Environmental Action: Understanding Psychological Behavior in the Age of Climate Anxiety a Narrative Review

Abstract: As climate change continues to destroy ecosystems, it is imperative to understand the psychological factors that drive action. This narrative review examines psychological factors associated with pro-environmental behavior (PEB) among individuals who express environmental concern to identify drivers of sustainable action. Nine peer-reviewed studies (2022-2025) were selected from PsycINFO, using narrative methods aligned with SANRA and PRISMA frameworks. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were presented in a PRISMA flowchart (see Figure 1). Overall themes in the results section were identified using inductive and deductive reasoning. Key psychological influences of PEB included traits such as self-efficacy and openness, as well as values and identity factors, including environmentally centered values and environmental and ecological identity. Seven of nine studies showed at least a moderate positive relationship between environmental concern and PEB, and four of the nine concluded there was a correlation. Mediators of PEB included attitude (e.g., positive views of sustainable actions), perceived behavioral control, biospheric values, and environmental self-identity. Additionally, resilience and self-transcendence values emerged as a moderator of the relationship between environmental concern and PEB, while COVID-19 experience was linked to PEB intentions through environmental concern as a mediator and self-transcendence values as a moderator. These findings illustrate that a wide range of psychological predictors, such as environmental identity, self-efficacy, and attitude, shape environmental action both through environmental concern and independently of it.