My post on “How to Turn Your Kid into a Treehugger” from a few weeks ago turned out to be quite popular, at least in terms of links from other blogs. Now, Treehugger points us to another study that’s attempting to get to the roots of “green behavior”:
The National Environment & Personality Survey has been launched today (3 APRIL) by a team in the University of Leicester’s School of Psychology.
The study will examine regional and social differences in environmental attitudes and behaviour, with a view to understanding differences in outcome and developing effective interventions. The study will also be used to explore the link between personality and “green behaviour”.
Researchers, led by Chartered Psychologist Dr Julian Boon, will also examine how well the Government’s advice on environmental issues is being followed by the UK population.
Adrian White, psychologist and member of the research team, said: “This national study will seek to establish whether there are regional, age and gender differences in green behaviour.”
The first study I pointed out seemed to take for granted (logically, I think) that environmental consciousness is learned; in this study, researchers will consider the question of whether “green behavior” is learned or innate. I’m definitely interested in the results, but also in the fact that social scientists have taken an interest in environmentalism: is this the “latest thing” in the field?
Categories: environmentalism, personality, psychology, research, UK