Motivations to Act for the Protection of Nature Biodiversity and the Environment: A Matter of "Significance". Issue 10 (December 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Molinario, Erica; Kruglanski, Arie W.; Bonaiuto, Flavia; Bonnes, Mirilia; Cicero, Lavinia; Fornara, Ferdinando; Scopelliti, Massimiliano; Admiraal, Jeroen; Beringer, Almut; Dedeurwaerdere, Tom; deGroot, Wouter; Hiedanpää, Juha; Knights, Paul; Knippenberg, Luuk; Ovdenden, Chris; Polajnar Horvat, Katarina; Popa, Florin; Porras-Gomez, Carmen; Smrekar, Aleš; Soethe, Nathalie; Vivero-Pol, Jose Luis; van den Born, Riyan J. G.; Bonaiuto, Marino
• Is Part Of: Environment and behavior. Volume 52:Issue 10(2020)
• Page Start: 1133
• Page End: 1163
• Publication Date: 2020-12
• Subjects: environmental activism -- meaning in life -- pro-environmental behaviors -- pro-environmental ideology -- willingness to sacrifice -- difficult pro-environmental behaviors; Human ecology -- Periodicals; 304.2
• DOI: 10.1177/0013916518824376
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0013-9165

Abstract

Environmental activism, defined as a range of difficult pro-environmental behaviors, is analyzed within the conceptual framework of Significance Quest Theory (SQT). In Study 1, 40 interviews were carried out on two groups of people in the European Union: Committed Actors for Nature (CANs, n = 25) versus Committed Actors for Society (CASs, n = 15). Results demonstrated that Significance Quest (SQ) motivates each group to be strongly committed to their chosen action and the main difference between them being in their ideology (pro-social vs. pro-environmental). In Study 2 ( N = 131), the relationship between SQ and intention to enact difficult pro-environmental behaviors was assessed. Results suggested that the higher the SQ, the higher the tendency to enact difficult pro-environmental behaviors, but not average or easy ones. Moreover, the higher the pro-environmental ideology, the stronger the indirect effect of SQ on difficult behavior through willingness to sacrifice.