101
7.4 Environmental Citizenship in Empirical Research
Environmental Citizenship has been conceptualised as part of pro-environmental
behaviour (PEB) in some empirical studies: Larson, Stedman, Cooper, Decker
(2015) examined the multidimensional structure of pro-environmental behaviour
(PEB) and developed a 13-item PEB scale. Confirmatory factor analysis identified
four key PEB domains: conservation lifestyle behaviours (e.g. household actions in
the private sphere), social environmentalism (e.g. peer interactions and group membership), EC (e.g. civic engagement in the policy arena) and land stewardship (e.g.
support for wildlife and habitat conservation).
Another topic that has generated interest is the civic engagement from nonactivists and activists. Terms like Environmental Citizenship have been used to refer
to pro-environmental actions in the sociopolitical arena, including actions such as
signing petitions, writing letters, donating money to conservation causes or conscientiously voting to support pro-environmental causes (Cottrell 2003; Oreg and
Katz-Gerro 2006; Schultz et al. 2004; Sia et al. 1986; Stern 2000). Social behaviours such as involvement in an environmental group or participation in a demonstration/protest related to environmental issues are also frequently associated with
environmental activism (Fielding et al. 2008; Schultz et al. 2004; Stern et al. 1999).
Less intensive forms of social interaction, including various forms of proenvironmental persuasion (Schultz et al. 2004; Sia et al. 1986) and, in some cases,
simply talking to or educating others about environmental issues (Vaske and Kobrin
2001; Kaiser 1998) can also be found in literature. Collectively, through their influence on formal policy and decision-making and informal social norms, these actions
may have a powerful influence on the trajectory of human–environment interactions. Effective measures of PEB should therefore account for these various forms
of civic engagement (Larson et al. 2015).
7.5 Research on Link Between Environmental Values,
Attitudes and Behaviour
There is usually a weak correlation between attitudes and behaviour (also true for
environmental attitudes, see Kormos and Gifford 2014), but specific attitudes are
known to be much better predictors of behaviour than general ones. In contrast to
these findings, recent research shows a strong connection between individuals’ relationship with nature and their environmental behaviour (EB) and decision-making
(Braito et al. 2017; Muhar et al. 2017). Similarly, van der Werff, Steg and Keizer
(2013) analysed the biospheric values and environmental self-identities that are
considered to be important antecedents of environmental preferences, intentions
and behaviour. Results show that biospheric values are related to environmental
self-identity, even when measured months before. Moreover, the results indicated
that biospheric values are related to preferences, intentions and behaviour via one’s
7 Attitudes and Environmental Citizenship
7.4 Environmental Citizenship in Empirical Research
Environmental Citizenship has been conceptualised as part of pro-environmental
behaviour (PEB) in some empirical studies: Larson, Stedman, Cooper, Decker
(2015) examined the multidimensional structure of pro-environmental behaviour
(PEB) and developed a 13-item PEB scale. Confirmatory factor analysis identified
four key PEB domains: conservation lifestyle behaviours (e.g. household actions in
the private sphere), social environmentalism (e.g. peer interactions and group membership), EC (e.g. civic engagement in the policy arena) and land stewardship (e.g.
support for wildlife and habitat conservation).
Another topic that has generated interest is the civic engagement from nonactivists and activists. Terms like Environmental Citizenship have been used to refer
to pro-environmental actions in the sociopolitical arena, including actions such as
signing petitions, writing letters, donating money to conservation causes or conscientiously voting to support pro-environmental causes (Cottrell 2003; Oreg and
Katz-Gerro 2006; Schultz et al. 2004; Sia et al. 1986; Stern 2000). Social behaviours such as involvement in an environmental group or participation in a demonstration/protest related to environmental issues are also frequently associated with
environmental activism (Fielding et al. 2008; Schultz et al. 2004; Stern et al. 1999).
Less intensive forms of social interaction, including various forms of proenvironmental persuasion (Schultz et al. 2004; Sia et al. 1986) and, in some cases,
simply talking to or educating others about environmental issues (Vaske and Kobrin
2001; Kaiser 1998) can also be found in literature. Collectively, through their influence on formal policy and decision-making and informal social norms, these actions
may have a powerful influence on the trajectory of human–environment interactions. Effective measures of PEB should therefore account for these various forms
of civic engagement (Larson et al. 2015).
7.5 Research on Link Between Environmental Values,
Attitudes and Behaviour
There is usually a weak correlation between attitudes and behaviour (also true for
environmental attitudes, see Kormos and Gifford 2014), but specific attitudes are
known to be much better predictors of behaviour than general ones. In contrast to
these findings, recent research shows a strong connection between individuals’ relationship with nature and their environmental behaviour (EB) and decision-making
(Braito et al. 2017; Muhar et al. 2017). Similarly, van der Werff, Steg and Keizer
(2013) analysed the biospheric values and environmental self-identities that are
considered to be important antecedents of environmental preferences, intentions
and behaviour. Results show that biospheric values are related to environmental
self-identity, even when measured months before. Moreover, the results indicated
that biospheric values are related to preferences, intentions and behaviour via one’s
7 Attitudes and Environmental Citizenship