The scope of this research is to establish an innovative paradigm and theoretical approach for the study of moral attitudes and judgments in order to promote pro-environmental behaviors. 

The study is a "Curiosity-driven" research project (fondo F-CUR 2022), led by Professor Marika Rullo (https://docenti.unisi.it/it/rullo) and supported by Giovanni Telesca, PhD candidate (www.giovannitelesca.net) from Siena University and lasting 24 months.

The project encompasses six studies and advances a new psychological approach to understanding how to use the inspirational power of pro-environmental models to spread pro-environmental behaviors by looking at those boundary conditions that can reduce such inspirational power. 

Specifically, Studies 1 and 2 will use both online procedures to assess whether the effect of a negative social comparison would be amplified or reduced by the shared group membership of pro-environmental models that in turn could affect elevation feelings and imitation or negative reactions. 

Studies 3 and 4 will test the impact of a salient intergroup positive comparison on buffering the effect of a negative social comparison on people’s imitation responses. 

Studies 5 and 6 will examine the circumstances under which pro-environmental models people are perceived as a threat in an intergroup context by focusing on the role of a competitive intergroup context interacting with the high centrality of such models within the ingroup (S5) and with the low status of the group (S6). 

We will also test the moderator role of social identification and the mediator role of elevation and collective self-esteem (S3 to S6) on when social comparison and social identity concerns in different group contexts would elicit more imitation or exclusion behaviors. 

Taken together, these studies will address whether, when, and why pro-environmental people could be imitated or derogated in interpersonal and group contexts comparisons