03/23/2026
By Naomi Wernick-Pfaffmann

The Kennedy College of Science, Department of Biology, invites you to attend a master's thesis defense by Payal Patel entitled “The Relationship between Eco-Anxiety and the Performance of Pro-environmental Behaviors.” 

Date: April 6
Time: 2 p.m.
Location: Olsen 114

Committee:

  • Naomi Wernick-Pfaffmann (thesis advisor)
  • Alison Hamilton
  • Juliette Rooney-Varga
  • Steve Balsis

Abstract: Eco-anxiety is defined as distress or concern related to environmental degradation and has been widely studied in relation to mental health; however, its role in motivating pro-environmental behavior remains less clear (Pihkala, 2020). Framed by the Yerkes–Dodson law, this study examins whether moderate levels of eco-anxiety are associated with the highest levels of engagement in pro-environmental behaviors. Eco-anxiety was measured across multiple dimensions, including overall eco-anxiety (AES), affective, rumination, behavioral, and personal subtypes. Pro-environmental behaviors were categorized into consumer, social, lifestyle, and perception of impact. One-way analyses of variance (ANOVA) tests were conducted to assess differences in behavior across four eco-anxiety levels (no, low, moderate, and high), followed by Tukey post-hoc tests to identify specific group differences. Pearson correlation analyses were used to examine associations between eco-anxiety subtypes and pro-environmental behaviors. Contrary to the initial hypothesis, results did not support an inverted-U relationship between eco-anxiety and pro-environmental behavior. Instead, findings showed a consistent pattern in which pro-environmental behavior increased with higher levels of eco-anxiety. These findings suggest that high eco-anxiety may function as a motivational driver rather than a barrier to environmental engagement. The results align more closely with protection motivation theory which states that individuals are more likely to engage in protective behaviors when they perceive a significant threat and believe that their actions can help reduce that threat (Boer 1996). Overall, this study contributes to the literature on eco-anxiety by demonstrating that higher levels of climate related concern may promote, rather than inhibit, pro-environmental behaviors. These findings have important implications for climate education and suggest that climate related concern, when appropriately supported, may be leveraged to encourage meaningful engagement in pro-environmental behaviors.