Avoidance, rationalization, and denial : Defensive self-protection in the face of climate change negatively predicts pro-environmental behavior
Wullenkord, Marlis LU
and Reese, Gerhard
(2021)
In Journal of Environmental Psychology
77.
- Abstract
Despite urgent need for climate action, denial of climate change and resulting absence of appropriate pro-environmental behavior are widespread. Interpretive (recognition of climate change as a problem but re-interpretation of its severity) and implicatory denial of climate change (recognition of climate change as a problem but denial of psychological, political, and moral implications) can be interpreted as self-protective strategies people use to protect the self in the face of threat. However, research has not integrated individual self-protective strategies into one comprehensive measure. The present research aimed at reviewing the existing literature and constructing the Climate Self-Protection Scale (CSPS) to make climate-relevant... (More)
Despite urgent need for climate action, denial of climate change and resulting absence of appropriate pro-environmental behavior are widespread. Interpretive (recognition of climate change as a problem but re-interpretation of its severity) and implicatory denial of climate change (recognition of climate change as a problem but denial of psychological, political, and moral implications) can be interpreted as self-protective strategies people use to protect the self in the face of threat. However, research has not integrated individual self-protective strategies into one comprehensive measure. The present research aimed at reviewing the existing literature and constructing the Climate Self-Protection Scale (CSPS) to make climate-relevant defensive self-protection measurable. In Study 1, N = 354 Germans responded to a pool of items. Using exploratory main axis analysis, we identified five factors, corresponding to the self-protective strategies rationalization of own involvement, avoidance, denial of personal outcome severity, denial of global outcome severity, and denial of guilt. Study 2 (N = 453 Germans) used confirmatory factor analysis to verify the five-factorial structure of the CSPS. Self-protective strategies were positively related with each other (except for avoidance and denial of guilt) and fit into a framework of interpretive (denial of global and personal outcome severity) and implicatory denial (rationalization, avoidance, denial of guilt). They related positively to male gender and right-wing political orientation, and negatively to various indicators of pro-environmentalism. This provides evidence of criterion and construct validity of the CSPS. In future research, the scale could be used as a tool to examine climate-relevant self-protective strategies further.
(Less)
- author
- Wullenkord, Marlis
LU
and Reese, Gerhard
- publishing date
- 2021-10
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Climate change, Defensiveness, Denial, Pro-environmental behaviour, Self-protection, Test construction
- in
- Journal of Environmental Psychology
- volume
- 77
- article number
- 101683
- publisher
- Elsevier
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85114705814
- ISSN
- 0272-4944
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.jenvp.2021.101683
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- no
- additional info
- Publisher Copyright: © 2021 Elsevier Ltd
- id
- a8450cd1-2b97-41b9-abba-070adb313014
- date added to LUP
- 2022-02-28 19:33:02
- date last changed
- 2022-04-24 00:08:50
@article{a8450cd1-2b97-41b9-abba-070adb313014,
abstract = {{<p>Despite urgent need for climate action, denial of climate change and resulting absence of appropriate pro-environmental behavior are widespread. Interpretive (recognition of climate change as a problem but re-interpretation of its severity) and implicatory denial of climate change (recognition of climate change as a problem but denial of psychological, political, and moral implications) can be interpreted as self-protective strategies people use to protect the self in the face of threat. However, research has not integrated individual self-protective strategies into one comprehensive measure. The present research aimed at reviewing the existing literature and constructing the Climate Self-Protection Scale (CSPS) to make climate-relevant defensive self-protection measurable. In Study 1, N = 354 Germans responded to a pool of items. Using exploratory main axis analysis, we identified five factors, corresponding to the self-protective strategies rationalization of own involvement, avoidance, denial of personal outcome severity, denial of global outcome severity, and denial of guilt. Study 2 (N = 453 Germans) used confirmatory factor analysis to verify the five-factorial structure of the CSPS. Self-protective strategies were positively related with each other (except for avoidance and denial of guilt) and fit into a framework of interpretive (denial of global and personal outcome severity) and implicatory denial (rationalization, avoidance, denial of guilt). They related positively to male gender and right-wing political orientation, and negatively to various indicators of pro-environmentalism. This provides evidence of criterion and construct validity of the CSPS. In future research, the scale could be used as a tool to examine climate-relevant self-protective strategies further.</p>}},
author = {{Wullenkord, Marlis and Reese, Gerhard}},
issn = {{0272-4944}},
keywords = {{Climate change; Defensiveness; Denial; Pro-environmental behaviour; Self-protection; Test construction}},
language = {{eng}},
publisher = {{Elsevier}},
series = {{Journal of Environmental Psychology}},
title = {{Avoidance, rationalization, and denial : Defensive self-protection in the face of climate change negatively predicts pro-environmental behavior}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2021.101683}},
doi = {{10.1016/j.jenvp.2021.101683}},
volume = {{77}},
year = {{2021}},
}