This study assesses the influence of sociodemographic variables on four distinct measures of envi... more This study assesses the influence of sociodemographic variables on four distinct measures of environmental concern in a sample of 2,984 households in 19 metropolitan areas of the United States. In addition, the potential for regional interactions is investigated. Results of the study indicate that, while geographic region does not appear to have consistent additive effects, it does interact with other sociodemographic variables to influence environmental concern. These regional interactions draw attention to many of the problems involved with comparisons across studies and may shed light on what are often considered to be discrepant findings in the literature on environmental concern.
Abstract The authors present a brief inventory derived from Schwartz's 5... more Abstract The authors present a brief inventory derived from Schwartz's 56-item instrument measuring the structure and content of human values. The inventory's four 3-item scales, measuring the major clusters called Self-Transcendence, Self-Enhancement, Openness to Change, and Conservation (or Traditional) values, all produce scores with acceptable reliability in two studies of pro-environmental attitudes and actions, and the brief inventory predicts those indicators nearly as well as much longer ones. The authors also present ...
The contrast between self-interested behavior guided by rational choice and altruistic behavior g... more The contrast between self-interested behavior guided by rational choice and altruistic behavior guided by normative considerations is a central theme in the social sciences. This study suggests that market and market-like behavior, the context where self-interest is expected to dominate, is in fact often motivated by altruism. This argument is tested by examining a willingness to pay measure, a surrogate for the market that is finding substantial use in analyses of public policy. In particular, the ability of the Schwartz model of altruism to explain willingness to pay for recycled products is examined. Findings indicate that even as the Schwartz model has explained many purely altruistic behaviors, it also can explain self-reported willingness to pay. While economists often have noted the importance of rational choice in even the most intimate of human decisions, this study notes the importance of normative altruism in even the most calculated.
Abstract The New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) scale is the most frequently used measure of environme... more Abstract The New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) scale is the most frequently used measure of environmental concern, but it has not been placed in the context of a social-psychological theory of attitude formation or attitude-behavior relationships. Using data from a northern Virginia sample, this study examines NEP in relation to the variables in a theoretical model of environmental concern. We found that the NEP is indistinguishable from a scale of awareness of consequences (AC) of general environmental conditions, both ...
The ability to discriminate quantity is descriptive of general cognitive ability. In this study, ... more The ability to discriminate quantity is descriptive of general cognitive ability. In this study, the authors presented 2 orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) with a quantity judgment task. Each trial consisted of 2 choices, ranging from 1 to 6 food items in each. The orangutan chose 1 of the quantities, which was removed, and the remaining array was given as a reward. In contrast to chimpanzees previously tested on the same task (S. T. Boysen & G. G. Berntson, 1995; S. T. Boysen, G. G. Berntson, M. B. Hannan, & J. T. Cacioppo, 1996; S. T. Boysen, K. L. Mukobi, & G. G. Berntson, 1999), the orangutans optimized their performance. Orangutans, therefore, attend to differences in magnitude and can spontaneously use ordinality. Results also suggest a cognitive difference between chimpanzees and orangutans.
The ability to discriminate quantity is descriptive of general cognitive ability. In this study, ... more The ability to discriminate quantity is descriptive of general cognitive ability. In this study, the authors presented 2 orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) with a quantity judgment task. Each trial consisted of 2 choices, ranging from 1 to 6 food items in each. The orangutan chose 1 of the quantities, which was removed, and the remaining array was given as a reward. In contrast to chimpanzees previously tested on the same task (S. T. Boysen & G. G. Berntson, 1995; S. T. Boysen, G. G. Berntson, M. B. Hannan, & J. T. Cacioppo, 1996; S. T. Boysen, K. L. Mukobi, & G. G. Berntson, 1999), the orangutans optimized their performance. Orangutans, therefore, attend to differences in magnitude and can spontaneously use ordinality. Results also suggest a cognitive difference between chimpanzees and orangutans.
The American diet has changed substantially over the last few decades. These changes provide a te... more The American diet has changed substantially over the last few decades. These changes provide a test for social theory and have substantial effects on the demand for various food products, thus impacting U.S. agriculture. In this paper a rapidly growing dietary choice—vegetarianism—is explored. Prevalence of various forms of vegetarianism is estimated in a representative sample of a suburban population and factors that influence choice of a vegetarian diet are examined. About 7 percent of the sample report they are vegetarians. The prevalence of vegetarianism is not influenced by age, gender, or education, but individuals holding traditional values are less likely to be vegetarian than others. There also is some evidence mat individuals holding altruistic values are more likely than others to be vegetarians.
Abstract  This study examines the link between social structural variables (gender, race, educati... more Abstract  This study examines the link between social structural variables (gender, race, education, age, rural childhood), individual social psychology (altruism, self-interest, traditionality, and openness to change), and beliefs about the benefits of vegetarianism (for health, the environment, animals, and world hunger) and self-reported vegetarianism. Data from a random sample of 420 adult U.S. residents showed that 5.2 percent considered themselves vegetarian. The strongest predictor of vegetarianism as a dietary choice was the belief that vegetarianism is beneficial to the environment. None of the social structural variables had a direct influence on vegetarianism as a dietary choice. Of the four values studied, only altruism and traditional values influenced beliefs about the benefits of vegetarianism. Altruistic values increased, and traditional values decreased, beliefs that vegetarianism is beneficial to health, the environment, farm animals, and world hunger. Blacks were more likely than Whites to adhere to the beliefs that vegetarianism helps prevent cruelty to farm animals, is beneficial to personal health, and is beneficial to the environment. The race differences in beliefs persisted even with controls for values.
This study presents and empirically tests a simple model of attitudinal and personality influence... more This study presents and empirically tests a simple model of attitudinal and personality influences on individual willingness to take action in support of the environment (agentic disposition) in a sample of 367 residents of Fairfax County in Virginia. The model, comprised of items from Schwartz's theory of norm activated altruism and an abridged version of Levenson's three-dimensional conception of locus of control, fits the data well. Results of the study indicate that 1) locus of control is best viewed as multidimensional rather than previous unidimensional conceptualizations, 2) each of the Levenson locus of control dimensions plays a unique role in the model of environmental agentic disposition, and 3) agentic disposition can be conceptualized as a type of norm activated altruism. The role of agentic disposition in legitimating the positions taken by social movement organizations is discussed.
Discoveries in environmental science become the raw material for constructing social attitude obj... more Discoveries in environmental science become the raw material for constructing social attitude objects, individual attitudes, and broad public concerns. We explored a model in which individuals construct attitudes to new or emergent attitude objects by referencing personal values and beliefs about the consequences of the objects for their values. We found that a subset of the major clusters identified in value theory is associated with willingness to take proenvironmental action; that a biospheric value orientation cannot yet be discerned in a general population sample; that willingness to take proenvironmental action is a function of both values and beliefs, with values also predicting beliefs; and that gender differences can be attributed to both beliefs and values. Our model has promise for explicating the factors determining public concern with environmental conditions.
Providing information to the public about a species can impact the public's attitudes toward that... more Providing information to the public about a species can impact the public's attitudes toward that species. Overall, providing information in any of four categories of information about coyotes positively influenced attitudes toward coyotes using six attitudinal measurements (p < .01). Behavior statements most positively influenced attitudes, followed by images of coyotes, statements about humans and coyotes, and statements about coyote ecology. How well specific pieces of information were received is also discussed.
This study assesses the influence of sociodemographic variables on four distinct measures of envi... more This study assesses the influence of sociodemographic variables on four distinct measures of environmental concern in a sample of 2,984 households in 19 metropolitan areas of the United States. In addition, the potential for regional interactions is investigated. Results of the study indicate that, while geographic region does not appear to have consistent additive effects, it does interact with other sociodemographic variables to influence environmental concern. These regional interactions draw attention to many of the problems involved with comparisons across studies and may shed light on what are often considered to be discrepant findings in the literature on environmental concern.
Abstract The authors present a brief inventory derived from Schwartz&amp;amp;amp;amp;#x27;s 5... more Abstract The authors present a brief inventory derived from Schwartz&amp;amp;amp;amp;#x27;s 56-item instrument measuring the structure and content of human values. The inventory&amp;amp;amp;amp;#x27;s four 3-item scales, measuring the major clusters called Self-Transcendence, Self-Enhancement, Openness to Change, and Conservation (or Traditional) values, all produce scores with acceptable reliability in two studies of pro-environmental attitudes and actions, and the brief inventory predicts those indicators nearly as well as much longer ones. The authors also present ...
The contrast between self-interested behavior guided by rational choice and altruistic behavior g... more The contrast between self-interested behavior guided by rational choice and altruistic behavior guided by normative considerations is a central theme in the social sciences. This study suggests that market and market-like behavior, the context where self-interest is expected to dominate, is in fact often motivated by altruism. This argument is tested by examining a willingness to pay measure, a surrogate for the market that is finding substantial use in analyses of public policy. In particular, the ability of the Schwartz model of altruism to explain willingness to pay for recycled products is examined. Findings indicate that even as the Schwartz model has explained many purely altruistic behaviors, it also can explain self-reported willingness to pay. While economists often have noted the importance of rational choice in even the most intimate of human decisions, this study notes the importance of normative altruism in even the most calculated.
Abstract The New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) scale is the most frequently used measure of environme... more Abstract The New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) scale is the most frequently used measure of environmental concern, but it has not been placed in the context of a social-psychological theory of attitude formation or attitude-behavior relationships. Using data from a northern Virginia sample, this study examines NEP in relation to the variables in a theoretical model of environmental concern. We found that the NEP is indistinguishable from a scale of awareness of consequences (AC) of general environmental conditions, both ...
The ability to discriminate quantity is descriptive of general cognitive ability. In this study, ... more The ability to discriminate quantity is descriptive of general cognitive ability. In this study, the authors presented 2 orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) with a quantity judgment task. Each trial consisted of 2 choices, ranging from 1 to 6 food items in each. The orangutan chose 1 of the quantities, which was removed, and the remaining array was given as a reward. In contrast to chimpanzees previously tested on the same task (S. T. Boysen &amp; G. G. Berntson, 1995; S. T. Boysen, G. G. Berntson, M. B. Hannan, &amp; J. T. Cacioppo, 1996; S. T. Boysen, K. L. Mukobi, &amp; G. G. Berntson, 1999), the orangutans optimized their performance. Orangutans, therefore, attend to differences in magnitude and can spontaneously use ordinality. Results also suggest a cognitive difference between chimpanzees and orangutans.
The ability to discriminate quantity is descriptive of general cognitive ability. In this study, ... more The ability to discriminate quantity is descriptive of general cognitive ability. In this study, the authors presented 2 orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) with a quantity judgment task. Each trial consisted of 2 choices, ranging from 1 to 6 food items in each. The orangutan chose 1 of the quantities, which was removed, and the remaining array was given as a reward. In contrast to chimpanzees previously tested on the same task (S. T. Boysen &amp; G. G. Berntson, 1995; S. T. Boysen, G. G. Berntson, M. B. Hannan, &amp; J. T. Cacioppo, 1996; S. T. Boysen, K. L. Mukobi, &amp; G. G. Berntson, 1999), the orangutans optimized their performance. Orangutans, therefore, attend to differences in magnitude and can spontaneously use ordinality. Results also suggest a cognitive difference between chimpanzees and orangutans.
The American diet has changed substantially over the last few decades. These changes provide a te... more The American diet has changed substantially over the last few decades. These changes provide a test for social theory and have substantial effects on the demand for various food products, thus impacting U.S. agriculture. In this paper a rapidly growing dietary choice—vegetarianism—is explored. Prevalence of various forms of vegetarianism is estimated in a representative sample of a suburban population and factors that influence choice of a vegetarian diet are examined. About 7 percent of the sample report they are vegetarians. The prevalence of vegetarianism is not influenced by age, gender, or education, but individuals holding traditional values are less likely to be vegetarian than others. There also is some evidence mat individuals holding altruistic values are more likely than others to be vegetarians.
Abstract  This study examines the link between social structural variables (gender, race, educati... more Abstract  This study examines the link between social structural variables (gender, race, education, age, rural childhood), individual social psychology (altruism, self-interest, traditionality, and openness to change), and beliefs about the benefits of vegetarianism (for health, the environment, animals, and world hunger) and self-reported vegetarianism. Data from a random sample of 420 adult U.S. residents showed that 5.2 percent considered themselves vegetarian. The strongest predictor of vegetarianism as a dietary choice was the belief that vegetarianism is beneficial to the environment. None of the social structural variables had a direct influence on vegetarianism as a dietary choice. Of the four values studied, only altruism and traditional values influenced beliefs about the benefits of vegetarianism. Altruistic values increased, and traditional values decreased, beliefs that vegetarianism is beneficial to health, the environment, farm animals, and world hunger. Blacks were more likely than Whites to adhere to the beliefs that vegetarianism helps prevent cruelty to farm animals, is beneficial to personal health, and is beneficial to the environment. The race differences in beliefs persisted even with controls for values.
This study presents and empirically tests a simple model of attitudinal and personality influence... more This study presents and empirically tests a simple model of attitudinal and personality influences on individual willingness to take action in support of the environment (agentic disposition) in a sample of 367 residents of Fairfax County in Virginia. The model, comprised of items from Schwartz's theory of norm activated altruism and an abridged version of Levenson's three-dimensional conception of locus of control, fits the data well. Results of the study indicate that 1) locus of control is best viewed as multidimensional rather than previous unidimensional conceptualizations, 2) each of the Levenson locus of control dimensions plays a unique role in the model of environmental agentic disposition, and 3) agentic disposition can be conceptualized as a type of norm activated altruism. The role of agentic disposition in legitimating the positions taken by social movement organizations is discussed.
Discoveries in environmental science become the raw material for constructing social attitude obj... more Discoveries in environmental science become the raw material for constructing social attitude objects, individual attitudes, and broad public concerns. We explored a model in which individuals construct attitudes to new or emergent attitude objects by referencing personal values and beliefs about the consequences of the objects for their values. We found that a subset of the major clusters identified in value theory is associated with willingness to take proenvironmental action; that a biospheric value orientation cannot yet be discerned in a general population sample; that willingness to take proenvironmental action is a function of both values and beliefs, with values also predicting beliefs; and that gender differences can be attributed to both beliefs and values. Our model has promise for explicating the factors determining public concern with environmental conditions.
Providing information to the public about a species can impact the public's attitudes toward that... more Providing information to the public about a species can impact the public's attitudes toward that species. Overall, providing information in any of four categories of information about coyotes positively influenced attitudes toward coyotes using six attitudinal measurements (p < .01). Behavior statements most positively influenced attitudes, followed by images of coyotes, statements about humans and coyotes, and statements about coyote ecology. How well specific pieces of information were received is also discussed.
Uploads
Papers by Gregory Guagnano