A new tool to map the major worldviews in the Netherlands and USA, and explore how they relate to climate change. Issue 63 (September 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: De Witt, Annick; de Boer, Joop; Hedlund, Nicholas; Osseweijer, Patricia
• Is Part Of: Environmental science & policy. Issue 63(2016:Sep.)
• Page Start: 101
• Page End: 112
• Publication Date: 2016-09
• Subjects: Worldviews -- Climate change -- Sustainable lifestyles -- Environmental behaviors -- Traditional -- Modern -- Postmodern -- Integrative worldviews -- Integrative worldview framework; Environmental policy -- Periodicals; Environmental sciences -- Periodicals; Environnement -- Politique gouvernementale -- Périodiques; Sciences de l'environnement -- Périodiques; Environmental policy; Environmental sciences; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 363.70561
• DOI: 10.1016/j.envsci.2016.05.012
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1462-9011

Abstract

Highlights: A scale was developed to map major worldviews in the Netherlands and USA. The major worldviews are traditional, modern, postmodern, and integrative. Significant relationships were found between worldviews and opinions and behaviors. Postmoderns and integratives showed more climate concern and sustainable behaviors. The implications of this tool for social science, policy, and leadership are marked. Abstract: For addressing climate change, public support for changes in policy is needed, as well changes in individual lifestyles. Both of these appear to be intimately related with people's worldviews . Understanding these worldviews is therefore essential. In order to research and 'map' them, we translated the theoretical 'Integrative Worldview Framework' (IWF) into an empirical, quantitative approach. We constructed a worldview-scale aiming to distinguish between four major worldviews – labeled traditional, modern, postmodern, and integrative – and explored their interface with opinions and behaviors with respect to climate change. The survey was conducted with representative samples of citizens in the Netherlands and the USA (n = 527 and n = 556). The hypothesized worldviews were found in the data with a reasonable degree of reliability, especially in the Dutch sample. We also found consistent relationships between these worldview-clusters and a range of opinions, political priorities, and behaviors. In both countries postmoderns and integratives displayed significantly more concern about climate change as well as more sustainable behaviors, compared with moderns and traditionals. The implications of these findings for environmental policy and social science are noteworthy.