Agency through comparison: Reference-point evaluations and rural environmental participation after mining-induced resettlement

Abstract

Large-scale resettlement linked to mining-induced subsidence has reshaped rural living environments and community structures, raising the question of how to engage in rural environmental participation within new communities—a central concern for rural sustainability. Adapting the framework of agency to this context, we advance a reference-point perspective that situates residents’ subjective evaluations of present conditions relative to past experiences, future expectations, and lateral benchmarks as frames through which agency is organized. Drawing on a household survey of 610 resettled rural residents in Huainan, one of China’s largest mining-based pillar cities, this study provides initial evidence for this approach. Men (p = .001), married respondents (p = .036), middle-aged adults (p < .001), and those with higher education (ps < .030) reported greater environmental participation willingness, indicating marked demographic variation. Each reference point was positively associated with participation willingness in models estimated separately (past-oriented: standardized β = 0.312; future-oriented: β = 0.190; social comparison: β = 0.236; all p < .001); when entered jointly with controls, only the past-oriented reference—using previous environmental conditions to evaluate the current environment—retained a robust association (β = 0.289, p < .001). This pattern suggests that comparative evaluations of the present versus one’s previous environment are a salient basis for how resettled residents participate in community environmental affairs, providing actionable cues for participation mobilization in new resettlement communities.

Bo Hu 胡博

PhD Student

My research interests include environmental psychology and behavior intervention.