Promoting Environmentalism

Journal of Social Issues, Vol. 56, No. 3, 2000, pp. 365–371

Lynnette C. Zelezny* California State University, Fresno

P. Wesley Schultz California State University, San Marcos

This issue of the Journal of Social Issues focuses on the psychology, sociology, and public policy of global environmental issues. The goals of the issue are (1) to describe the current state of the environment and environmentalism, (2) to present new theories and research on environmental attitudes and behaviors, and (3) to explore obstacles and ethical considerations in promoting proenvironmental action. The following brief introduction places this issue within a context of preceding JSI issues, provides a framework for the articles, and highlights several recurring themes that occur throughout the issue.

As we begin the 21st century, humanity faces a number of pressing social issues. Looking back at recent issues of JSI reveals many of the issues on which psychologists have worked: sexual harassment, national and international group conflict, tobacco policy, health issues, youth violence, and prejudice and racism, to name just a few. Of all the social issues that face us in this millennium, the most daunting are environmental problems. In the last 100 years, humans have abused the planet on an unprecedented scale. The air, water, and land of the planet are becoming overused and polluted to the point where a large-scale environmental crisis is a real possibility. As Oskamp stated in a 1995 JSI article: “In this epoch of history, there is one danger that stands out as the most urgent and serious threat to the future of humanity—the threat of ecological disaster” (Oskamp, 1995, p. 217). Indeed, it is difficult (if not impossible) to find any part of the natural environment on this planet that has not been affected by human activity. If life on this planet is to

*Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Lynnette Zelezny, Department of Psychology, California State University, 5310 North Campus Dr., M/S PH 11, Fresno, CA 94740-8019 [e-mail: [email protected]]. 365

continue as we know it, humans must learn to balance growth and technological development with the resources and capacity of the planet. That environmental problems are “social issues” is indisputable: They are caused by human behavior. What has been disputed is the role that psychology can play in addressing environmental issues. Environmental problems are large scale —they are created by the aggregate of human behavior—and solving these problems will require large-scale changes in behavior. Because of the level of change required to address environmental problems, what could psychology have to say about environmental problems? Indeed, this mismatch between psychology’s level of analysis and the macro-level changes required to solve environmental problems has led some scholars to argue that psychology is “mute” about environmental problems (Kidner, 1994). Psychology is not mute on this issue, however. Indeed, the changes that are required to solve our environmental crisis involve changes in individual behavior. Any policy, program, or intervention must produce change among individuals. An understanding of individual-level attitudes, motives, beliefs, intentions, or values will help to inform the development of such programs and also to explain why a particular program is, or is not, producing the desired changes. The interdisciplin- ary nature of environmental problems is clearly reflected in previous JSI issues that have focused on environment-related issues.

Preceding JSI Issues Devoted to Environmental Issues

Several previous issues of the Journal have contained articles addressing environmental problems. The first extended discussion of environmental problems was in a 1966 issue edited by Kates and Wohlwill titled “Man’s Response to the Physical Environment.” In the lead article (which was actually the 1966 SPSSI Presidential Address), Jerome Frank describes the direct effects of “man’s reckless conquest of the environment” on human life and health. In this article, Frank argues that galloping technology has created or aggravated problems of unemployment, urbanization, racial and international tensions, war, overpopulation, and many others that have been the constant concern of members of SPSSI....That this state of affairs is a pressing social issue seems self-evident, so it is appropriate to ask why it has aroused so little interest among social psychologists. The basic trouble may be that, in contrast to our other concerns such as war, poverty, or racial discrimination, this one has no focus and no villians. Ironically, the ills caused by technology are by-products of benevolent efforts to promote the general welfare. It is hard to get indignant over this, and indignation seems to be the initial goad to becoming concerned about a social issue. (pp. 1, 10) Despite Frank’s all-too-current lamentation, the articles in the 1966 issue did not focus on environmental problems. Almost without exception, the articles in the 1966 issue examined the ways in which the physical environment (both built and natural) affects human behavior. A similar focus can be found in a JSI issue edited by Cvetkovich and Earle (1992). Promoting Environmentalism 367

Although a few articles on environmental issues can be found earlier (i.e., Dunlap & Van Liere, 1977; Evans & Jacobs, 1981; Heberlein, 1972, 1977), the first issue of this journal devoted exclusively to environmental problems was Seligman and Becker’s (1981) volume on “Energy Conservation.” This issue was followed eight years later by an issue titled “Managing the Environment” by Seligman and Syme. Unlike preceding issues, these two volumes focused on the ways in which human behavior was affecting the natural environment and on strategies for changing human behavior. This theme continued through the 1990s in two issues of JSI devoted to environmental issues. The first was Clayton and Opotow’s 1994 issue on “Green Justice: Conceptions of Fairness and the Natural World.” Articles in the this issue were unified in their application of “justice” to understand how people related to the natural environment and how to motivate people to act in a more proenvironmental manner. More recent was McKenzie-Mohr and Oskamp’s 1995 issue on “Psychology and the Promotion of a Sustainable Future.” This issue provided several cross-cutting frameworks for conceptualizing environmental problems and understanding the psychological forces that lead people to act in nonenvironmental ways. The issue also contained articles on applying psychological principles and theories to promote proenvironmental behavior.

The Articles in This Issue

This issue brings together the latest ideas, theories, innovations, and cutting-edge research from a field of recognized experts in psychology, sociology, and public policy to promote environmentalism. The multidisciplinary approach in this issue is unique; however, it represents an approach that we believe will be required to achieve significant environmental progress, that is, collective efforts across disciplines to effectively foster sustainable living using a broad knowledge base, the most creative ideas, and the most promising strategies. “Promoting Environmentalism” advances the ideas presented in the previous JSI issues that tackled environmental concerns. Our focus is on promoting environmentalism and on psychological factors that lead people to act in proenvironmental ways. We use the term environmentalism broadly here to refer to the processes associated with actions intended to lessen the impact of human behavior on the natural environment. Within the broad framework of environmentalism, we include a variety of psychological constructs, including behavior, intentions, attitudes, beliefs, motives, and values. In addition, we include actions intended to lessen the impact of others on the natural environment, such as activism, public policy, and environmental justice. The issue contains 12 articles written by scholars from a variety of disciplines yet united in their focus on understanding and promoting environmentalism. We have organized these articles into six sections. 368 Zelezny and Schultz

The first section is titled “Psychology of Promoting Environmentalism.” Stu- art Oskamp’s article, “Psychological Contributions to Achieving an Ecologically Sustainable Future for Humanity,” outlines and discusses the harmful impact human behavior has on the natural environment, including population growth, overconsumption, and underconservation. Oskamp also discusses obstacles to change, and offers some suggestions for overcoming these obstacles. The second section is titled “New Environmental Theories.” Two articles in this section attempt to piece together a broad, theoretical framework for integrating research findings on environmentalism. In the first article,”Empathizing With Nature: The Effects of Perspective Taking on Concern for Environmental Issues” Wesley Schultz argues that attitudes of environmental concern are rooted in a person’s concept of self and the degree to which an individual perceives him- or herself to be an integral part of the natural environment. Two empirical studies are presented, suggesting that concern for the environment is related to empathy. In the second article in this section,”Toward a Coherent Theory of Environmentally Significant Behavior,” Paul Stern provides a framework for understanding behavior that has significance for the environment. The article focuses on different types of environmentally significant behavior and discusses some of the theoretical approaches used by researchers to understand these actions. Stern distinguishes between the goals of environmentalism as a movement and environmentally rele- vant individual behavior. The author uses this distinction to articulate a broad framework for understanding proenvironmental behavior. In the third section, “New Trends in Measuring Environmental Attitudes,” Riley Dunlap, Kent Van Liere, Angela Mertig, and Robert Jones provide a revision to the widely used New Environmental Paradigm (NEP) scale that more compre- hensively measures an ecological worldview. Their 15-item New Ecological Para- digm scale includes updated terminology and has higher internal reliability than the former NEP environmental attitudes scale. Their article reviews the range of existing measures of environmental concern and provides several suggestions for developing improved measures. The fourth section, titled “New Ways of Thinking About Environmentalism,” includes three articles. In the first, “Elaborating on Gender Differences in Environ- mentalism,” Lynnette Zelezny highlights new evidence of gender differences in environmental attitudes and behaviors across age and countries. Females consis- tently report more concern for environmental issues and also more frequent proenvironmental behaviors, including political activism. Explanations for these differences are empirically examined using socialization theory. The second article, by Susan Clayton, examines “Models of Justice in the Environmental Debate.” Clayton summarizes the models of justice used in public discourse about environmental issues. Data from two studies are presented indicating that responsibility to other species and to future generations, along with the rights of the environment, emerge as the two dominant considerations in addressing environmental conflicts. Promoting Environmentalism 369

Clayton advances the idea that environmental justice promotes environmental conflict resolution. The third article, by Susan Opotow and Leah Weiss, examines “Denial and the Process of Moral Exclusion in Environmental Conflict.” Opotow and Weiss present the theory of moral exclusion and offer a conceptual analysis of the dynamics of denial and moral exclusion on environmentalism. They discuss the impact of this dynamic on environmental conflict resolution. The authors distin- guish between three types of denial in environmental conflicts and the implications of denial for theory and practice. The issue’s fifth section, “New Ways to Promote Proenvironmental Behav- ior,” offers four articles. The first, by Stephen Kaplan, examines “Human Nature and Environmentally Responsible Behavior.” Kaplan suggests that the altruism- centered approach to environmentalism has been limiting; therefore, he proposes an alternative approach using insights from cognitive science and human evolu- tion. Kaplan argues that behavior is determined by multiple motives; that is, the same action can be produced in two people using different motives. He suggests a Reasonable Person Model that, rather than imposing “good” motives in an attempt to produce “good” behavior, identifies reasons that individuals give for proenvironmental behavior. Conceptually, Kaplan’s Reasonable Person Model posits that it may be easier to promote environmentally responsible behavior if we recog- nize human nature and circumstances that foster motivation. Kaplan’s alternative approach focuses on reducing guilt and feelings of helplessness and supporting durable motivation and innovative problem solving in promoting environmentally responsible behavior. The second article, by Raymond De Young, deals with “Expanding and Evaluating Motives for Environmentally Responsible Behavior.” In this article, De Young distinguishes between proenvironmental behavior motivated by incentives and that motivated by altruism. De Young suggests the need to broaden the range of motives in promoting environmentalism. Further, he examines a new motivational strategy for promoting responsible proenvironmental behavior using intrinsic satisfaction, which has impressive potential. He argues that promoting proenvironmental behavior depends on identifying motives that are strong, durable, generalizable, and culturally compatible with the individual. In the third article, “The Application of Persuasion Theory to the Development of Effec- tive Proenvironmental Public Service Announcements,” Renee Bator and Robert Cialdini discuss some of the important considerations in developing effective public service announcements. Bator and Cialdini provide specific guidelines, drawn from research on social influence and the Elaboration Likelihood Model, for developing effective public service announcements. The guidelines include measures of commitment and consistency, habits, and behavioral intentions. They discuss the importance of defining the optimal target audience for public service announcements, testing reactions using pilot messages, and ways to evaluate message effectiveness. The fourth article, by Doug McKenzie-Mohr, is titled “Promoting Sustainable Behavior: An Introduction to Community-Based Social 370 Zelezny and Schultz

Marketing.” In this article, McKenzie-Mohr laments the continued use of informa- tion-intensive campaigns to foster behavior change. He provides a four-step model for effective community-based social marketing. Case studies of backyard com- posting and water efficiency programs are presented to illustrate the process of social marketing. The sixth and final section of the issue is titled “Environmentalism and Public Policy.” In the issue’s concluding article, “Environmental Justice: Grassroots Activism and Its Impact on Public Policy Decision Making,” Robert Bullard and Glenn Johnson characterize the issue of environmental justice and document instances of policies and actions that are environmentally unjust. Bullard and John- son document that people of color and low income unjustly face greater environmental and health risks than society at large. They discuss the recent momentum in grassroots activism, which has been strongly influenced by opposition to environmental racism and injustice, and the impact of environmental activism on community empowerment and policy.

Common Themes in This Issue

Despite the diversity among the contributing authors, the issue has several recurring themes. The first is a focus on integrating the research findings. The articles by Stern; Dunlap, Van Liere, Mertig, and Jones; Schultz; and Zelezny, Chua, and Aldrich synthesize past research to advance new conceptual and theoretical frameworks that are useful in promoting environmentalism. The second is a focus on power, explicit and implicit, and its relationship to environmental action and environmental justice. Broadly speaking, the articles by Oskamp; Zelezny, Chua, and Aldrich; Clayton; Opotow; and Bullard and Johnson examine disparate power, empowerment, and collective proenvironmental action. The third focus is on what prompts action. Ostensibly, the articles by Schultz; DeYoung; and Kaplan examine motives. Less ostensibly, the articles by Schultz; Zelezny, Chua, and Aldrich; and Clayton examine environmental values as guiding principles in environmental decision making and action. In addition, Clayton; Opotow and Weiss; and Bullard and Johnson examine justice as an impetus for environmental action. Finally, in the spirit of Kurt Lewin’ s action research, the fourth theme in this issue is applicabil- ity. Theory-driven applied research that is both scholarly and practical is exempli- fied in the articles by Oskamp; Bator and Cialdini; McKenzie-Mohr; and Bullard and Johnson. Effective and pragmatic strategies to promote environmentalism are clearly detailed. Hence, the focus is real-life application. As we move into the 21st century, the impact of human behavior on the natural environment is becoming readily apparent. Resources are becoming less abundant, space is becoming more limited, and pollution of air, water, and land are beginning to have a direct impact on the inhabitants of the planet. The articles presented in this issue provide a variety of approaches for understanding, predicting, and Promoting Environmentalism 371

changing environmentally significant behavior, all with the goal of promoting environmentalism.

References

Clayton, S., & Opotow, S. (Eds.) (1994). Green justice: Conceptions of fairness and the natural world. Journal of Social Issues, 50(3). Cvetkovich, G., & Earle, T. (Eds.) (1992). Public responses to environmental hazards. Journal of Social Issues, 48(4). Dunlap, R., & Van Liere, K. D. (1977). Land ethic and the golden rule: Comment on “The Land Ethic Realized” by Thomas A. Heberlein. Journal of Social Issues, 33(3), 200–206. Evans, G. W., & Jacobs, S. V. (1981). Air pollution and human behavior. Journal of Social Issues, 37(1), 95–125. Frank, J. D. (1966). Galloping technology, a new social disease [SPSSI Presidential Address]. Journal of Social Issues, 22(4), 1–14. Heberlein, T. A. (1972). The land ethic realized: Some social psychological explanations for changing environmental attitudes. Journal of Social Issues, 28(4), 79–87. Heberlein, T. A. (1977). Norm activation and environmental action: A rejoinder to R. E. Dunlap and K. D. Van Liere. Journal of Social Issues, 33(3), 207–210. Kidner, D. W. (1994). Why psychology is mute about the environmental crisis. Environmental Ethics, 16, 359–372. McKenzie-Mohr, D., & Oskamp, S. (Eds.) (1995). Psychology and the promotion of a sustainable future. Journal of Social Issues, 51(4). Oskamp, S. (1995). Applying social psychology to avoid ecological disaster. Journal of Social Issues, 51(4), 217–239. Seligman, C., & Becker, L. J. (Eds.) (1981). Energy conservation. Journal of Social Issues, 37(2). Seligman, C., & Syme, G. (Eds.) (1989). Managing the environment. Journal of Social Issues, 45(1).

LYNNETTE ZELEZNY is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at California State University, Fresno, where she teaches courses in environmental psychology, applied social psychology, statistics, and research methodology. Her research interests are related to environmentalism, gender, and minority issues. Recent publications have focused on the effectiveness of environmental education, translational action research in minority mental health, and cross-cultural research on environmental attitudes and behaviors. She is the author of Methods in Action (1999, Wadsworth) and numerous publications on environmentalism.

P. WESLEY SCHULTZ is an Associate Professor of Psychology at California State University, San Marcos, where he teaches courses in psychology and statistics. His research interests are in the psychology of environmental issues and the application of psychological theory to help understand and solve social problems. Recent projects have focused on promoting recycling, cross-cultural research on environmental attitudes, environmental education, stereotypes, and prejudice. He is the coauthor of Applied Social Psychology (1998, Prentice-Hall) and Social Psy- chology: An Applied Perspective (2000, Prentice-Hall) and numerous research publications in the areas of social psychology and environmental issues.