Pro-environmental attitude

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION

In the period we live in, called as Anthropological era by some researchers (Crutzen, 2003; Steffen et al., 2007), many environmental problems such as air pollution, depletion of potable water resources, loss of biodiversity, and notably, climate changes have occurred (Gautier, 2014; 

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [IPCC], 2013; Sonnenfeld & Mol, 2002; World Wide Fund for Nature, 2018). Environmental pressure started with the establishment of agricultural societies by human beings, reached high levels in the industrial era and has continued to increase today. Despite the ability of the environment to sustain itself, human behaviours disrupt the natural environment and become a threat to environmental sustainability. Besides major factors such as population growth, depletion of resources and pollution, daily behaviours such as smoking, inefficient recycling habits, unfriendly attitudes towards the environment are increasing factors leading to the destruction of the natural resources.

 Environmental pollution and Climate change has led to the rapid deterioration of various ecosystems with far reaching consequences for the living organisms residing within them. The repercussions of pollution and climate change on biological organisms, as well as on particularly susceptible communities, are an important source of global scientific concern. Our current generation has changed the ecosystem faster and more exhaustively than any other generation before, therefore, a significant part of the environmental problems experienced today is human-induced (Çoban, 2014; Williams & Cary, 2002). The solution is based on people’s awareness regarding the root of the problem (Rickinson, 2001) and behavioural change for a sustainable future. 

Environmental education is the best way to raise awareness of people about the environment. It is the process of learning necessary information about the environment, forming positive attitudes toward the environment, developing the right behaviours, and creating conscious societies that act with lifelong awareness in every point of life (Erol & Gezer, 2006; Gülersoy et al., 2020). Well-planned environmental education that includes practical activities plays an important role in providing individuals with exemplary behaviours toward the environment.

 

Environmental Psychology

Environmental psychology emerged as a subdiscipline of psychological science. This field defines the term environment broadly, encompassing natural environments, social settings, built environments, learning environments, and informational environments. It is an interdisciplinary field that focuses on the interplay between individuals and their surroundings.

 It covers all aspects of human behaviour and mental life in relation to the biophysical environment, whether considered as ambient environmental factors (e.g., noise, temperature, lighting), specific behaviour settings (e.g., schools, offices, hospitals), the basic infrastructure of everyday life (e.g., energy and transportation systems), or in a broader sense, with regard to landscape and the relationship between built and natural aspects of human environments. Human behaviour and mental life include, but are not limited to, perception and cognition, emotion, stress and mental fatigue, decision making, and social interactions, as manifest in covert and overt behaviour. In short, environmental psychology is concerned with the facts of bi-directional influence in people-environment interactions; it considers how the socio physical environment influences people and how people influence the environment (Gärling, 2014).

Environmental psychology was not fully recognized as its own field until the late 1960s when scientists began to question the tie between human behaviour and our natural and built environments. Since its conception, the field has been committed to the development of a discipline that is both value oriented and problem oriented, prioritising research aimed at solving complex environmental problems in the pursuit of individual well-being within a larger society (Proshansky 1987). When solving problems involving human-environment interactions, whether global or local, one must have a model of human nature that predicts the environmental conditions under which humans will respond well. This model can help design, manage, protect and/or restore environments that enhance reasonable behaviour, predict the likely outcomes when these conditions are not met, and diagnose problem situations. This field develops such a model of human nature while retaining a broad and inherently multidisciplinary focus.

The importance of environmental factors in psychiatric research is gaining increased attention due to the various detrimental effects unfavourable environmental conditions may give rise to. They may be the genesis of various neurological and psychological disorders and induce congenital defects and cause impairments in neurodevelopment as well as leading to the manifestation of a number of psychophysical symptoms. Climate change has been predicted to affect both community-wellbeing and physical health which would have associated ramifications on mental health as well (Berry et al., 2010).

In the existing literature, climate change is found to have three types of psychological effects. Firstly, an increase in natural calamities and extreme fluctuations in weather conditions precipitated by climate change has been found to take a toll on mental wellness. Secondly, vulnerable communities and places, especially those in low – income countries, would be adversely impacted by climate change as found by Berry et al., (2010). This may be due to their reduced accessibility to the resources that promote mental health and wellbeing.

Lastly, the emerging phenomenon of ‘eco anxiety’ is also being triggered by climate change. Eco anxiety is closely associated with fear and worry (Panu, 2020). It causes emotional distress and feelings of apprehension about the future and may leave individuals experiencing a myriad of other negative feelings such as sadness, helplessness, frustration or anger.

Knowing environmental issues enables individuals to predict the results of their activities. For example, an individual who knows ecological relationships in nature can predict what kind of impact the other related species, and perhaps the entire ecosystem, could face if any species becomes extinct and can, therefore, shape their behaviour accordingly. However, many studies emphasise that positive feelings and attitudes are more important than providing information to individuals in environmental education. Pooley and O'Connor (2000) and Iozzi (1989) have stated that environmental attitudes are directly related to behaviours and knowledge lags behind them. For this reason, the concept of attitude toward the environment becomes important as one of the determining factors of behaviour.

Attitude

Attitudes that are formed as a result of individuals’ perceptions and prepares the ground for their behaviours (Akande, 2009; Kağıtçıbaşı, 2010) are the positive and negative emotions that are organised based on any subject, concept, object, phenomenon or event, motivation and information related to that subject (Güney, 2000; Kağıtçıbaşı, 2010; Tezbaşaran, 1996). Ajzen and Fishbein (1977) state that attitudes consist of four elements: action, goal-oriented action, action-oriented content, and time. 

Throughout the history of psychology, the notion of attitude has played an essential role

in the explanation of behaviour. Attitude research has been popular beginning in the

1900s. One of the main reasons for this, as described by Wicker (1969), is that theorists

have believed and have seen a real connection between attitudes and behaviour. Gordon

Allport (1935), an early pioneer in attitude research, characterised the concept of attitude

as distinctive and indispensable to social psychology.

The word ‘attitude’, stems from the Latin word “Aptus” it has on one hand the

significance of ‘fitness’ or connotes a subjective or mental state of ‘preparation for

action’. The term ‘attitude’ was introduced in social psychology as an explanatory device

in an attempt to understand human behaviour." (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975, p.336).

The word attitude has been defined in various ways by different scientists. Allport (1935), defined attitude as “a mental and neural state of readiness, organised through experience, exerting a directive or dynamic influence upon an individual's response to all objects and situations with which it is related". Krech, D., & Crutchfield, R. S. (1948), defined attitude as, “an enduring organisation of motivational, emotional, perceptual and cognitive processes with respect to some aspect of the individual's world”. Thurstone and Chave (1929) define attitude as, "The sum total of man's inclinations and feelings, prejudices or biases, preconceived notions, ideas, fears, threats and convictions about any specific topic. A.L. Edwards (1969) defines attitude as "the degree of positive or negative effect associated with some psychological object."

Attitudes possess certain characteristics: valence (degree of positive or negative feeling about an attitude object that predicts what attitude scales normally measure), centrality (the extent to which an attitude is a part of a person's self-concept and reflects the individual’s identity), interrelatedness (the extent to which an attitude is related to a person's other attitudes), stability (an attitude’s resistance to change) and salience (a person's conscious awareness of the attitude).

An attitude is a latent construct mentally attached to a concrete or abstract object (otherwise known as an “attitude object” - a person, place, entity, or idea). Attitudes have been said to be made up of three components: cognitive (consisting of the person's thought process, perceptions and beliefs, and evaluations about the attitude object), conative (consisting the behavioural intentions and actions regarding the attitudinal object) and affective (provides an emotional or feeling aspect to the attitude which results in an object being liked or disliked). (Breckler, 1984).

Attitudes are often confused with other constructs, such as values, beliefs, opinions, personality dispositions, personal norms and behaviour. Although all these components relate to the three attitude components to some extent, they also differ in subtle but important ways. 

Values are the moral principles or moral ethics or culturally bound standards of behaviour. On the other hand, attitudes are the opinions or stances about a certain subject matter or a person.

A belief is defined as an enduring organisation of perceptions and cognitions about some

aspects of the individual's world. Whereas, attitude refers to a person's favourable or unfavourable evaluation of an object, beliefs represent the information a person has about the said object. Behaviour is the dynamic resultant of motivational, emotional, perceptual and learning processes operating simultaneously. While attitude involves the mind's predisposition to certain ideas, values, people, systems, institutions; behaviour relates to the actual expression of feelings, action or inaction orally or/and through body language. Personality is the dynamic organisation within the individual of those psycho-physical systems that determine his unique adjustment to his environment. Personality traits differ from attitudes in that, like values, they are not focused on a particular object, are not necessarily evaluative and are not easily changeable (Ajzen, 2005).

Erten (2005) defines environmental attitude as "individuals' emotions such as fear, anxiety, anger caused by environmental problems, their value judgments about the environment, and their attitudes and thoughts that can be positive or negative, such as taking part in solving environmental problems." In this regard, attitudes toward the environment directly affect the perspectives and preferences of individuals regarding environmental events. Environmental attitudes can also be defined as concern for the environment or caring about environmental issues (sometimes referred to as pro-environmental attitudes). Pro – environmental attitudes has been defined by Giffords & Sussman (2012) as the consideration and concern displayed by an individual towards the natural environment and involves them caring about issues plaguing the environment.