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Egocentric Edwards and Selfless Susans: How our Values Predict our Pro-Environmental Actions
Grant Bosworth( PhD Psychology, Keele University)
As human behaviour continues to threaten the quality of our environment, environmental psychologists are exploring how our values influence our willingness to engage in pro-environmental behaviour( PEB). It is generally accepted that two wide-ranging values have a significant impact on PEB. Firstly, self-transcendent values, which include biospheric concerns( our regard for the earth, nature and animals) and altruistic concerns( our regard for other humans), are thought to positively relate to PEB. Whilst self-enhancement values, which include egoistic concerns( our regard for our own resources) and hedonic concerns( our regard for our immediate enjoyment), are thought to negatively relate to PEB. It is thought that these values are likely to simultaneously influence our decision making, however previous research has often evaluated the impact of each value in isolation. This paper explores how these values can be appraised as a collective force, and considers their impact upon our willingness to purchase recycled products.
Keywords: environment, human behaviour, recycling, environmental values
The natural environment faces a host of increasingly alarming threats which include, amongst others: scarcity of water, pollution and global warming. 1 Governments, institutions, and crucially, the general public are gradually accepting that human behaviour is a significant contributor to these world-wide environmental risks. 2
Various scholars surmise that the foundations, and consequently the solutions to these challenging environmental problems are“ rooted in human values”. 3
Human values are“ trans-situational goal( s)… which serve as a guiding principle in the life of a person”. 4 Values are exceptionally durable and generally remain consistent over time; because of this, individuals often employ them to serve as a tool for selecting and evaluating their actions. 5
Specifically, two wide-ranging values are believed to have a significant influence on our willingness to engage with proenvironmental behaviour( PEB): 6
1 Linda Steg et al.“ An Integrated Framework for Encouraging Pro-Environmental Behaviour: The Role of Values, Situational Factors and Goals,” Journal of Environmental Psychology 38( 2014): 104. 2 Linda Steg and Charles Vlek. " Encouraging pro-environmental behaviour: An integrative review and
research agenda," Journal of Environmental Psychology 29( 2009): 309. 3 Judith De Groot and Linda Steg. " Value orientations to explain beliefs related to environmental
significant behaviour: how to measure egoistic, altruistic, and biospheric value orientations," Environment and Behaviour 40( 2008): 331. 4 Shalom Schwartz. " Universals in the content and structure of values: Theoretical advances and
empirical tests in 20 countries," Advances in Experimental Social Psychology 25( 1992): 21. 5 De Groot and Steg, " Value orientations to explain beliefs related to environmental significant behaviour: how to measure egoistic, altruistic, and biospheric value orientations," 331. 6 Annika M. Nordlund and Jörgen Garvill. " Value structures behind pro-environmental behaviour." Environment and Behaviour 34( 2002): 746.