How Time Pricing Shapes Pro-Environmental Behavior: The Buffering Role of Awe

This study investigates how a pervasive cognitive frame—time pricing, the tendency to construe time as money—shapes individuals’ environmental decision-making. Across two controlled experiments using a behavioral choice paradigm, we show that activating a “time is money” mindset significantly reduces engagement in pro-environmental behavior (PEB), particularly when actions involve higher temporal costs. Importantly, we further demonstrate that awe, a self-transcendent emotion, can attenuate this inhibitory effect by broadening individuals’ temporal and value perspectives, enabling them to prioritize long-term environmental benefits over immediate efficiency considerations.