Trust, Culture, and Cooperation: A Social Dilemma Analysis of Pro-Environmental Behaviors

Abstract

Social dilemmas require a choice between cooperation, or sacrificing for the greater good, and self-interest. One commonly studied social dilemma is environmental conservation. Previous work suggests that trust predicts cooperation in the form of environmental protection. We contend that this view ignores cultural factors. Building on prior cross-cultural research, we predict an interaction between strength of social ties and trust on cooperation. Findings from General Social Survey data indicate that low trust levels found in the U.S. South (a collectivist culture) renders trust ineffective at promoting environmental protection. However, trust predicts cooperation in nonsouthern regions (which are more individualist), where trust levels are higher. THEORY AND HYPOTHESES Collectivism, Individualism, and TrustPrevious research suggests that there is considerable between-group variation in levels of generalized trust (e.g., Bjørnskov 2006;Hooghe et al. 2009). While common explanations for trust differences include sociodemographic factors such as race (Brehm and

Neighborhood effects and pro-environmental behavior: The case of Italian separate waste collection

“…Northern Regions are apparently more efficient in door to door collection, but the difference could also depend on higher levels of trust (Irwin and Berigan, 2013), and of social capital (Tsai, 2008) e and specifically on more effective social norms. A stronger sense of citizenship may provide a possible explanation in this regard.…”

Barriers to Environmental Sacrifice: The Interaction of Free Rider Fears with Education, Income, and Ideology

“…Some of these include education, income, and ideology. Research on social dilemmas involving environmental public goods has identified trust as a key variable predicting the willingness to cooperate toward collective goals ( Van Lange, Van Vugt, Meertens, and Ruiter 1998;Liebe, Preisendörfer, and Meyerhoff 2011;Irwin and Berigan 2013). The research presented here seeks to connect these two areas of research by exploring an individual's willingness to sacrifice for the environment as contingent upon the interaction of education, income, and ideology with free rider fears.…”

The Haves, the Have-Nots, and the Health of Everyone: The Relationship Between Social Inequality and Environmental Quality

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