85
unfamiliar situations where decisions need to be made (Lindenberg and Steg 2013).
Thus, making pro-environmental values salient has a potential to create coherent
moral frameworks that shape behaviours in everyday situations that would result in
one being an active Environmental Citizen.
6.2 Relating Values and Environmental Citizenship
Environmental Citizenship as a holistic framework of addressing environmental
problems has only begun to be investigated through the lens of values (Jagers and
Matti 2010). This is due to the fact that Environmental Citizenship is a relatively
new concept of defining pro-environmental actions and their driving forces, and it is
a unifying term for a holistic pattern of pro-environmental behaviours (ENEC
2018). Furthermore, Environmental Citizenship at its core is based on such values
as the fairness of the distribution of environmental resources, civic participation and
co-creation of sustainability policy, among others (Schild 2016). With this in mind,
there are studies that relate separate components of Environmental Citizenship (various pro-environmental actions) with values (Steg et al. 2014a, b; van der Werff
et al. 2013, 2014); while values, in turn, touch some of the societal motivations and
beliefs (i.e. social norms, Abrahamse and Steg 2013) that are key for Environmental
Citizens (Stern et al. 1999). What needs to be emphasised is that Environmental
Citizenship has a strong political and societal basis, as well as a basis in education.
It is not enough that one should act pro-environmentally, one needs to have a proenvironmentally oriented understanding and a frame of mind that compels one to
act pro-environmentally.
Different patterns of value orientations can lead to different behavioural strategies and ways that individuals attain their proximate and ultimate goals (Huang and
Bargh 2014; Lindenberg and Steg 2013). All values can be roughly classified into
either self-transcendence or self-enhancement, openness to change values or conservation values (Schwartz 2012). Self-transcendence values encompass goals
related to selflessness and helping others; these values have an opportunity to be at
the forefront of one’s actions if one perceives their environment to be safe. To put it
in evolutionary terms (Fischer 2017), self-transcendence goals are adaptive when
one has resources which can be shared in order to gain favour from the community.
Self-enhancement values encompass goals that lead to accumulation of resources
through self-serving means; these values are most adaptive in scenarios where the
environment is unstable and one’s security is unclear or under threat. Openness to
change values encompass goals that relate to experiencing novel stimuli and having
new experiences, which in evolutionary terms means seeking out new opportunities
and engaging in high-risk high-reward behaviours that might lead to favourable
proximal outcomes (Poškus 2018). Conservation values encompass goals of stability and conformity that lead to tried-and-true outcomes and thus are low risk with
consistent rewards. It must be noted, however, that adaptive traits lead to outcomes
that are adaptive for most individuals most of the time, but not necessarily all indi6 Values, Beliefs and Environmental Citizenship
unfamiliar situations where decisions need to be made (Lindenberg and Steg 2013).
Thus, making pro-environmental values salient has a potential to create coherent
moral frameworks that shape behaviours in everyday situations that would result in
one being an active Environmental Citizen.
6.2 Relating Values and Environmental Citizenship
Environmental Citizenship as a holistic framework of addressing environmental
problems has only begun to be investigated through the lens of values (Jagers and
Matti 2010). This is due to the fact that Environmental Citizenship is a relatively
new concept of defining pro-environmental actions and their driving forces, and it is
a unifying term for a holistic pattern of pro-environmental behaviours (ENEC
2018). Furthermore, Environmental Citizenship at its core is based on such values
as the fairness of the distribution of environmental resources, civic participation and
co-creation of sustainability policy, among others (Schild 2016). With this in mind,
there are studies that relate separate components of Environmental Citizenship (various pro-environmental actions) with values (Steg et al. 2014a, b; van der Werff
et al. 2013, 2014); while values, in turn, touch some of the societal motivations and
beliefs (i.e. social norms, Abrahamse and Steg 2013) that are key for Environmental
Citizens (Stern et al. 1999). What needs to be emphasised is that Environmental
Citizenship has a strong political and societal basis, as well as a basis in education.
It is not enough that one should act pro-environmentally, one needs to have a proenvironmentally oriented understanding and a frame of mind that compels one to
act pro-environmentally.
Different patterns of value orientations can lead to different behavioural strategies and ways that individuals attain their proximate and ultimate goals (Huang and
Bargh 2014; Lindenberg and Steg 2013). All values can be roughly classified into
either self-transcendence or self-enhancement, openness to change values or conservation values (Schwartz 2012). Self-transcendence values encompass goals
related to selflessness and helping others; these values have an opportunity to be at
the forefront of one’s actions if one perceives their environment to be safe. To put it
in evolutionary terms (Fischer 2017), self-transcendence goals are adaptive when
one has resources which can be shared in order to gain favour from the community.
Self-enhancement values encompass goals that lead to accumulation of resources
through self-serving means; these values are most adaptive in scenarios where the
environment is unstable and one’s security is unclear or under threat. Openness to
change values encompass goals that relate to experiencing novel stimuli and having
new experiences, which in evolutionary terms means seeking out new opportunities
and engaging in high-risk high-reward behaviours that might lead to favourable
proximal outcomes (Poškus 2018). Conservation values encompass goals of stability and conformity that lead to tried-and-true outcomes and thus are low risk with
consistent rewards. It must be noted, however, that adaptive traits lead to outcomes
that are adaptive for most individuals most of the time, but not necessarily all indi6 Values, Beliefs and Environmental Citizenship