Positive and negative spillover of pro-environmental behavior: An integrative review and theoretical framework Heather Barnes Truelove a,1, *, Amanda R. Carrico b,1 , Elke U. Weber c , Kaitlin Toner Raimi d , Michael P. Vandenbergh e a Department of Psychology, University of North Florida, 1 UNF Drive, Jacksonville, FL 32224, USA b Environmental Studies Program, University of Colorado at Boulder, UCB 215, Boulder, CO 80309, USA c Graduate School of Business, Columbia University, 3022 Broadway, New York, NY 10027, USA d Climate Change Research Network/Vanderbilt Institute for Energy and Environment, Vanderbilt University, PMB 407702, 2301 Vanderbilt Place, Nashville, TN 37240, USA e Vanderbilt University Law School, 131 21st Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37203, USA Examination of behavioral interventions to promote energy efficiency and other pro-environmental behaviors has revealed our limited understanding of behavioral spillover, that is, the effects of an intervention on subsequent behaviors not directly targeted by it (Poortinga et al., 2013). Knowledge of spillover effects is important for energy and environmental policy, as growing concern over anthropogenic climate change and the limited success of comprehensive national and international policy measures have generated a renewed interest in strategies that promote efficiency and conservation through behavior modification (Dietz et al., 2009; Kunreuther and Weber, 2014; Steg and Vlek, 2009). Many scholars have advocated for consideration of research on behavioral interventions in the design of climate policies (AAAS, 2011; Allcott and Mullainathan, 2010; Vandenbergh et al., 2011). If promotion of one pro-environmental behavior (PEB) raises the likelihood that individuals will adopt other PEBs (i.e., positive spillover), increased investments in such policies may be war- ranted. If, on the other hand, successful interventions induce individuals to reduce other PEBs (i.e., negative spillover), such interventions may be less desirable or may need to be redesigned. Unfortunately, to date research on spillover effects has generated mixed and at times conflicting results, and studies are spread across disconnected literatures from diverse disciplines. The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive, interdisciplinary review to clarify the conditions under which Global Environmental Change 29 (2014) 127–138 A R T I C L E I N F O Article history: Received 28 February 2014 Received in revised form 7 August 2014 Accepted 13 September 2014 Available online 6 October 2014 Keywords: Pro-environmental behavior Behavioral spillover Rebound effects Moral licensing Environmental identity Decision modes A B S T R A C T A recent surge of research has investigated the potential of pro-environmental behavior interventions to affect other pro-environmental behaviors not initially targeted by the intervention. The evidence evaluating these spillover effects has been mixed, with some studies finding evidence for positive spillover (i.e., one pro-environmental behavior increases the likelihood of performing additional pro- environmental behaviors) and others finding negative spillover (i.e., one pro-environmental behavior decreases the likelihood of additional pro-environmental behaviors). Different academic disciplines have investigated this question, employing different methodologies and arriving at divergent findings. This paper provides a unifying theoretical framework and uses the framework to review the existing research on pro-environmental behavior spillover. Our framework identifies different decision modes as competing mechanisms that drive adoption of initial pro-environmental behaviors, with different consequences for subsequent pro-environmental behaviors, leading to positive, negative, or no spillover. Attribution of the initial pro-environmental behavior to either an external motivator (e.g., a price signal) or internal motivator (e.g., self-identity) also matters. In addition, the characteristics of and similarity between initial and subsequent pro-environmental behaviors can be expected to moderate predicted spillover effects. We explore the implications of our model for policymakers and practitioners, and suggest key areas where future research on the topic would be most beneficial. ß 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. * Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 904 620 1643; fax: +1 904 620 3814. E-mail addresses: h.truelove@unf.edu (H.B. Truelove), amanda.carrico@colorado.edu (A.R. Carrico), Euw2@columbia.edu (E.U. Weber), kaitlin.e.toner@vanderbilt.edu (K.T. Raimi), michael.vandenbergh@law.vanderbilt.edu (M.P. Vandenbergh). 1 Shared first authorship. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Global Environmental Change jo ur n al h o mep ag e: www .elsevier .co m /loc ate/g lo envc h a http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2014.09.004 0959-3780/ß 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.