TY - JOUR
T1 - Protecting the environment for self-interested reasons
T2 - Altruism is not the only pathway to sustainability
AU - De Dominicis, Stefano
AU - Schultz, P. Wesley
AU - Bonaiuto, Marino
PY - 2017
Y1 - 2017
N2 - 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.
AB - 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.
KW - Altruism
KW - Environmental concerns
KW - Message frames
KW - Pro-environmental behavior
KW - Self-interest
KW - Sustainability
KW - Values
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85021310633&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01065
DO - 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01065
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 28701979
AN - SCOPUS:85021310633
SN - 1664-1078
VL - 8
JO - Frontiers in Psychology
JF - Frontiers in Psychology
IS - JUN
M1 - 1065
ER -