Avoiding cognitive inconsistency : experimental evidence on sustainable online shopping

Cognitive inconsistency, the discrepancy between individuals’ behavior and their self-image, can cause the psychological discomfort called cognitive dissonance. In this paper, we investigate whether providing information that enhances the salience of cognitive inconsistency can increase sustainable consumption. Specifically, we analyze whether individuals avoid cognitive inconsistency by (a) a change in behavior to comply with own attitudes and by (b) the denial of attitudes and of knowledge about the criticism of conventional online shopping. To this end, we embed an incentivized discrete-choice task in a large-scale survey conducted in Germany in 2021, with the choice being between a voucher for either a conventional or a sustainable online market place. With our experimental setting, we aim to increase the salience of cognitive inconsistency by either randomly reminding participants of their previously stated attitudes towards sustainable production or by informing them about the typical criticism of conventional online shopping. Our empirical results indicate that individuals adapt their behavior after having received the reminder of their stated attitudes and the criticism about conventional online shopping. Yet, participants do not deceive themselves by aligning their attitudes with their behavior or by denying to have been aware of the criticism.