Emotions and Environment

Kals, Elisabeth; Müller, Markus

doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199733026.013.0008

Cited by 42 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…Speaking of our first hypothesis from the MGB, we found enjoyment toward the protection of the species as the only consistent predictor for all desires in the full model (H 4 ). While this result underlines the importance of emotions for environmental behavior in line with prior research (Caissie and Halpenny, 2003; Kals and Müller, 2012), the predictive ability may be also attributed to the specific context of our study, with prior studies showing how emotions play an important role in species conservation (Jacobs et al, 2014). Nonetheless, especially based on the results from the step-wise regression, emotions may be the most important affective determinant of self-reported environmental action.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Can a Like Save the Planet? Comparing Antecedents of and Correlations Between Environmental Liking on Social Media, Money Donation, and Volunteering

2019

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Due to the societal dissemination of digital technology, people are increasingly experiencing environmental topics through digital media channels such as social networks. Several researchers therefore have proposed these channels as a possibility to strengthen sustainable development based on their cost-efficient nature. But while prior studies have investigated isolated factors for understanding environmental social media behavior, there is still scarce understanding of the relevant underlying motivational factors and possible connections with more traditional environmental behaviors. Therefore, the present study applied the established socio-psychological model of goal-directed behavior and compared the desires for liking as a fundamental form of digital social media behavior with the desires for two traditional environmental behaviors (money donation and volunteering) in a cross-sectional research design. Within the biodiversity conservation case of the Andean bear ( Tremarctos ornatus ) in Ecuador, we compared the antecedents for the desires for the corresponding environmental behaviors (RQ 1 ) as well as their connections between each other (RQ 2 ). Within a sample of 407 Ecuadorian students ( M age = 20.94 years, SD = 2.25, 61.2% female), we found the marginal effect of perceived behavioral control on the desires for liking on social media as the main difference concerning the antecedents of the behaviors because money donation and volunteering largely depended on personal resources such as time or money. Furthermore, gender emerged as the second main difference between the behaviors due to it only being predictive for the liking motivation. Enjoyment was the only variable that coherently predicted all three behaviors. Finally, desires for liking on social media predicted both other behaviors in robust regression analyses, but were only predictive for volunteering in corresponding path models. The results illustrate how cost-efficient digital environmental behaviors such as liking may be suitable for sparking low-level environmental action, which may entail more pronounced forms of environmental activism, at least when they involve feasible personal costs. Overall, the findings are in line with prior research regarding the less demanding nature of liking, but further elaborate on the importance of gender for digital environmental behavior and correlates between digital and classical environmental behaviors.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Can a Like Save the Planet? Comparing Antecedents of and Correlations Between Environmental Liking on Social Media, Money Donation, and Volunteering

2019

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“…Regarding ecological emotions, there is the psychological literature [108] and wide-ranging interdisciplinary discussion [11]. The latter often includes discussion about also other tones of feeling than strictly defined emotions.…”

Section: Ecological Emotions and Affectmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anxiety and the Ecological Crisis: An Analysis of Eco-Anxiety and Climate Anxiety

2020

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Eco-anxiety and climate anxiety are widely discussed in contemporary media and are subjects of growing research interest. However, there is a lack of research about the definitions and variations of these phenomena. This article analyzes various views of eco-anxiety from a wide range of disciplines. Insights from various anxiety theories are used to discuss empirical studies about forms of eco-anxiety. The article points out that uncertainty, unpredictability, and uncontrollability seem to be important factors in eco-anxiety. Most forms of eco-anxiety appear to be non-clinical, but cases of “pathological” eco-anxiety are also discussed. Other relevant terms and phenomena are scrutinized, such as ecological grief, solastalgia, and ecological trauma. The relationship between studies on eco-anxiety and research about ecological emotions and affect is probed. Eco-anxiety is found to be closely connected to fear and worry, but several disciplines include discussion of its character as existential anxiety. Psychosocial and sociological perspectives point out that social dynamics shape forms of eco-anxiety in profound ways. While paralyzing forms of eco-anxiety emerge as a problem, it is noted that eco-anxiety manifests itself also as “practical anxiety”, which leads to gathering of new information and reassessment of behavior options. This variety of forms of eco-anxiety should be taken into account in healthcare and public discussion.

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“…Even though sympathy for humans might be less important for the development of pro‐environmentalism, it has been argued that humans experience a basic need and propensity to affiliate with life in general, called biophilia (for an extensive discussion, see Kahn, ). Biophilia manifests in feelings of connectedness with nature, which in turn forms an important motivational basis for pro‐environmental behavior (Chawla & Derr, ; Kals & Müller, ). Sympathy in the context of prosocial development and feelings of connectedness with nature in the context of pro‐environmentalism serve similar functions.…”

Section: The Present Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Pro‐Environmental Behavior and Adolescent Moral Development

Krettenauer

2017

J of Research on Adolesc

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Previous research has demonstrated that children take a strong moral stance toward protecting the natural environment. However, the question of how this moralization of pro-environmental behavior develops in adolescence has been rarely investigated. This study investigated age-related differences in adolescents' pro-environmental behavior as it relates to moral judgments about environmental issues and emotions. The study was based on a cross-sectional sample of 325 Canadian adolescents from early, middle, and late adolescence. It was found that older adolescents engaged less in pro-environmental behaviors such as energy conservation and recycling. The effect of age was mediated by the prescriptiveness of moral judgment as well as emotional affinity for nature. The study calls for a systematic investigation of factors that suppress pro-environmentalism in adolescence.

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Emotions and Environment

Cited by 42 publications

References 53 publications

Can a Like Save the Planet? Comparing Antecedents of and Correlations Between Environmental Liking on Social Media, Money Donation, and Volunteering

Can a Like Save the Planet? Comparing Antecedents of and Correlations Between Environmental Liking on Social Media, Money Donation, and Volunteering

Anxiety and the Ecological Crisis: An Analysis of Eco-Anxiety and Climate Anxiety

Pro‐Environmental Behavior and Adolescent Moral Development

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