Using an Instagram campaign to influence knowledge, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and behavioral intentions for sustainable behaviors

Introduction: Climate change poses one of the most pervasive threats to the planet today. Intervention is required to promote pro-environmental behaviors among individuals to curb its effects. Borrowing several constructs from the Theory of Planned Behavior, we designed and evaluated a campaign, delivered primarily through Instagram, to shift sustainability-related cognitions and behaviors among university students. Methods: An online survey was distributed to undergraduate students at a Northern California university and collected responses from 1,552 participants. Results: Comparing students who self-reported exposure to the campaign with those who were not exposed, students who observed the campaign materials had more knowledge about (p < .001), greater perceived social norms about (p < .001), and greater intentions to perform sustainable behaviors (p < .001). There were also increases in sustainable behaviors during the campaign, compared to the previous academic term. Discussion: Implementing campaigns inspired by behavior change theories may be one viable strategy to increase individual sustainable behaviors for climate change mitigation.