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Self, Society, and Environment in the 21St Century: the Development and Assessment of an Ecological Identity Scale

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Self, Society, and Environment in the 21St Century: the Development and Assessment of an Ecological Identity Scale University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 8-2014 Self, Society, and Environment in the 21st Century: The Development and Assessment of an Ecological Identity Scale Tobin N. Walton University of Tennessee - Knoxville, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss Part of the Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Walton, Tobin N., "Self, Society, and Environment in the 21st Century: The Development and Assessment of an Ecological Identity Scale. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 2014. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/2871 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Tobin N. Walton entitled "Self, Society, and Environment in the 21st Century: The Development and Assessment of an Ecological Identity Scale." I have examined the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in Sociology. Robert E. Jones, Major Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: R. Scott Frey, Sherry Cable, John Nolt Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) Self, Society, and Environment in the 21st Century: The Development and Assessment of an Ecological Identity Scale A Dissertation Presented for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Tobin N. Walton August 2014 Copyright © 2014 by Tobin N. Walton All rights reserved. ii DEDICATION This dissertation is the product of many years of work and could not have been accomplished without the support of my family, close friends, and mentors. My wife Danyl and four boys Noah, Malikhai, Elias, and Oliver have supported me in countless ways, making the best of often very difficult situations. Over the years we as a family have been fortunate to be surrounded by wonderful friends and extended family members, and I dedicate this accomplishment to you all. Finally, this could not have been achieved without the mentorship, and friendships, I share with several of the faculty members within the Department of Sociology at the University of Tennessee. First and foremost, Bobby Jones has been an unforgettable influence on my development as a sociologist and teacher. He has truly been a mentor and I the apprentice. Each of my committee members, Scott Frey, Sherry Cable, George Pasdirtz, John Nolt, and the late Suzanne Kurth have also contributed significant time and guidance toward making this possible and I thank them all. Lastly, I would like to dedicate this work to several other members of the department that have supported and encouraged me over the years. They are Jon Shefner, Stephanie Bohon, Harry Dahms, Shirley Martin, and Nancy Loftis. iii ABSTRACT Through a mixed-methods approach, this dissertation develops and assesses a multi-item scale measure of ecological identity (EI). Although recent decades have seen increased attention devoted to research on identity in relation to nature and the bio-physical environment, a valid and reliable scale capable of encompassing the complexities of this construct has yet to be developed. This dissertation uses an integral approach to build upon and extend recent attempts to develop measures of similar constructs. Key facets of multiple theories and perspectives on identity are integrated into a unified framework capable of multi- level identity analysis. A rigorous statistical approach that combines a pre-test power analysis with information-theoretic techniques of multi-model comparison and inference reveal a highly reliable and valid scale. The Ecological Identity Scale (EIS scale) is shown to better explain pro-ecological behavior than measures of many of the other more established constructs in this area (e.g. worldviews, attitudes, norms). Once developed, the new EIS scale is integrated with several other social and psychological measures into an exploratory path model of pro-ecological behavior. Three top performing models with varying levels of complexity are identified and EI appears in each of them, further supporting the validity of the construct. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I Introduction .................................................................................................. 1 Integration of Identity Theories .................................................................................. 3 Integration of Research Methods ................................................................................ 5 Integration of Social Psychological Constructs .......................................................... 6 Integration of Statistical Methods to Promote Study Comparability .......................... 9 Summary ................................................................................................................... 10 Methods..................................................................................................................... 11 Outline of Dissertation .............................................................................................. 13 CHAPTER II Literature Review ...................................................................................... 15 Social Psychology and Ecological Behavior: ................................................................... 15 Introduction and Overview ....................................................................................... 15 Conceptual Boundaries: ............................................................................................ 17 Identity ...................................................................................................................... 17 Integrated Hierarchical (multi-level) Models ........................................................... 50 CHAPTER III Theory ....................................................................................................... 60 Conceptual and Theoretical Foundations for Ecological Identity .................................... 60 Overview ................................................................................................................... 60 Background ............................................................................................................... 60 The Proposed Framework of Ecological Identity: .................................................... 72 Expectations and Hypotheses ................................................................................... 82 Exploratory Model of Ecological Behavior .............................................................. 91 CHAPTER IV Research Design and Results.................................................................... 93 Overview ........................................................................................................................... 93 Stage (1): Focus Group Methods and Results................................................................... 94 Rationale for Mixed Methods Approach .................................................................. 94 Rationale for Focus Groups ...................................................................................... 95 Focus Groups: Overview .......................................................................................... 97 Stage I, Focus Group Research Design..................................................................... 99 Recruitment Procedures, Phase (A) ........................................................................ 100 Focus Group Descriptions, Phase (A) ..................................................................... 109 Recruitment Procedures, Phase (B) ........................................................................ 112 Stage I Focus Group Results ................................................................................... 115 Stage (2): Web-based Student Survey, Design and Results ........................................... 131 Perspective on Statistical Modeling and Web-based Surveys ................................ 131 Sampling and Distribution (Phase A and Phase B) ................................................ 136 Phase (A) ................................................................................................................. 137 Phase B.................................................................................................................... 144 Design ..................................................................................................................... 144 Stage (3) Exploratory Models of Ecological Behavior .................................................. 162 CHAPTER V .................................................................................................................. 172 Summary, Conclusions, and Implications ...................................................................... 172 Summary: An Integrative Approach ......................................................................
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