[Music] Today we're talking about environmental concern
and environmental values. These are important "pro-environmental attitudes." Environmental
psychologists define "environmental concern" as the degree to which people are concerned about
the environment. More specifically, they want to know the degree to which people are aware of
environmental problems; the degree to which they worry about environmental problems; that agree to
which they support efforts to solve environmental problems; and also the degree to which they are
personally committed to doing something about environmental problems. Here is a short sample of
a climate change environmental concern measure. Researchers use measures like this to study
environmental concern and its relationship to pro-environmental behavior including the advocacy
of and support for pro-environmental policies. Psychologists also study environmental values.
Values are the guiding principles in a person's life and "environmental values" are guiding
principles in a person's life that are related to their environmental concern and to their
pro-environmental behavior. What matters to you and how does it relate to how much you care
about different types of environmental problems? Do some matter more to you than others because of
your values? How do the guiding principles of your life relate to your pro-environmental behavior?---
that is what you do to help preserve and save the environment? For example, if above all you
value yourself and your comfort and convenience, how does that relate to your consumer choices
that contribute to environmental problems? Next we're going to talk about two of the best
known approaches to the study of environmental values. The first one is called the "New
Ecological Paradigm" and the second is called the Value Sources of Environmental Concern. As we
go along, keep this in mind-- what are your values and how do they relate to your environmental
concern and your pro-environmental action? [Music] Let's start with the NEP or the New
Ecological Paradigm developed first by an environmental sociologist named Riley Dunlap.
NEP theorists say that there are two worldviews which impact people's environmental concern and
their pro-environmental behavior. The Dominant Social Paradigm (DSP) is the way that most people
think and they say that it's responsible for the environmental mess that we're in. Meanwhile
they say we need to shift to a ew ecological paradigm (NEP), a new worldview and this is the
way we need to think to save ourselves and the planet. So let's talk about each of these
paradigms. NEP theorists explain that the dominant social Paradigm or DSP views humans is
separate from and superior to Nature. In contrast, the New Ecological Paradigm or NEP,
views humans as a part of nature. Research on the New Ecological Paradigm
is conducted with a measure that's called the NEP. It's a 15-item measure and it has
five sub-scales; each measures a different category of belief and each subscale has
three items. People are asked how strongly they agree or disagree with 15 statements
that represent these different beliefs. These five sub-scales measure "reality of limits
to growth"-- you can see a sample item here, "We're approaching the limit of the
number of people the Earth can support." Rejection of exemptionalism is another
sub scale. This one is about the belief that humans are exempt from eventual
environmental disaster because they're so smart they can always solve any problem
they create. You can see here an item that says "Human Ingenuity will ensure that
we do not make the Earth unlivable." This one is reverse scored because if you agree
with it you do believe in exemptionalism. The Integrity of Nature's Balance is about, as
you see here, the balance of nature being delicate and easily upset. The possibility of eco-crisis
is your belief that if things continue on their present course major environmental disaster
is likely. And finally, anti-anthropocentism. Anthropocentrism is the belief that humans
matter more than anything else and that we're the center of the earth and the universe so
an anti-anthropocentrism is the opposite--- it means that you think that plants, animals,
and nature are equally as important as humans. Now let's stop to think about this for
a second. NEP theorists hypothesize that people that operate according
to the New Ecological Paradigm are more environmentally concerned and also
perform more pro-environmental behavior. In other words, believing in the New Ecological
Paradigm in comparison to the Dominant Social Paradigm motivates environmental
concern and pro-environmental behavior. Likewise, NEP theorists believe that a shift
to the new ecological paradigm is necessary for our future survival. Let's face it , the Earth's
resources and resilience are limited and we can't go on acting as though this isn't true. We have to
stop acting as though we're the only relevant life on Earth. We have to recognize that our fate
is tied to the health of the planet. We have to acknowledge that our actions can endanger the
health of the planet and our health and survival. [Music] Another values-based approach is centered
on the distinction between "self-enhancement values" and "self-transcendence values." This
comes from a psychologist named Schwartz. Are your values mostly about your self-interest, what values theorist Schwartz called
self-enhancement values? Self-enhancement values include "hedonic values." These are values
that prioritize your comfort and your convenience. Self-enhancement values also include
"egoistic values." These are values which prioritize your personal wealth, your
personal status, and your personal power. Research finds that self-enhancement values are
negatively related to environmental concern and pro-environmental behavior. Now this makes
sense when you think about it: If your values are primarily about your personal comfort,
convenience, and material wealth you're not going to care as much about environmental problems or
act sustainably unless it benefits you personally. In contrast to these self-enhancement values are
what Schwartz called self-transcendence values. Are the guiding principles of your life more
focused on the interests of other people, society and animals, what Schwartz
called self-transcendence values? I should point out that self-transcendence
values can be broken down into "social altruistic values" and "biospheric values." Values focused on the well-being of other people and society are what we
call social altruistic values. Values focused on the well-being of nature or
wildlife and animals are called biospheric values. Self-transcendence values are positively related
to environmental concern and pro-environmental behavior and you can see why when you think about
it. Environmental concern and proenvironmental behavior often require caring about other
people and nature above yourself and your personal comfort and convenience. When you
think about, it self-transcendent values are more likely to promote environmental
concern and pro-environmental behavior. Next we're talking about the value sources
of environmental concern model from P. Wesley Schultz. It builds on Schwartz's research but it
adds an interesting element because it suggests that environmental concern can be motivated by
egoistic social altruistic or biospheric values. [Music] The tripartite value basis theory of environmental
concern is another popular approach and it's also known as the value sources of environmental
concern. Developed by an applied social psychologist named P. Wesley Schultz, it suggests
that people act proenvironmentally based on their egoistic, altruistic, and biospheric values.
In other words, whether the values they live by are focused on themselves, other people,
or on nature, including animals. These values are said to explain why people do or do
not care about environmental problems. Schultz developed a 12-item measure of these
three value sources of environmental concern. The value sources of environmental concern measure
consists of 12 environmental concern items that you rate with a 10-point scale that's anchored by
"not at all important" to "supreme importance," with a neutral midpoint. The measure begins with
the prompt, "I am concerned about environmental problems because of the consequences for..."
Four items measure biospheric value sources of environmental concern-- in other words, caring
about environmental problems because you value birds, animals, plants, nature, trees. Four items
measure egoistic value sources of environmental concern-- in other words, caring about
environmental problems because of how they impact your health, your lifestyle, your prosperity,
and the future of you and your loved ones. The remaining four items measure social
altruistic sources of environmental concern. These are about caring about
environmental problems because of how they impact future generations people, in the
community, children, and humanity in general. Agreeing with the items is positively
correlated with pro-environmental behavior and other measures of environmental concern. Now
one interesting implication of this is that if you want to increase someone's environmental
concern and pro-environmental behavior it makes sense to persuade them based on their
values. And that's called "values framing." Values framing is designing
pro-environmental communications to appeal to different environmental
values to maximize their effectiveness. So think about this for a second. For hunters,
fishers, campers with egoistic values connect forests and wildlife Conservation to
the sustainability of their hobby. For a person with social altruistic values
from a collectivist family-oriented culture, connect environmental concern to their
children's and grandchildren's futures. For a person with biospheric values, emphasize how
the problem affects animals wildlife and nature. [Music] Let's say a little bit about diversity and
environmental concern. This is something else environmental psychologists have studied. I think
you'll agree that humans are not homogeneous, they are different. They they vary as
individuals and they also vary based on the groups that they identify with and that
they're a part of. Most of the research has looked at gender and culture and environmental
concern. As far as gender goes, the differences aren't large but women and men differ in
their environmental attitudes and behaviors. In the U.S., public opinion polls find that more
women than men say the country should do whatever it takes to protect the environment. In comparison
to women, men are more likely to support increased use of nuclear power and to support offshore
oil and gas drilling. Studies also find that women score higher in environmental concern than
men do, a finding that's found across culturally. Women are more likely to endorse the
new environmental paradigm the NEP, which views humans as part of nature.
They more strongly agree that we shouldn't upset the carefully balanced ecosystem and
that human behavior may create eco-crisis. Women also tend to score higher than men on some
important values underlying environmental concern. Remember according to psychologists
like P. Wesley Schultz, people act pro-environmentally based on their egoistic,
altruistic, and biospheric values and these values may explain why people do or do
not care about environmental problems. Women not only score higher than men on these
values but they also place a higher value on altruism, sometimes called self-transcendence,
the value most associated with environmentalism. Now some might say these gender differences occur
because menstruation and childbirth connect women to nature. Others suggest a "motherhood mentality"
arising from women's roles as childbearers and caregivers. They say this puts women more in touch
with the interconnectedness of humans and nature. But most researchers attribute gender
differences in environmental concern to value differences arising from traditional gender
socialization. Females are more likely to be socialized to be communal and other-centered
which is more consistent with the values of self-transcendence related to environmentalism.
Meanwhile, males are more likely to be socialized to be agents and competitive which is
more consistent with the self-enhancement values contrary to environmentalism and also
consistent with efforts to dominate nature. Women play a central role in environmental
sustainability, particularly in the home realm where they influence the family's adoption
of home sustainability behaviors. Women also have a long track record as grassroots
environmental activists, often acting because environmental degradation directly affects
their daily activities and their familiy's health and well-being. Despite this though,
men dominate environmentalism at all levels as scientific and economic experts, entrepreneurs,
policy makers, and spokespeople. This matters because it's resulted in a focus on masculine
technological and scientific solutions at the expense of more feminine approaches focused on
behavior change and living more harmoniously with nature. Having said all that, I feel it's
a little dangerous to gender environmentalism. Sure we could see these feminine and masculine
approaches in a yin/yang way, but I don't like that this labeling suggests that some forms
of environmentalism are the domain of women and some of men. These differences are actually
modest and result more from nurture than nature and such labels may discourage men from adopting
environmental worldviews that emphasize living harmoniously with nature--- worldviews key to
environmental sustainability. And likewise, they may also discourage women's participation in key
forms of environmentalism traditionally dominated by men. As far as culture and environmental
concern, there are ways in which we are the same and ways in which we are different based on
culture. And the way in which we're the same is that recent research indicates that people all
over the world are concerned about environmental problems and support efforts to do something about
them. So the world values survey for instance, finds that the majority of people worldwide agree
that looking after the environment is an important personal goal. Tam and Chan, two environmental
psychologists who are working in Hong Kong, say that environmental concern is so high worldwide
for lots of different reasons. These include what they call "post-materialist value changes" due
to the direct experiences that people have with environmental degradation worldwide, and from a
global extension of environmental organizations and networks. As I suggested before, though
research does find cultural differences-- so yes we are the same in that environmental concern
is widespread internationally-- but we're also different you know. So for instance, samples
from the United States, Canada, Germany, Spain, and Russia find that people from those countries
score higher on egoistic environmental concern than they do on biospheric concern, whereas
samples from Latin America find the opposite. Ethnic groups in the United States also differ
in their environmental concern. So for example, some studies find that greater
environmental concern among minority samples that are disproportionately
affected by environmental hazards. Political affiliation affects environmental values
and concern. Some research finds in the U.S, that in comparison to Democrats, Republicans tend
to score higher on egoistic environmental values and that their levels of environmental concern
tend to be lower. There are lots of other research findings on variables that influence environmental
concern and these include things like rural and urban differences and recreational activities and
how those affect your environmental concern. Your education, your religion, and your personality are
studied. But these findings are so nuanced that general claims are definitely difficult to make.
But we do know people vary and they vary based on culture, they vary based on gender, they
vary based on politics, they vary based on all kinds of different factors. The growth in
environmental concern is a good thing. We have a lot of environmental problems and it's good
for people to be concerned and for people to align their values with sustainability. That is
a good thing. Next time we'll be talking about the relationship between environmental concern and
pro-environmental behavior. We'll also be talking about barriers to pro-environmental behavior
and we will also be talking about psychological solutions to environmental problems, particularly
how to promote proenvironmental behavior. Until next time, take care and
take care of the environment. [Music]