AFFECTIVE AND MORAL ROOTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP: THE ROLE OF OBLIGATION, GRATITUDE AND COMPASSION by EZRA M. MARKOWITZ A DISSERTATION Presented to the Environmental Studies Program and the Graduate School of the University of Oregon in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy September 2012 DISSERTATION APPROVAL PAGE Student: Ezra M. Markowitz Title: Affective and Moral Roots of Environmental Stewardship: The Role of Obligation, Gratitude and Compassion This dissertation has been accepted and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in the Environmental Studies Program by: Sara Hodges Co-Chair Azim Shariff Co-Chair Paul Slovic Member Ronald Mitchell Member Kari Norgaard Outside Member and Kimberly Andrews Espy Vice President for Research & Innovation/Dean of the Graduate School Original approval signatures are on file with the University of Oregon Graduate School. Degree awarded September 2012 ii © 2012 Ezra M. Markowitz iii DISSERTATION ABSTRACT Ezra M. Markowitz Doctor of Philosophy Environmental Studies Program September 2012 Title: Affective and Moral Roots of Environmental Stewardship: The Role of Obligation, Gratitude and Compassion Environmental issues such as climate change and habitat loss pose significant challenges to existing political, legal and financial institutions. As these challenges have become clearer in recent years, interest in understanding the psychological, cultural and moral motivators of environmental stewardship has grown. Recent research within the social sciences—particularly psychology, sociology and communications—has revealed numerous intra- and interpersonal processes and mechanisms that shape whether, how and to what extent individuals and communities engage with the environmental problems they face. In this dissertation, I integrate research from these and other fields to examine the role that affect, identity and morality play in driving individual-level concern about and response to environmental challenges. Across three chapters (which present results from eight empirical studies), I attempt to answer a series of core research questions, including: (1) What is the role of affect in motivating active engagement with environmental issues? (2) What factors shape recognition of problems such as climate change as morally relevant? (3) What can we learn by studying the interaction of affect and morality in the context of environmental conservation? (4) What are the limits of the affective and moral judgment systems in motivating environmental concern and action? iv In Chapter II (‘Is climate change an ethical issue?’), I show that relatively few people identify climate change as a moral issue, that such perceptions are shaped in part by individuals’ beliefs about the causes of the problem, and that perceived moral obligation predicts behavioral intentions. In Chapter III (‘Who cares about the future?’), I further examine the affective roots of environmental moral beliefs and demonstrate that feelings of gratitude towards past generations enhance individuals’ perceptions of responsibility towards future generations. Finally, in Chapter IV (‘Are pandas like people?’), I find limits to the role of affect in motivating beneficent action on behalf of non-human others. Together, these three chapters provide novel and actionable insights into some of the factors that shape individual-level environmental stewardship. This dissertation includes both previously published sole-authored (Chapter II) and unpublished co-authored (Chapter IV) material. v CURRICULUM VITAE NAME OF AUTHOR: Ezra M. Markowitz GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE SCHOOLS ATTENDED: University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York DEGREES AWARDED: Doctor of Philosophy, Environmental Sciences, Studies & Policy, 2012, University of Oregon Master of Science, Psychology, 2008, University of Oregon Bachelor of Arts, Psychology, 2007, Vassar College AREAS OF SPECIAL INTEREST: Conservation and Environmental Psychology Environmental Communications and Policy PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Research Scholar, Gallup Inc., Princeton, NJ 2011-2012 Staff Member, PolicyInteractive, Eugene, OR 2008-2012 Graduate Teaching Assistant, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 2009-2011 GRANTS, AWARDS, AND HONORS: APA Divisions 9 & 34 Outstanding Student Paper Award, SPSSI 9th Biennial Conference, 2012 Best Paper Award, 9th Biennial Conference on Environmental Psychology, 2011 Betty Foster McCue Dissertation Fellowship, University of Oregon, 2011 Gregores Graduate Student Award, Psychology Department, University of Oregon, 2011 vi Marthe E. Smith Memorial Science Scholarship, University of Oregon, 2011 Seed Grant, Institute for Cognitive and Decision Sciences, University of Oregon, 2011 Clarence & Lucille Dunbar Scholarship, University of Oregon, 2010 Graduate Teaching Fellowship, Psychology & Environmental Studies, 2009-2011 Graduate Research Fellowship, National Science Foundation, 2007 to present Phi Beta Kappa, Vassar College, 2007 PUBLICATIONS: Bowerman, T., & Markowitz, E. M. (Forthcoming, 2012). The attitude-action gap: Toward a better understanding of “how much is enough.” Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy. Markowitz, E. M. (Forthcoming, 2012). Is climate change an ethical issue? Exploring young adults’ beliefs about climate and morality. Climatic Change. Markowitz, E. M., & Bowerman, T. (Forthcoming, 2012). How much is too much? Examining the public’s beliefs about consumption. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy. Nisbet, M. C., Markowitz, E. M., & Kotcher, J. E. (Forthcoming, 2012). Winning the climate change conversation: Framing and moral messaging in public campaigns. In L. Ahern & D. S. Bortree (Eds.), Talking green: Exploring contemporary issues in environmental communications. New York: Peter Lang. Swim, J., Markowitz, E. M., & Bloodhart, B. (Forthcoming, 2012). Psychology and global climate change. In S. Clayton (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of environmental psychology. New York: Oxford University Press. Yang, Y., & Markowitz, E. M. (Forthcoming, 2012). Direct and indirect effects of parental attitudes on children’s active school travel: Evidence from a community sample. Transportation Research Record. Markowitz, E. M., Goldberg, L. R., Ashton, M. C., & Lee, K. (2012). Profiling the ‘pro-environmental individual’: A personality perspective. Journal of Personality, 80, 81-111. vii Markowitz, E. M., & Malle, B. F. (2012). Did you just see that? Making sense of environmentally relevant behavior. Ecopsychology, 4, 37-50. Markowitz, E. M., & Shariff, A. F. (2012). Climate change and moral judgment. Nature Climate Change, 2, 243-247. Trumbetta, S. T., Markowitz, E. M., & Gottesman, I. I. (2007). Marriage and genetic variation across the lifespan: Not a steady relationship? Behavior Genetics, 37, 362-375. Markowitz, E. M., Willemsen, G., Trumbetta, S. L., van Beijsterveldt, T. C. E. M., & Boomsma, D. I. (2005). The etiology of mathematical and reading (dis)ability covariation in a sample of Dutch twins. Twin Research and Human Genetics, 8, 585-593. viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS A dissertation about morality, gratitude and compassion would be far from complete without an expression of my deepest gratitude towards all of those who have provided me with support, guidance and aid over the past five years. First and foremost I want to thank my advisors and committee members at the University of Oregon—Sara Hodges, Azim Shariff, Paul Slovic, Ron Mitchell and Kari Norgaard—for their support, flexibility and interest in seeing me succeed. I also want to thank Bertram Malle and Alan Dickman for taking a chance on me five years ago, as well as Gayla WardWell, RaDonna Aymong, Becky Goodrich and Lori Olsen for helping me to navigate the ins and outs of two wonderful graduate programs at the UO. Many thanks to Steve Mital for his continued support and interest in my work, to my fellow graduate students (especially my labmates—Karyn Lewis, Andrew Monroe, Adam Kramer, Brian Clark, Devin Howington, Mike Myers and Sean Laurent) and friends in the Environmental Studies Program and Psychology Department, and to the many wonderful research assistants and students I have had the opportunity to work alongside during my time at UO, including BL, AB, SO, NR, DD, CS, HF, LW, CM, GVZ, BR, JN, KE, SM, and NA. I also want to thank Dale Jamieson for introducing me to the world of climate ethics. There are a number of other people who have played a very special role in my life these past few years whom I would like to mention by name. I would never have ended up doing the research I love so much nor doing it at the UO had it not been for the guidance and support I received from Randy Cornelius and Susan Trumbetta when I was a student at Vassar. Lew Goldberg has been an incredibly loving and supportive mentor and friend since the first day I met him for lunch at ORI, and I feel extremely lucky to ix have been taken under his wing. Rosemary Bernstein, Zack O’Malley Greenburg and Leigh McCallen have always been there for me, no matter how far the physical distance has been. My family has given me the foundation upon which everything is built and I am deeply grateful and proud to be a part of it. Last, and most importantly, I want to thank my wife, Melissa, though I know that there are no words I can write that would fully express just how much she has done for me these past five years. Finally, I want to acknowledge the many organizations and individuals who have provided