Implicit connections with nature

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Abstract

Previous research has suggested that attitudes about environmental issues are rooted in the degree to which people believe that they are part of the natural environment. Researchers have distinguished between egoistic concerns, which focus on self, and biospheric concerns, which focus on all living things. In the current paper, we argue that the type of concerns a person develops about environmental issues is associated with the extent to which the individual believes that s/he is part of nature. We argue that this connection is implicit, and exists outside of conscious awareness. Two studies are reported on the relationship between implicit connections with nature and explicit environmental concerns, and on the cognitive strategies associated with egoistic and biospheric attitudes. Study 1 reports the results from a modified Implicit Association Test (IAT) designed to measure the degree to which people associate themselves with nature. Results showed a moderate positive relationship between biospheric concerns and implicit connections with nature, and a negative relationship between implicit connections with nature and egoistic concerns. Study 2 replicated this basic effect, and also examined the test–retest (immediate, 1 week, and 4 weeks) reliability of the explicit and implicit measures. Results are interpreted within a broad model of environmental inclusion.

Introduction

With each passing year, we are presented with more and more evidence that human behavior is adversely affecting the natural environment. Newspapers, magazines, television news shows, and every other form of media routinely convey information on a range of topics from pollution, to energy conservation, to global warming. Survey data indicate that a high percentage of people in the United States, and many other countries throughout the world, know about, and express concern for these issues (Dunlap, 1991; Dunlap, Gallup, & Gallup, 1993; Dunlap, Van Liere, Mertig, & Jones, 2000; Ray & Anderson, 2000). In this paper, we propose that the types of environmental attitudes a person develops are associated with the extent to which an individual believes that s/he is part of the natural environment. Data from two studies are presented on implicit connections with nature using the Implicit Association Test (IAT).

Before summarizing the previous research on this topic, it is useful to offer some definitions for the terms used in the research literature. In the sections that follow, we will use the terms “concerns,” “attitudes,” “values,” and “worldview,” and the distinctions between these concepts may not be readily apparent. Indeed, these terms are often used interchangeably in the research literature. We use the term environmental concern to refer to the affect (i.e., worry) associated with beliefs about environmental problems. For example, a person may be concerned about the harmful consequences of air pollution for his or her health, or concerned about the long-term consequences of improper disposal of hazardous household waste. Attitude refers to a person's evaluative judgment about a particular entity (Eagly & Chaiken, 1993). Attitudes are typically expressed in degrees of favorability, as in “I am in favor of establishing a curbside recycling program,” or “I support deposits on beverage containers.” The construct of environmental attitudes refers to the collection of beliefs, affect, and behavioral intentions a person holds regarding environmentally related activities or issues.

We use the term worldview to refer to a person's belief about humanity's relationship with nature. A person's worldview serves as a cognitive paradigm or belief system. Dunlap and Van Liere (1978) and Dunlap et al. (2000) have argued that a person's environmental paradigm constitutes a fundamental part of a person's belief system; it is a “primitive belief” and influences a wide range of concerns and attitudes. At the broadest level are values, which are conceptualized as important life goals or principles (Rokeach, 1973; Olson & Zanna, 1993). Values function as an organizing system for attitudes and beliefs, and they are viewed as determinants of attitudes. Examples of values would include “equality,” “wisdom,” “ambition,” and “freedom” (cf. Schwartz, 1994). The term environmental values refers to those values that are specifically related to nature or that have been found to correlate with specific environmental attitudes or concerns.

Section snippets

Conceptualizing environmental concern—why do people care?

For the last 30 years, researchers have examined the underlying factors that influence people's attitudes and concerns about the environment and environmental issues. A host of demographic variables, experiences, personality dimensions, beliefs about control, efficacy, and responsibility have all received considerable research attention (Schultz, Oskamp, & Mainieri, 1995; Hwang, Kim, & Jeng, 2000; Kals & Maes, 2002). Most of this research has been based on traditional attitude theory, in which

Participants

Participants in the study were 160 undergraduates from California State University, San Marcos. Participants were recruited from the Psychology Department's Human Participant Pool. A sample size of 160 was selected in order to provide 80% power for a correlation coefficient of 0.20 (Cohen, 1988, p. 87).

Materials

A questionnaire and computerized test were developed to measure environmental attitudes, implicit attitudes toward natural and built environments, values, and demographics. Measures included: the

Study 2

The results from Study 1 showed a small but interpretable pattern of relationships between implicit associations with nature, and specific types of environmental attitudes. In order to more fully understand these relationships, a second study was conducted using a similar procedure. Our goals in this second study were to replicate the findings from Study 1 (particularly the relationship between connectedness, biospheric, and egoistic concerns), to examine the relationship between global–local

Discussion

The two studies reported in this paper were designed to examine implicit connections with nature. Our goals were (1) to develop an implicit measure of the extent to which individuals associate themselves with the natural environment, (2) to examine the relationship between these implicit connections and explicit measures of environmental attitudes, and (3) to examine the stability of implicit connections with nature across time.

The results provide clear evidence for the usefulness of implicit

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    Our appreciation goes to Maribel Peraza for her work on Study 1. Portions of this paper were presented at the meeting of the Western Psychological Association, April, 2002, Irvine, CA.

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