We currently inhabit an era marked by increasing economic inequality. This paper delves into the repercussions of perceived economic inequality on individual‐level pro‐environmental engagement and puts forth an explanatory mechanism. Across three empirical studies encompassing an archival investigation employing a nationally representative data set (Study 1), an online survey (Study 2) and an in‐lab experiment (Study 3), we consistently unearth the inhibiting effect of perceived economic inequality on individuals' pro‐environmental involvement, whether assessed through pro‐environmental intentions or behaviours. Furthermore, our findings reveal that individuals' identification with their country elucidates these results. Specifically, perceived economic inequality diminishes individuals' national identification, encompassing their concern for the country's well‐being and their sense of shared destiny with fellow citizens, thereby curbing their pro‐environmental engagement. Additionally, we conduct a single‐paper meta‐analysis (Study 4), revealing small to moderate effect sizes for our key findings. Theoretical and practical implications stemming from these novel findings are discussed.

中文翻译：

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感知到的经济不平等抑制了亲环保的参与


我们目前生活在一个经济不平等加剧的时代。本文深入探讨了感知到的经济不平等对个人层面的亲环境参与的影响，并提出了一个解释机制。在三项实证研究中，包括采用全国代表性数据集的档案调查（研究 1）、在线调查（研究 2）和实验室实验（研究 3），我们始终如一地挖掘感知到的经济不平等对个人亲环境参与的抑制作用，无论是通过亲环境的意图还是行为进行评估。此外，我们的研究结果表明，个人对自己国家的认同阐明了这些结果。具体来说，感知到的经济不平等会削弱个人的民族认同感，包括他们对国家福祉的关注以及他们与其他公民的命运共同体感，从而遏制他们支持环境的参与。此外，我们进行了一项单篇论文荟萃分析（研究 4），揭示了我们主要发现的小到中等效应量。讨论了这些新发现产生的理论和实践意义。