Assuming risks in sustainable behaviours: the role of subjective risk intelligence and prosociality

The issue of environmental and ecosystem protection has emerged as one of the most significant challenges facing today’s socio-economic context to ensure ecological sustainability. Prosociality is encompassed within the broader spectrum of behaviours that prioritise environmental well-being. Similar to pro-social behaviour, pro-environmental behaviour may involve certain positive risks (related, for instance, to public exposure), of which individuals must be mindful when choosing to act sustainably. Opting for pro-environmental actions that carry a positive risk can be facilitated through subjective risk intelligence, a capacity that enables individuals to view risk as an opportunity to achieve a goal rather than as a threat. This cross-sectional study, involving 464 Italian adults, aimed to examine the moderating effect of subjective risk intelligence on the relationship between prosociality and the intention to engage in pro-environmental behaviour incorporating a risk component. The moderation model confirmed the hypotheses, indicating that prosociality precedes the intention to engage in sustainable risk taking, and that subjective risk intelligence can moderate and strengthen this relationship. Practical implications of the findings are discussed, along with recommendations for further research.