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Media type:
E-Article
Title:
The Malicious Effects of Existential Threat on Motivation to Protect the Natural Environment and the Role of Environmental Identity as a Moderator
Contributor:
Fritsche, Immo;
Häfner, Katrin
Published:
SAGE Publications, 2012
Published in:
Environment and Behavior, 44 (2012) 4, Seite 570-590
Language:
English
DOI:
10.1177/0013916510397759
ISSN:
0013-9165;
1552-390X
Origination:
Footnote:
Description:
Existential threat, which terror-management theory suggests is associated with greater psychological distance from nature and increased concern for the self, may erode human motivation to protect the natural environment. Environmentally relevant motivations and concerns include desires to protect humans (anthropocentric motivation and egoistic concern) and nature (biocentric motivation and biospheric concern). Experimentally induced mortality salience decreased biocentric but not anthropocentric motivation to protect the environment (Studies 1 and 2) as well as biospheric but not egoistic environmental concern (Study 2). However, moderator effects also suggest how environmentally protective motivations can be sustained despite existential threat. If people conceive of proenvironmental action as serving humans or if it relates to people’s identities, the malicious effects of existential threat on proenvironmental motivation can be eliminated.