Who cares about ecology? Personality and sex differences in environmental concern1

Bibliographic Data

ID19280993
AuthorsRichard J Borden (Purdue University West Lafayette, corresponding author), Janice L Francis, Janice Francis (0000-0002-4519-0990, Purdue University West Lafayette)
Year1978
Volume46
Issue1
Pages190-203
Publication date1978-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Personality (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-3506 • E-ISSN: 1467-6494
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1467-6494.1978.tb00610.x
PMID650379
OpenAlexW2035372602
LanguageEN
Citations received30
References cited26

This study was designed to identify personality factors that underlie concern for ecological-environmental problems. High and low environmental-concern individuals were given the California Psychological Inventory and were found to differ significantly on many subscales. A factor analysis of the CPI data produced four factors which closely paralleled previous CPI research findings. In conjunction with this analysis, four factorially derived scores were obtained for each individual. Comparison of high and low environmental-concern individual's factorially derived scores showed high environmental-concern persons as having stronger value orientation, person orientation, and ethical-conscientiousness, but not differing from low environmental-concern individuals in terms of independence of thought or action. Further, high environmental-concern females were found to be significantly more extraverted, "leader-types" than low environmental-concern females; while the opposite relation was obtained for males. Thus, it appears that men and women become involved with the environmental movement for different reasons, Finally, additional implications of the involvement of basic psychological individual differences in determining ecological-environmental concern were discussed

Big Five personality traits · Biology · Conscientiousness · Developmental psychology · Extraversion and introversion · Independence (probability theory) · Personality · Behavioral Health and Interventions · Ecology · Environmental Education and Sustainability · Psychology · Social and Intergroup Psychology · Social Psychology