How Should We Teach Nature Protection? Self-Determination and Environmental Attitudes

Abstract

Environmental attitudes are supportive for learning about the environment and for pro-environmental engagement. The question, then, is how to strengthen and establish environmental attitudes. Based on a sample of 429 middle and high school students, we investigated the effect of self-determination-based motivation on environmental attitude. While high levels of self-determination (i.e., intrinsic motivation) positively affected pro-environmental attitude (β = 0.40), low levels of self-determination (i.e., external regulation) negatively affected attitude (β = –0.31). Our data further pointed to a distinct trajectory of self-determination and inclusion of nature throughout adolescence (high scores for 12-year-olds that decline to a minimum around 15–16-years old); a trend that has already been shown for environmental attitude. Such a dip might help derive teaching recommendations in environmental education, e.g., by supporting high scores in time to attenuate a decline. Further teaching recommendations include strengthening students’ self-determination through their basic needs (autonomy, competence, and relatedness).

Modernity and the western value-action paradox: contributions from conservation psychology

“…We see the potential for three lines of research that could complement the processes depicted in Figure 2. First, recent work drawing on self-determination theory (Deci and Ryan, 2000) has shown that when motivation to engage in stewardship and environmentally responsible behavior is internalized (intrinsic), individual action is significantly more impactful compared to when external incentives (extrinsic) are offered (Cooke et al, 2016;Baierl and Bogner, 2023). In the context of our model depicted in Figure 2, it would likely have implications for individuals' appetite for information (knowledge) and for their understanding and willingness to act (efficacy).…”

The Role of Motivation for Environmental Protection in Predicting Pro-Environmental Behaviour in Russia

“…Интегрированная и, в меньшей степени, идентифицированная и внутренняя мотивации положительно связаны с проэкологическими аттитюдами (Pelletier et al, 1998). Согласно результатам другого исследования, интроецированная, внутренняя и, в меньшей степени, интегрированная мотивации положительно связаны с проэкологическими аттитюдами, в то время как конструкт «включение природы в себя» (Liefländer et al, 2013), интеркоррелирующий со связью с природой (Brügger et al, 2011), положительно связан со всеми внутренними формами мотивации и в меньшей степени -с внешней мотивацией (Baierl, Bogner, 2023).…”