An Examination of the Values That Motivate Socially Conscious and Frugal Consumer Behaviours Miriam Pepper1, Tim Jackson1 and David Uzzell2

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

An Examination of the Values That Motivate Socially Conscious and Frugal Consumer Behaviours Miriam Pepper1, Tim Jackson1 and David Uzzell2 International Journal of Consumer Studies ISSN 1470-6423 An examination of the values that motivate socially conscious and frugal consumer behaviours Miriam Pepper1, Tim Jackson1 and David Uzzell2 1Centre for Environmental Strategy, University of Surrey, UK 2Department of Psychology, University of Surrey, UK Keywords Abstract Consumer behaviour, frugality, sustainable consumption, values. This article extends social psychological research on the motivations for sustainable consumption from the predominant domain of ecologically conscious consumer behaviour Correspondence: Tim Jackson, Centre for to socially conscious and frugal consumer behaviours. A UK-based survey study examines Environmental Strategy, University of Surrey, relationships between socially conscious and frugal consumer behaviours and Schwartz’s Guildford, Surrey GU2 7XH, UK. value types, personal and socio-political materialism, and demographics among the general E-mail: [email protected] public. Socially conscious consumer behaviour, like its ecological counterpart, appears to be an expression of pro-social values. In contrast, frugal consumer behaviour relates doi: 10.1111/j.1470-6431.2009.00753.x primarily to low personal materialism and income constraints. As such, it does not yet represent a fully developed moral challenge to consumerism. Introduction behaviour (Roberts, 1993). This is consumer behaviour under- taken with the intention of having a positive (or less negative) ‘Sustainable consumption’ as a discourse, a field of enquiry and a effect on other people, and relates to issues such as labour rights course of action, has arisen within a context of growing awareness and the impacts of businesses on the communities in which they of the ecological limitations on human activity. Sustainable con- operate (e.g. Cowe and Williams, 2000). sumption is a broad and contested concept that concerns the inter- Key to sustainable consumption debates is the extent to which action of social and ecological issues such as environmental sustainability requires consuming less or merely consuming ‘dif- protection, human needs, quality of life, and intra-generational ferently’ (Jackson and Michaelis, 2003, p. 15). Aside from the and inter-generational equity (see Jackson and Michaelis, 2003, ecological pressures and growing social inequalities that charac- p. 14 for a range of definitions). Its development marks an expan- terize global consumption, some critics maintain that consumerism sion of the sustainability agenda from production issues like eco- fails to improve human well-being, even for its apparent beneficia- logical efficiency into the realm of consumption and the consumer. ries (e.g. Kasser, 2002). There is evidence that substantial numbers Social scientific research into sustainable consumption has of people in affluent societies are questioning continued consump- become a burgeoning field across many perspectives, including in tion growth, and are choosing to make changes in their lifestyles economics, anthropology, psychology, sociology, human geogra- that entail earning less money (e.g. Schor, 1998; Hamilton, 2003). phy and marketing (for overviews, see e.g. Princen et al., 2002; This opens the way for sustainable consumption research that Reisch and Røpke, 2004; Jackson, 2006b). Considering psycho- examines frugal consumer behaviour, regardless of whether such logical approaches, a large body of research has examined the behaviour is undertaken with pro-social or pro-environmental factors that influence ecologically conscious consumer behaviour, intent. Frugal consumer behaviour (frugality) is defined as the that is, consumer behaviour undertaken with the intention of limiting of expenditures on consumer goods and services, and is having a positive (or less negative) effect on the environment characterized by both restraint in acquiring possessions and (Roberts, 1993). Among these influences, much is now known resourcefulness in using them (Lastovicka et al., 1999). Research about factors and processes considered to be internal to the indi- into more frugal lifestyles is an emerging field, particularly in the vidual (albeit socially acquired and/or influenced), such as world- case of voluntary simplicity (e.g. McDonald et al., 2006). views, values, personal norms, beliefs and attitudes, as well as The aim of this article is to extend psychological research on external forces, for example, social norms, financial incentives the internal motivations for socially conscious and frugal con- and infrastructural constraints (for an overview, see e.g. Jackson, sumer behaviours. These domains are under-researched by com- 2005). Another much smaller, although rapidly growing, body of parison with the domain of ecologically conscious consumer research (e.g. Harrison et al., 2005) concerns a distinct but related behaviour. Yet, such behaviours are key to understanding sustain- form of consumption known as socially conscious consumer able consumption. The article starts with an overview of values as 126 International Journal of Consumer Studies 33 (2009) 126–136 © The Authors Journal compilation © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd M. Pepper et al. Values and sustainable consumer behaviours motivators of consumer behaviour, and refers specifically to Table 1 Motivational value types Schwartz’s value theory and to the particular values of personal Value type Description Example values and socio-political materialism. Next, hypotheses relating socially conscious consumer behaviour and frugal consumer behaviour Power Social status and prestige, control Social power to the values are developed and tested by means of a quantita- or dominance over people and Authority tive UK-based survey of the general public. Finally, the implica- resources tions, limitations and potential extensions of the research are Achievement Personal success through Successful discussed. demonstrating competence Capable according to social standards Hedonism Pleasure and sensuous gratification Pleasure Value theory and consumer behaviour for oneself Enjoying life Stimulation Excitement, novelty and challenge Daring Values provide ‘guides for living the best way possible’ for in life Exciting life individuals, social groups and cultures (Rohan, 2000, p. 263). Self-direction Independent thought and action – Creativity More specifically, values are defined as enduring beliefs that choosing, creating, exploring Freedom pertain to desirable end states or behaviours, transcend specific Universalism Understanding, appreciation, Social justice situations, guide selection or evaluation of behaviour and events, tolerance and protection for the Protecting the and are ordered by importance (Schwartz and Bilsky, 1987, welfare of all people and for environment p. 551). Individuals are understood to acquire values through nature socialization and learning experiences (e.g. Rokeach, 1973, Benevolence Preservation and enhancement of Helpful pp. 23–24), and the particular relevance of values to ecologically the welfare of people with Forgiving conscious consumer behaviour is said to be because of the nature whom one is in frequent of environmental issues as ‘social dilemmas’, where short-term personal contact narrow individual interests conflict with the longer term social Tradition Respect, commitment and Humble interest (e.g. Osbaldiston and Sheldon, 2002). Accordingly, acceptance of the customs and Devout researchers have consistently demonstrated the importance of ideas that traditional culture or values that transcend selfishness and promote the welfare of religion provide others (including nature) for this behavioural domain (e.g. Karp, Conformity Restraint of actions, inclinations Politeness 1996; Stern et al., 1999; Milfont et al., 2006). While most of and impulses likely to upset or Obedient these studies are correlational, the presumption that causality harm others and violate social proceeds predominantly from values through to behaviour is expectations or norms given support by Thøgerson and Ölander’s (2002) longitudinal Security Safety, harmony and stability of National security society, of relationships and of Social order study. self Values are fairly distal influences on consumer behaviour; their impact is mediated and moderated by factors such as worldviews, Adapted from Schwartz (1994, p. 22). personal norms, the self-concept, attitudes, and situational or con- textual influences (see Rohan, 2000 for an overview). As such, the predictive power of values for ecologically conscious consumer In terms of the content of human values, the theory specifies 10 behaviour is often low, ranging between just a few percent (e.g. motivational value types (see Table 1), which are operationalized Thøgerson and Grunert-Beckmann, 1997) up to approximately by a battery of 56 or 57 individual values contained in the 20% (e.g. Karp, 1996). This so-called ‘value-action gap’ (Verplan- Schwartz Value Survey (SVS). The value structure (i.e. the set of ken and Holland, 2002) does not, however, invalidate the use of relationships between values) is theoretically grounded in the value theory for understanding behavioural motivations. Ignoring compatibility of and conflicts between values. Multidimensional mediating and moderating constructs is justified when examining scaling of respondents’ ratings of the importance of the values more general patterns of behaviour, and is helpful for a first yields a circular structure known as a circumplex (see Fig. 1). approximation and for reasons of parsimony (Thøgerson and Value types whose pursuit is
Recommended publications
  • Environmental Psychology Enhancing Our World
    1 Environmental Psychology Enhancing our world 2 We Do Not Live in a Vacuum In every moment of our lives, we are in one place or another, interacting with and within that place. Environmental psychology is the science and practice for understanding and optimizing these crucial transactions. 3 Contents Introduction ......................................... 4 Making a Difference ............................. 6 Organizations ...................................... 8 Programs ............................................. 9 Key Environmental Psychologists ....... 11 References ......................................... 15 4 Introduction individuals’ transactions with their buildings serve the needs of their environments, and to use this users?” Answers to questions like knowledge to influence policies that these have already had a significant Environmental psychology is the help promote sustainable behavior impact on environmental behavior, study of how we, as individuals and and create more liveable and green and are described later. as part of groups, interact with our built environments. physical settings—how we A BIT OF HISTORY experience and change the The field is psychological in that it environment, and how our behavior focuses on the thoughts, attitudes, Although EP is a relatively new and experiences are changed by the and behaviors of individuals and small branch of science—only recognized environment. In environmental groups in relation to their as a field since the late 1960s—some psychology, “environment” includes environment.
    [Show full text]
  • A Menu for Change
    A Menu for Change Using behavioural science to promote sustainable diets around the world The Behavioural Insights Team / A Menu for Change 2 The Behavioural Insights Team / A Menu for Change Toby Park, Head of Energy & Sustainability, The Behavioural Insights Team [email protected] Acknowledgements This report has benefitted from several individuals’ contributions. With particular thanks for substantive research support and contributions to early content and the structure of the report, to Emma Garnett (University of Cambridge) and Brittney Titus (University of Oxford), both supporting us while at placement at BIT. With thanks also to Elisabeth Costa (BIT), Dr Filippo Bianchi (BIT), Dr Jessica Barker (BIT), and Dr Christian Reynolds (University of Sheffield) for their valuable feedback and comments. This is a long report. We hope you’ll read it cover-to-cover, but if not, it’s written to allow you to dip into individual sections. Look out for the short orange descriptions at the beginning of each chapter to keep track of where you are. Sections 1.1-1.2 introduce the problem, and make the rationale for shifting global diets. This will be familiar ground for environmental scientists. Section 1.3 looks at the current state, and emerging trends, in diets around the world, and Section 1.4 highlights the many historical occasions when diets have radically changed through technological innovation or deliberate intervention from government and industry. Section 1.5 acknowledges the sensitivities of this topic, and offers some reflections on how we might navigate public and political consent. We don’t have all the answers here but give a series of recommendations for building public support and developing effective policy.
    [Show full text]
  • Conservation Psychology -- Fall 2015 V.1 Lewis & Clark Graduate School of Education and Counseling
    Syllabus: Conservation Psychology -- Fall 2015 v.1 Lewis & Clark Graduate School of Education and Counseling Course Number: CPSY-590-03 / CECP-866-03 Term: Fall 2015 Department: Counseling Psychology / Center for Community Engagement Faculty Name: Thomas Joseph Doherty, Psy.D. Faculty Contact Info Cell/Text: 503-866-1323 / [email protected] Course Calendar & Meeting Times: Days: Class Meetings • Sat 11/7/15 from 9:00 AM - 5:00PM • Sun 11/8/15 from 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM Location: York Graduate Center, Room 115 / 107 Catalog Description: Conservation psychology is an interdisciplinary field that explores the psychological basis of human’s care for nature and motivation toward conservation and sustainability. The course provides a background on the development of conservation psychology and survey of topics including psychological benefits of contact with nature, nature and lifespan development, environmental identity and behavior, social justice, influencing conservation action, hope and resilience, and strategic messaging and communications. The instructor will provide examples from the US and abroad. Conservation roles for mental health counselors, environmental educators and sustainability professionals will be explored. The course includes online, in-person and field-based activities. Background: Conservation psychology is an interdisciplinary field that applies psychological knowledge and research to promote people’s care for nature and their motivation toward environmental conservation and sustainability. The field coalesced in the
    [Show full text]
  • ANGELICA CAREY Focus: Urban Sustainability a Native from Lynn
    Meet Our Students! PATRICK KELLEY JEREMY PRICE Focus: Environmental Quality Focus: Renewable Energy and Efficient Design I completed my undergraduate degree at Hampshire College with a concentration in environmental After completing his undergraduate studies at UMass,(B.S. Sustainable Community Development), and wildlife science. My thesis explored the usage of bird feathers as bioindicators of environmental Jeremy sought to strengthen his ability to effectively facilitate change, and enrolled in the Department ANGELICA CAREY contamination using mass spectrometry in the Cape Cod area. I love the environment and everything of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning’s (LARP) Master of Regional Planning Program. Jeremy Focus: Urban Sustainability that comes with it- wildlife, sunshine, hiking, swimming, and most of all, the beautiful, encouraging is the Peer Undergraduate Advisor/Mentor within LARP and also holds a Graduate Certificate in Climate A native from Lynn, Massachusetts, I attended UMass Amherst for my undergraduate degree in feeling of curiosity that it bestows. I like to think of the environment as the canvas to humankind’s Change and Green infrastructure Planning. Anthropology and Civic Environmentalism, a self-designed major from the BDIC program. After epic masterpiece. To put it simply, there’s really no way to paint without it, and that’s sort of where Looking to further explore the intersection between the environment, planning, and energy, he was graduating in 2012, I was accepted to teach K-5 General Music and 6-8 Choir with Teach for America, sustainability and environmental quality interests me. admitted to the MS3 program where he will concentrate in Renewable Energy and Efficient Design; in the small town of Palestine, Arkansas.
    [Show full text]
  • Psychosocial Predispositions Towards Sustainability and Their Relationship with Environmental Identity
    sustainability Article Psychosocial Predispositions Towards Sustainability and Their Relationship with Environmental Identity Ricardo Ernesto Pérez Ibarra 1 ,César Octavio Tapia-Fonllem 1,*, Blanca Silvia Fraijo-Sing 1, Natalia Nieblas Soto 1 and Lucia Poggio 2 1 Department of Psychology and Communication Sciences, University of Sonora, Hermosillo 83000, Mexico; [email protected] (R.E.P.I.); [email protected] (B.S.F.-S.); [email protected] (N.N.S.) 2 Department of Social Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Complutense University of Madrid, 28223 Madrid, Spain; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected] Received: 3 August 2020; Accepted: 31 August 2020; Published: 3 September 2020 Abstract: Environmental psychology is a particular area or subfield of psychology, especially involved in the delimitation of the causes and solutions of environmental problems. This area deals with the study of the interactions between human behavior and the socio-physical components of the environment. The emphasis on the interrelationship of environment and behavior is important; not only physical settings affect people’s behavior, individuals actively influence the environment. Thus, several studies have proposed the existence of a series of predispositions which allow the appreciation of diversity and the interdependence of person–environment relationships, making it possible to adopt lifestyles that can guarantee the sustainability of socio-ecological systems for present and future generations. Therefore, in order to work towards the goals of sustainability, it is necessary to know which are the inclinations or dispositions that people present when caring for the environment. The objective of this research was to identify the association between the variables of psychosocial predispositions towards sustainability with environmental identity in a sample of higher education students from southern Sonora.
    [Show full text]
  • Journal of Consumer Behaviour Special Issue Environmental
    Journal of Consumer Behaviour Special Issue Environmental Values and Sustainable Consumption Submissions Open September 1, 2022 and due by October 31, 2022 Summary When engaging in sustainable consumption practices (SCP) consumers usually exert an effort to minimise or avoid the adverse effects of consumption on environmental wellbeing. It requires consumers to prioritise environmental wellbeing over personal comfort and voluntarily engage in environmentally friendly consumer practices (Connolly & Prothero, 2008). Environmentally conscious consumers usually buy products with favourable environmental effects (e.g., products that claim zero CO2 emissions, ethically and sustainably sourced or higher level of biodegradability) (Nguyen & Johnson, 2020). Among other factors such as health concerns, environmental values are also found to be positively related with consumers’ willingness to purchase these products (Liu, Yan, & Zhou, 2017; Thøgersen, Haugaard, & Olesen, 2010; Van der Werff, Steg, & Keizer, 2014). In contrast, some research finds no direct association between environmental values and SCPs (Röös & Tjärnemo, 2011; Shao, Taisch, & Ortega-Mier, 2016) and perceptual differences in how individuals relate to nature cannot also be ignored (Kunchamboo, Lee, & Brace-Govan, 2017; Nisbet, Zelenski, & Murphy, 2009) Classified into three distinctive elements (egoistic-self concerned, altruistic-others concerned, and biospheric-nature concerned) (Schultz, 2001), environmental values are defined as affective environmental concerns (Schultz et al., 2005). They are beliefs about the significance of wellbeing of the natural environment and how the natural environment is regarded by humans (Reser & Bentrupperbäumer, 2005). Drawing from Schwartz’s norm-activation model of altruism (1981), Stern, Dietz and Kalof (1993)) also propose three types of environmental values. They are altruistic, egoistic, and biospheric values that are correlated and influence SCP (González-Rodríguez, Díaz-Fernández, & Font, 2020).
    [Show full text]
  • Integrated Well-Being: Positive Psychology and the Natural World
    University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Master of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) Master of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) Capstone Projects Capstones 2012 Integrated Well-being: Positive Psychology and the Natural World Aislinn Pluta [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/mapp_capstone Part of the Community Psychology Commons, Other Psychology Commons, Personality and Social Contexts Commons, Place and Environment Commons, Social Psychology Commons, and the Sustainability Commons Pluta, Aislinn, "Integrated Well-being: Positive Psychology and the Natural World" (2012). Master of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) Capstone Projects. 37. https://repository.upenn.edu/mapp_capstone/37 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/mapp_capstone/37 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Integrated Well-being: Positive Psychology and the Natural World Abstract In the web of life, we are all interconnected. This connectivity extends beyond the human domain and towards systems much larger than ourselves—the whole of the Earth’s species. As this paper illustrates, this connectivity with non-human life is innate, and deepening that connection to nature has positive influences on our well-being and optimal functioning, above and beyond the mere utilitarian value that our environment affords. Whether looking at nature through a window or being fully immersed, wild spaces are good for our mental and physical health, our likelihood to engage in ecological behaviors, and our personal and community resiliency and well-being. Initiatives that recognize the importance of wild spaces also build powerful, positive, sustainable communities. When positive psychology notions of well- being are more systems-based and nature-inclusive, we get a deeper and more holistic understanding of our own psychology.
    [Show full text]
  • Environmental Psychology
    18 Environmental Psychology Robert Gifford , Linda Steg , and Joseph P. Reser Environmental psychology is the study of transactions between individuals and their physical settings (Gifford, 2007a ). In these transactions, individuals change their environments, and their behavior and experiences are changed by their environments. It includes theory, research, and practice aimed at making the built environment more humane and improving human relations with the natural environment. Considering the enormous investment society makes in the physical environment (including build- ings, parks, streets, the atmosphere, and water) and the huge cost of misusing nature and natural resources, environmental psychology is a key component of both human and environmental welfare. Environmental psychologists work at three levels of analysis: (a) fundamental psy- chological processes like perception of the environment, spatial cognition, and per- sonality as they fi lter and structure human experience and behavior, (b) the management of social space: personal space, territoriality, crowding, and privacy, and the physical setting aspects of complex everyday behaviors, such as working, learning, living in a residence and community, and (c) human interactions with nature and the role of psychology in climate change (e.g., Gifford, 2008a ). The history of environmental psychology has been reviewed elsewhere (see Bechtel & Churchman, 2002 ; Bell, Greene, Fisher, & Baum, 2001 ; and Gifford, 2007a ). But, for perspective, we note that early 20th - century psychologists studied the effect of noise (United States) and heat (England) on work performance, while scholars in Germany and Japan explored concepts and moral philosophy related to environmen- tal psychology. By mid - century, environmental psychology was a clearly established discipline with work on topics such as sensory isolation, personal space, and building design.
    [Show full text]
  • Research in Population-Environment: Review Paper Prepared by Robin
    Research in Population-Environment: Review Paper Prepared by Robin Marsh, with Tania Barham1, for the Population- Environment Initiative, David & Lucile Packard Foundation, December 2002 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Executive Summary 2. Introduction 3. Research Themes 4. Conceptual Framework 5. Future Research Needs 6. New Research in Population-Environment (2000-2002) 1 Dr. Robin Marsh, agricultural economist, is the Academic Coordinator of the Center for Sustainable Resource Development, College of Natural Resources, University of California, Berkeley, and Tania Barham is a doctoral candidate in Agricultural and Resource Economics, UCB, with research interests in health-population-economic development linkages. Executive Summary Population-environment analysis may be considered an academic inter-disciplinary sub- field that is closely linked with population policy analysis (Lutz, Prskawetz and Sanderson, eds., 2002). Nevertheless, this review of university-based population-environment and related programs in the United States shows that population-environment has yet to become a “major” or “concentration” in either undergraduate or graduate programs, nor are degrees offered – anywhere (to our knowledge) in the sub-field of population-environment. The sub-field consists of research faculty and graduate students from several key disciplines that are pursuing theoretical and applied research in population-environment topics. The main disciplines are sociology, anthropology, and public health, often in collaboration with economics, demography,
    [Show full text]
  • Group Dynamics Challenges: Insights from Biosphere 2 Experiments ∗ Mark Nelson A,B,C, , Kathelin Gray A,B,C, John P
    Life Sciences in Space Research 6 (2015) 79–86 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Life Sciences in Space Research www.elsevier.com/locate/lssr Review article Group dynamics challenges: Insights from Biosphere 2 experiments ∗ Mark Nelson a,b,c, , Kathelin Gray a,b,c, John P. Allen a,b,c a Institute of Ecotechnics, London, UK b Institute of Ecotechnics, Santa Fe, NM, United States c Biospheric Design Division, Global Ecotechnics Corporation, Santa Fe, NM, United States a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t Article history: Successfully managing group dynamics of small, physically isolated groups is vital for long duration space Received 14 May 2015 exploration/habitation and for terrestrial CELSS (Controlled Environmental Life Support System) facilities Received in revised form 3 July 2015 with human participants. Biosphere 2 had important differences and shares some key commonalities Accepted 5 July 2015 with both Antarctic and space environments. There were a multitude of stress factors during the first two year closure experiment as well as mitigating factors. A helpful tool used at Biosphere 2 was the Keywords: Group dynamics work of W.R. Bion who identified two competing modalities of behavior in small groups. Task-oriented Biosphere 2 groups are governed by conscious acceptance of goals, reality-thinking in relation to time and resources, Isolated confined extreme environment and intelligent management of challenges. The opposing unconscious mode, the “basic-assumption” (ICE) (“group animal”) group, manifests through Dependency/Kill the Leader, Fight/Flight and Pairing. These W.R. Bion unconscious dynamics undermine and can defeat the task group’s goal.
    [Show full text]
  • Environmental Psychology Inspired by a Planned City
    of People - Environment Studies SUMMER 2018 - #46 ENVIRONMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY INSPIRED BY A PLANNED CITY KOREAN HOUSING MARKET (1970S - 2018): TRANSITION FROM MASS PRODUCED APARTMENTS TO MANAGEMENT Editor: Ricardo García Mira 30 YEARS OF THE MASTER PROGRAMME “ENVIRONMENTAL INTERVENTION AND MANAGEMENT: PERSON AND SOCIETY” HEALTHY ENVIRONMENTS AND STRESS 2 Photo Credits All photographs included in this list are under a Creative Commons license: Attribution-noncommercial 3.0 Unported. Cover: shindaebang(신대방) by summerair*. Page 22: waiting in vain by Erwin Morales*. Page 2: Trinity College Library by Livio Barcella*. Page 23: Inauguración Hospital... by Presidencia de la República Mexicana*. Page 3: Photo by Ricardo García-Mira. Page 24: CDMX Sign by Nan Palmero*. Page 5: Brooklyn Bridge by Bastian_Schmidt*. Page 24: Chapultepec Castle by Nan Palmero*. Page 9: Selva de pedra by Leandro Ciuffo*. Page 25: urban landscape by Jess Gambacurta*. Page 9: Um passeio a pé por Brasília by Mercado Viagens*. Page 26: Panoramic Nile by Tarek*. Page 10: Fotos produzidas pelo Senado by Senado Federal*. Page 26: cairo 064 by Benjamin Chodroff*. Page 10: Um passeio a pé por Brasília by Mercado Viagens*. Page 27: Backstreets of Islamic Cairo by David Evers*. Page 11: Fotos produzidas pelo Senado by Senado Federal*. Pages 28-30: Photos by Ricardo García-Mira. Page 12: brasilia panorama, brazil 2006 by seier+seier*. Page 32: Photo by Cristina García Fontán. Page 14: Deserted namdaemun market by Francisco Anzola*. Page 33: Photos by Ricardo García-Mira. Page 14: Cheonggyecheon stream by Francisco Anzola*. Pages 34-35: Photos by Giuseppe Carrus. Page 15: Seoul Suburbs by Francisco Anzola*.
    [Show full text]
  • The Psychology of Environmental Attitudes: Conceptual and Empirical Insights from New Zealand
    ORIGINAL ARTICLES The Psychology of Environmental Attitudes: Conceptual and Empirical Insights from New Zealand Taciano L. Milfont the findings are internationally relevant. It is worth noting that our research group has also focused on other environmentally-focused Centre for Applied Cross-Cultural Research and Victoria University work with relevance to New Zealand not reviewed here. Recent work of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand. includes a 1-year longitudinal study on aspects of climate change beliefs in a representative sample of New Zealanders (Milfont, Introduction 2012b), a study investigating spatial optimism (‘‘things are better in New Zealand than elsewhere’’) and temporal pessimism (‘‘things are uman behavior has been producing unprecedented envi- better now than they will be in the future’’) (Milfont et al., 2011), a ronmental transformations, and the cumulative impact of study on urban edible gardening (growing fruit, vegetables, and humanity on the planet is far greater than that of any other herbs on one’s residential property) as a means to foster community species (Gardner & Stern, 2002; Millennium Ecosystem H resilience (Lake et al., 2012), and a study investigating support for Assessment, 2005). In order to address environmental problems, it is climate change action and political party support in New Zealand necessary to have a better understanding of the extent to which (Milfont et al., 2012). individuals hold particular attitudes that might lead them to form In the first part of the present article I will provide a brief overview behavioral intentions to engage in proenvironmental behaviors. The of our research program on environmental attitudes. I will then report study of attitudes toward the environment is indeed a key topic in the unpublished meta-analytical findings of the social-structural and field of environmental psychology, with more than half of all pub- social-psychological bases of environmental attitudes based on New lications in the field addressing this topic (Kaiser et al., 1999; Milfont, Zealand and overseas data.
    [Show full text]