Concerns for environmental issues are important drivers of sustainable and pro-environmental behaviors, and can be differentiated between those with a self-enhancing (egoistic) vs. self-transcendent (biospheric) psychological foundation. Yet to date, the dominant approach for promoting pro-environmental behavior has focused on highlighting the benefits to others or nature, rather than appealing to self-interest. Building on the Inclusion Model for Environmental Concern, we argue that egoistic and biospheric environmental concerns, respectively, conceptualized as self-interest and altruism, are hierarchically structured, such that altruism is inclusive of self-interest. Three studies show that self-interested individuals will behave more pro-environmentally when the behavior results in a personal benefit (but not when there is exclusively an environmental benefit), while altruistic individuals will engage in pro-environmental behaviors when there are environmental benefits, and critically, also when there are personal benefits. The reported findings have implications for programs and policies designed to promote pro-environmental behavior, and for social science research aimed at understanding human responses to a changing environment

Protecting the environment for self-interested reasons. Altruism is not the only pathway to sustainability / De Dominicis, Stefano; Schultz, P. Wesley; Bonaiuto, Marino. - In: FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY. - ISSN 1664-1078. - ELETTRONICO. - 8:JUN(2017), pp. 1-13. [10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01065]

Protecting the environment for self-interested reasons. Altruism is not the only pathway to sustainability

De Dominicis, Stefano;BONAIUTO, Marino
2017

Abstract

Concerns for environmental issues are important drivers of sustainable and pro-environmental behaviors, and can be differentiated between those with a self-enhancing (egoistic) vs. self-transcendent (biospheric) psychological foundation. Yet to date, the dominant approach for promoting pro-environmental behavior has focused on highlighting the benefits to others or nature, rather than appealing to self-interest. Building on the Inclusion Model for Environmental Concern, we argue that egoistic and biospheric environmental concerns, respectively, conceptualized as self-interest and altruism, are hierarchically structured, such that altruism is inclusive of self-interest. Three studies show that self-interested individuals will behave more pro-environmentally when the behavior results in a personal benefit (but not when there is exclusively an environmental benefit), while altruistic individuals will engage in pro-environmental behaviors when there are environmental benefits, and critically, also when there are personal benefits. The reported findings have implications for programs and policies designed to promote pro-environmental behavior, and for social science research aimed at understanding human responses to a changing environment
2017
altruism; environmental concerns; message frames; pro-environmental behavior; self-interest; sustainability; values; psychology (all)
01 Pubblicazione su rivista::01a Articolo in rivista
Protecting the environment for self-interested reasons. Altruism is not the only pathway to sustainability / De Dominicis, Stefano; Schultz, P. Wesley; Bonaiuto, Marino. - In: FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY. - ISSN 1664-1078. - ELETTRONICO. - 8:JUN(2017), pp. 1-13. [10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01065]
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11573/1014209
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