Value Orientation, Awareness of Consequences, and Environmental Concern

Sammanfattning: DOCTORAL DISSERTATION IN PSYCHOLOGY, 2011 Abstract Hansla, A (2011). Value OrIentation, Awareness oJConsequences, and Environmental Concern Department of Psychology, Umverslty of Gothenburg, Sweden The tenets of the value-basls approach to envIronmentai concem are (I) that envIronmentai concem IS motIvated by behefs about adverse egOIstIc (e g, own health), social-altrUlstIc (e g., peoples' health), and blOsphenc consequences of envIronmentai problems (e g, the balance of the ecosystems), and (n) that the relatIve Importance ofthese consequences for envIronmentai concem IS detennmed by indivIduals' value onentatlOns, generally proposed to be altrUlstIc (self-transcendence) and egOIstIc (self-enhancement) value onentatlOns. This thesIs exammes the baslc tenets of the value-basls approach In Study I the relatlOnshlps between self-transcendence and self-enhancement value onentatlOns and concem for and behefs about egOIstIc, socJaI-altrUlstIc, and blOsphenc consequences of envIronmental problems were exammed A survey of Swedish resldents (n = 494) showed that both concem for and behefs about egOIstIc, socJaI-altrUlstIc, and blOsphenc consequences of environmental problems are related to the three value types power (concem for and behefs about egOlstic consequences), benevolence (concem for and behefs about social-altrUlstlc consequences), and universahsm (concem for and behefs about blOsphenc consequences) located on a value onentatlOn dimension from self-enhancement to self-transcendence It was also shown that beliefs about consequences partJally mediate the effects of value onentatlOn on envIronmentai concem Study II exammed the relatIonshlps between self-enhancement and selftranscendent value onentations, behefs about occurrence of specIfic envlronmental problems, and concem for consequences ofthese problems, and whether these factors and thelr relatIonshlps account for attitudes towards and stated wllhngness to pay (SWTP) for eco-labeled electricIty Another survey of Swedish resldents (n = 855) showed that a self-transcendence value onentatlOn, behefs about envlronmental problems, and concem for consequences of the problems are posItively related to attltude towards and SWTP for eco-Iabeled electnclty The results also showed that beliefs about occurrence of environmental problems partJally medlate the posItIve mfluence of a self-transcendence value onentatlOn on envlronmental concem In tum, envIronmentai concem was shown to partially medlate the mfluences of behefs about envlronmental problems on attltude towards eco-labeled electnclty Study III exammed mfluences of egOlstIcally, altruistIcally, and biosphencally framed messages on SWTP for eco-Iabeled electricIty, and whether such mfluences are moderated by self-transcendence versus self-enhancement value onentatlon An expenment conducted m the context of another survey of Swedish resldents (n = 476) showed that SWTP for eco-labeled electricity IS hlgher for biosphencally framed messages than for egOlstIcally and altrulstIcally framed messages and mcreases With self-transcendence It further showed that the effect of fram mg of messages on SWTP for eco-Iabeled electnclty IS not moderated by value onentatlOn In Study IV usmg the same survey data as in Study III, the relatlOnshlp between selftranscendence versus self-enhancement value onentatlOn and SWTP for eco-labeled electncity was reexammed and contrasted to the relatlOnshlp between thiS dimensIOn and stated wllhngness to reduce (SWTR) electnclty consumptIon The results showed that whIle there is a relationshlp between the value onentatlOn dimensIOn and SWTP for eco-Iabeled electnclty there IS no relatlOnshlp between this dimensIOn and SWTR electnclty consumptIon This was accounted for by assummg that It IS more dIfficult to reduce electricIty consumptIon than purchasmg eco-Iabeled electricIty In conclUSIOn, the four studies provIde further empmcal support for slgnlficant relatlOnshlps between self-transcendence versus self-enhancement value onentatlOns and pro-envlronmental attitudes The main contrlbutlOn IS that these relatlOnships are medlated by behefs about envIronmentai problems and envIronmentai protectlOn as weil as moderated by sItuatIOnai mfluences Key words: Value onentatIon, awareness of consequences, envIronmentai concem, eco-Iabeled electnclty Andre Hansia, Department of Psychology, Umverslty of Gothenburg, Box 500, SE 405 30 Goteborg, Sweden Phone +46 31 786 1840, E-maIl andre hansla@psy gu se ISSN 110 1-718X, ISBN 978-91-628-8303-4, ISRN GUIPSYKI A VH--223-SE