IngentaConnect New Environmental Theories: Empathizing With Nature: The Effects ...

IngentaConnect New Environmental Theories: Empathizing With Nature: The Effects ...: "New Environmental Theories: Empathizing With Nature: The Effects of Perspective Taking on Concern for Environmental Issues

Author: Schultz P.W.1

Source: Journal of Social Issues, Volume 56, Number 3, Fall 2000, pp. 391-406(16)

Publisher: Blackwell Publishing

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Abstract:

In this article, I propose that concern for environmental problems is fundamentally linked to the degree to which people view themselves as part of the natural environment. Two studies are reported that test aspects of this theory. The first study describes the structure of people's concern for environmental problems. Results from a confirmatory factor analysis showed a clear three-factor structure, which I labeled egoistic, altruistic, and biospheric. A second study examined the effects of a perspective-taking manipulation on egoistic, social-altruistic, and biospheric environmental concerns. Results showed that participants instructed to take the perspective of an animal being harmed by pollution scored significantly higher in biospheric environmental concerns than participants instructed to remain objective."