 (3), 425-42. DunnElizabeth W.GilbertDaniel T.WilsonTimothy D. (2011), "If Money Doesn't Make You Happy, then You Probably Aren't Spending It Right," Journal of Consumer Psychology, 21 (2), 115-25. ElginDuane S. (2010), Voluntary Simplicity: Toward a Way of Life that is Outwardly Simple, Inwardly Rich. 2nd ed. New York: Harper Collins. ElginDuane S.MitchellArnold (1977), "Voluntary Simplicity: Life-Style of the Future?" The Futurist, 11, 200-206. ErtzMyriamKarakasFahriSarigöllüEmine (2016), "Exploring Pro-Environmental Behaviours of Consumers: An Analysis of Contextual Factors, Attitude, and Behaviours," Journal of Business Research, 69 (10), 3971-80. FischerMichaelSommerBernd (2012), "Verbrauchte Zukunft. Mentale und soziale Voraussetzungen verantwortungsvollen Konsums," WISO Diskurs(accessed May 15, 2018),http://library.fes.de/pdf-files/wiso/08988.pdf. FornellClaesLarckerDavid F. (1981), "Evaluating Structural Equation Models with Unobservable Variables and Measurement Error," Journal of Marketing Research, 18 (1), 39-50. FranssonNiklasGärlingTommy (1999), "Environmental Concern: Conceptual Definitions, Measurement Methods, and Research Findings," Journal of Environmental Psychology, 19 (4), 369-82. FujiiSatoshi (2006), "Environmental Concern, Attitude Toward Frugality, and Ease of Behavior as Determinants of Pro-Environmental Behavior Intentions," Journal of Environmental Psychology, 26 (4), 262-68. García-de-FrutosNievesOrtega-EgeaJosé M.Martínez-del-RíoJavier (2018), "Anti-Consumption for Environmental Sustainability: Conceptualization, Review, and Multilevel Research Directions," Journal of Business Ethics, 148 (2), 411-35. GreggRichard B. (1936), The Value of Voluntary Simplicity. Wallingford, PA: Pendle Hill. HarrisonRobNewholmTerryShawDeirdre (2005), The Ethical Consumer. London: SAGE Publications. HunekeMary E. (2005), "The Face of the Un-Consumer: An Empirical Examination of the Practice of Voluntary Simplicity in the United States," Psychology and Marketing, 22 (7), 527-50. IwataOsamu (1997), "Attitudinal and Behavioral Correlates of Voluntary Simplicity Lifestyles," Social Behavior and Personality, 25 (3), 233-40. IwataOsamu (1999), "Perceptual and Behavioral Correlates of Voluntary Simplicity Lifestyles," Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, 27 (4), 379-86. IwataOsamu (2006), "An Evaluation of Consumerism and Lifestyle as Correlates of a Voluntary Simplicity Lifestyle," Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, 34 (5), 557-68. IyerRajeshMuncyJames A. (2009), "Purpose and Object of Anti-Consumption," Journal of Business Research, 62 (2), 160-68. IyerRajeshMuncyJames A. (2016), "Attitude Toward Consumption and Subjective Well-Being," Journal of Consumer Affairs, 50 (1), 48-67. JacksonTim (2005a), "Live Better by Consuming Less? Is There a 'Double-Dividend' in Sustainable Consumption?" Journal of Industrial Ecology, 9 (1), 19-36. JacksonTim (2005b), "Motivating Sustainable Consumption: A Review of Evidence on Consumer Behaviour and Behavioural Change," research report, Sustainable Development Research Network (accessed May 15, 2018), http://www.unternehmenssteuertag.de/fileadmin/user%5fupload/Redaktion/Seco@home/nachhaltiger%5fEnergiekonsum/Literatur/entscheidungen%5fhaushalte/motivating%5fsustainable%5fconsumption%5fby%5fjackson.pdf. JacksonTim (2009), "Beyond the Growth Economy," Journal of Industrial Ecology, 13 (4), 487-90. JacksonTimMichaelisLaurie (2003), "Policies for Sustainable Consumption," research report, Sustainable Development Commission (accessed May 15, 2018), https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/10023/2237/sdc-2003-consumption-policy.pdf. JoshiYatishRahmanZillur (2015), "Factors Affecting Green Purchase Behavior and Future Research Directions," International Strategic Management Review, 3 (1/2), 128-43. KasserTim (2003), The High Price of Materialism. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. KinnearThomas C.TaylorJames R.AhmedSadrudin A. (1974), "Ecologically Concerned Consumers: Who Are They?" Journal of Marketing, 38 (2), 20-24. KnutsonBrianRickScottElliott WimmerG.PrelecDrazenLoewensteinGeorge (2007). "Neural Predictors of Purchases," Neuron, 53 (1), 147-56. KozinetsRobert V.HandelmanJay M.LeeMichael S.W. (2010), "Don't Read This; Or, Who Cares What the Hell Anti-Consumption Is, Anyways?" Consumption Markets & Culture, 13 (3), 225-33. LastovickaJohn L.BettencourtLance A.HughnerRenée S.KuntzeRonald J. (1999), "Lifestyle of the Tight and Frugal: Theory and Measurement," Journal of Consumer Research, 26 (1), 85-98. LatoucheSerge (2009), Farewell to Growth. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press. LatoucheSerge (2010), "Degrowth," Journal of Cleaner Production, 18 (6), 519-22. LeeMichael S.W.AhnChristie Seo Youn (2016), "Anti-Consumption, Materialism, and Consumer Well-Being," Journal of Consumer Affairs, 50 (1), 18-47. LeeMichael S.W.FernandezKaren V.HymanMichael R. (2009), "Anti-Consumption: An Overview and Research Agenda," Journal of Business Research, 62 (2), 145-47. LeeMichael S.W.RouxDominiqueCherrierHélèneCovaBernard (2011), "Anti-Consumption and Consumer Resistance: Concepts, Concerns, Conflicts, and Convergence," European Journal of Marketing, 45 (11/12), 1680-87. LindellMichael K.WhitneyDavid J. (2001), "Accounting for Common Method Variance in Cross-Sectional Research Designs," Journal of Applied Psychology, 86 (1), 114-21. LinzManfred (2013), "Ohne sie reicht es nicht: Zur Notwendigkeit von Suffizienz," Politische Ökologie, 135, 24-32. LorekSylviaFuchsDoris (2013), "Strong Sustainable Consumption Governance-Precondition for a Degrowth Path?" Journal of Cleaner Production, 38 (January), 36-48. MainieriTinaBarnettElaine G.ValderoTrisha R.UnipanJohn B.OskampStuart (1997), "Green Buying: The Influence of Environmental Concern on Consumer Behavior," Journal of Social Psychology, 137 (2), 189-204. McDonaldSeonaidahOatesCaroline J.William YoungPanayiota J. Alevizou, C.HwangKumju (2012), "Individual Strategies for Sustainable Consumption," Journal of Marketing Management, 28 (3/4), 445-68. MoisanderJohanna (2007), "Motivational Complexity of Green Consumerism," International Journal of Consumer Studies, 31 (4), 404-09. MoserAndrea K. (2015), "Thinking Green, Buying Green? Drivers of Pro-Environmental Purchasing Behavior," Journal of Consumer Marketing, 32 (3), 167-75. NepomucenoMarcelo V.LarocheMichel (2015), "The Impact of Materialism and Anti-Consumption Lifestyles on Personal Debt and Account Balances," Journal of Business Research, 68 (3), 654-64. NepomucenoMarcelo V.LarocheMichel (2017a), "Do I Fear Death? The Effects of Mortality Salience on Anti-Consumption Lifestyles," Journal of Consumer Affairs, 50 (1), 124-44. NepomucenoMarcelo V.LarocheMichel (2017b), "When Materialists Intend to Resist Consumption: The Moderating Role of Self-Control and Long-Term Orientation," Journal of Business Ethics, 143 (3), 467-83. NepomucenoMarcelo V.RohaniMinaGrégoireYany (2017), "Consumer Resistance: From Anti-Consumption to Revenge," in Consumer Perception of Product Risks and Benefits, EmilienGerardWeitkunatRolfLuedickeFrankLudickeFrank, eds. Cham, Switzerland: Springer, 345-64. OECD (2002), "Policies to Promote Sustainable Consumption: An Overview," ENV/EPOC/WPNEP(2001)18/FINAL, Paris: OECD. OzanneLucie K.BallantinePaul W. (2010), "Sharing as a Form of Anti-Consumption? An Examination of Toy Library Users," Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 9 (6), 485-98. PaechNiko (2013), "Lob der Reduktion," Politische Ökologie, 135, 16-22. PeattieKen (2010), "Green Consumption: Behavior and Norms," Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 35, 195-228. PolimeniJohn M.MayumiKozoGiampietroMarioAlcottBlake (2004), Jevons' Paradox and the Myth of Resource Efficiency Improvements. London: Earthscan. PopeJennyAnnandaleDavidMorrison-SaundersAngus (2004), "Conceptualizing Sustainability Assessment," Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 24 (6), 595-616. PrelecDrazenLoewensteinGeorge (1998), "The Red and the Black: Mental Accounting of Savings and Debt," Marketing Science, 17 (1), 4-28. ProtheroAndreaDobschaSusanFreundJimKilbourneWilliam E.LuchsMichael G.OzanneLucie K.ThørgersenJohn, (2011), "Sustainable Consumption: Opportunities for Consumer Research and Public Policy," Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 30 (Spring), 31-38. RennerMichael (2004), "Eine weniger konsumorientierte Wirtschaftsordnung," in Zur Lage der Welt. Die Welt des Konsums, Worldwatch Institute, ed. Münster: Verlag Westfälisches Dampfboot, 206-47. RickScott I. (2008), "When Spendthrifts Act Like Tightwads: Factors That Reduce Spendthrift/Tightwad Spending Differences," working paper (accessed February 1, 2017), http://opim.wharton.upenn.edu/risk/library/WP2008-04-13%5fSR%5fWhenSpendthriftsActLikeTightwads.pdf. RickScott I.CryderCynthia E.LoewensteinGeorge (2008), "Tightwads and Spendthrifts," Journal of Consumer Research, 34 (6), 767-82. RobertsJames A. (1996), "Green Consumer in the 1990s: Profile and Implications for Advertising," Journal of Business Research, 36 (3), 217-31. SharpAnneWheelerMeagan (2013), "Reducing Householders' Grocery Carbon Emissions: Carbon Literacy and Carbon Label Preferences," Australasian Marketing Journal, 21 (4), 240-49. ShawDeirdreMoraesCaroline (2009), "Voluntary Simplicity: An Exploration of Market Interactions," International Journal of Consumer Studies, 33 (2), 215-23. SolowRobert M. (1991), "Sustainability: An Economist's Perspective," Economics of the Environment Selected Readings, 3, 179-87. SternPaul C. (1992), "Psychological Dimensions of Global Environmental Change," Annual Review of Psychology, 43 (1), 269-302. SternPaul C.DietzThomasRuttanVernon W.SocolowRobert H.SweeneyJames L., eds. (1997), Environmentally Significant Consumption. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. StraughanRobert D.RobertsJames A. (1999), "Environmental Segmentation Alternatives: A Look at Green Consumer Behavior in the New Millennium," Journal of Consumer Marketing, 16 (6), 558-75. TakalaMartti (1991), "Environmental Awareness and Human Activity," International Journal of Psychology, 26 (5), 585-97. ThorndikeAnne N.SonnenbergLillianRiisJasonBarracloughSusanLevyDouglas E. (2012), "A 2-Phase Labeling and Choice Architecture Intervention to Improve Healthy Food and Beverage Choices," American Journal of Public Health, 102 (3), 527-33. TukkerArnoldHuppesGjaltGuinéeJeroenHeijungsReinoutKoningArjan deOersLauran van. (2006), "Environmental Impact of Products (EIPRO): Analysis of the Life Cycle Environmental Impacts Related to the Total Final Consumption of the EU25," research report (May),http://ec.europa.eu/environment/ipp/pdf/eipro%5freport.pdf. United Nations (1992), "Agenda 21," (accessed May 15, 2018), https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/Agenda21.pdf. United Nations (2016), "The Sustainable Development Goals," (accessed May 15, 2018),https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2016/The%20Sustainable%20Development%20Goals%20Report%202016.pdf. Von WinterfeldUta (2007), "Keine Nachhaltigkeit ohne Suffizienz," Vorgänge, 3, 46-54. WeigelRussellWeigelJoan (1978), "Environmental Concern: The Development of a Measure," Environment and Behavior, 10 (1), 3-15. WilkeHenk A.M. (1991), "Greed, Efficiency and Fairness in Resource Management Situations," European Review of Social Psychology, 2 (1), 165-87. WitkowskiTerrence H. (2010), "A Brief History of Frugality Discourses in the United States," Consumption, Markets and Culture, 13 (3), 235-58. WrightMalcolmKlÿnBabs (1998), "Environmental Attitude-Behaviour Correlations in 21 Countries," Journal of Empirical Generalisations in Marketing Science, 3, 42-60. ZavestoskiStephen (2002a), "Guest Editorial: Anticonsumption Attitudes," Psychology and Marketing, 19 (2), 121-26. ZavestoskiStephen (2002b), "The Social-Psychological Bases of Anticonsumption Attitudes," Psychology and Marketing, 19 (2), 149-65.
~~~~~~~~

By Maren Ingrid Kropfeld; Marcelo Vinhal Nepomuceno and Danilo C. Dantas

Reported by Author; Author; Author

Copyright of Journal of Public Policy & Marketing is the property of American Marketing Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Ecological Impact of Anticonsumption Lifestyles and Environmental Conce...: San Jac Super Search

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Unsustainable consumption is an important cause of the continued deterioration of the global environment. The authors compare the ecological impact of anticonsumption lifestyles and environmental concern. Findings indicate that high scores on anticonsumption lifestyles (voluntary simplicity, frugality, and tightwadism) and environmental concern are associated with lower ecological impact.

# data[].attributes.body
1. https://0-eds-p-ebscohost-com.libcat.sanjac.edu/eds/detail/detail?vid=12&sid=ad2c5276-3d1e-42ef-821b-342ee4b0efaa%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#AN=edssjs.85601FA4&db=edssjs
2. https://eds.s.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=13&sid=ad2c5276-3d1e-42ef-821b-342ee4b0efaa%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#AN=edsglr.A697555929&db=edsglr
3. https://eds.s.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=15&sid=ad2c5276-3d1e-42ef-821b-342ee4b0efaa%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#AN=31411662&db=bth

# data[].attributes.body
For this digital portfolio I used the San Jacinto Library database. From this class I learned how to conduct research I learned about citations. The most used ones being MLA and APA. I also learned about the importance of conducting proper research.

# data[].attributes.body
I couldn't find anything for this topic.

# data[].attributes.body
1.  https://eds.s.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=73&sid=ad2c5276-3d1e-42ef-821b-342ee4b0efaa%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#AN=145162060&db=ccm
2.  https://eds.s.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=82&sid=ad2c5276-3d1e-42ef-821b-342ee4b0efaa%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#AN=edssjs.27386D46&db=edssjs
3.  https://eds.s.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=84&sid=ad2c5276-3d1e-42ef-821b-342ee4b0efaa%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#AN=153300193&db=a9h

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Mothers' Income and Young Adult Children's Education and Fast Food Intake