The role of anticipated emotions in recycling intention: an extension of the Theory of Planned Behaviour / Emociones anticipadas en la intención de reciclar: una extensión de la Teoría de la Conducta Planificada

AbstractBased on Ajzen’s previous research, the primary aim of this paper is to explore the importance of anticipated emotions in household waste recycling intention beyond the explanation provided by the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). A questionnaire was constructed and given to a sample of 276 students aged 18 to 24 at the University of Santiago de Compostela. Anticipated emotions were measured in relation to the intention, or lack thereof, to separate out household waste for the purposes of recycling. Findings show that negative emotions, in the same (NAE_sd) and the opposite direction (NAE_od) as the action, make the highest contribution to increasing explained variance (R2 = 6.0%). Furthermore, these variables are also directly and significantly related to intention (NAE_sd (β = −.19); NAE_od (β = .23)), making them more relevant in terms of better explaining this environmentally responsible intention.