Measuring Beliefs Supportive of Environmental Action and Inaction: A Reinterpretation of the Awareness of Consequences Scale

Ryan, Anthony M. and Spash, Clive L. (2010): Measuring Beliefs Supportive of Environmental Action and Inaction: A Reinterpretation of the Awareness of Consequences Scale.

Abstract

The Value-Belief-Norm model assumes that egoistic, social-altruistic and biospheric value orientations causally influence how people cognitively structure beliefs regarding adverse environmental consequences. Empirical studies have administered the Awareness of Consequences (AC) scale to differentiate between these three orientations. We report an analysis which challenges previous work in the field. Evidence is presented that indicates the AC scale should be reinterpreted as a measure of beliefs supporting environmental action and beliefs supporting environmental inaction. The beliefs supporting environmental action appear to be differentiable according to beliefs in the positive consequences from environmental protection and the seriousness of environment harm. This has major implications for the Value-Belief-Norm model and its application.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Environmental attitudes; awareness of consequences scale; environmental beliefs; value orientations; environmental scales; egoistic; altruistic; biospheric; value-belief-norm model
• Subjects: D - Microeconomics > D4 - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design > D46 - Value Theory; A - General Economics and Teaching > A1 - General Economics > A13 - Relation of Economics to Social Values; D - Microeconomics > D6 - Welfare Economics > D64 - Altruism ; Philanthropy

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