Morality, Emotions, and the Ideal Environmentalist
Toward A Conceptual Framework for Understanding Political Polarization
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4744116 |
|---|---|
| Authors | E Huddart Kennedy (0000-0002-6723-4210, University of British Columbia, corresponding author), Parker Muzzerall (Department of Sociology, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 66 |
| Issue | 9 |
| Pages | 1263-1285 |
| Publication date | 2022-08-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Behavioral Scientist (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0002-7642 • E-ISSN: 1552-3381 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/00027642211056258 |
| OpenAlex | W4200363941 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 8 |
| References cited | 48 |
Americans are politically polarized in their views on environmental protection, and scholars have identified structural and cultural drivers of this polarity. Missing from these theories is a consideration of the emotional dynamics at play in environmentally relevant interactions between liberals and conservatives. Based on analyses of in-depth interviews conducted with 63 politically and socioeconomically diverse residents of four communities in Washington State, we find evidence of important common ground across the political spectrum. Our participants voice support and respect for environmental protection and convey a shared image of an ideal environmentalist: a conscious, caring, and committed individual who seeks to reduce their personal environmental impact. We see political differences arise when our participants evaluate their own relationship with the environment against this ideal environmentalist. Liberals are more likely to align with or admire the ideal environmentalist and conservatives are more likely to challenge or denigrate the ideal. Emotions and competing claims for moral worth, we suggest, play a role in making these political differences polarizing
Environmental ethics · Environmentalism · Ideal (ethics) · Morality · Polarization (electrochemistry) · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Climate Change Communication and Perception · Environmental Education and Sustainability · Law · Psychology · Social and Cultural Dynamics · Social Psychology
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Conceptualizing Affective Climate Polarization
Affective Climate and Political Polarization
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Moral perceptions about environmentalism across ideological groups
When Faith Meets Markets
Explaining Polarized Trust in Scientists
Unraveling Moral Evaluations
The Theory of Dyadic Morality
Psychological Barriers to Bipartisan Public Support for Climate Policy
Elevation and the positive psychology of morality.
A Widening Gap
Personal and social factors that influence pro-environmental concern and behaviour: A review
Moral Emotions
Free-Market Ideology and Environmental Degradation
Money, Morals, and Manners
The Dignity of Working Men
Meta-analyses of the determinants and outcomes of belief in climate change
The Moral Roots of Environmental Attitudes
Earth Day
The growth of climate change misinformation in US philanthropy
Ideology, capitalism, and climate
Is Deference the Price of Being Seen as Reasonable? How Status Hierarchies Incentivize Acceptance of Low Status
Elite cues, media coverage, and public concern
The Ideological Foundations of Affective Polarization in the U.S. Electorate
Where Does Political Polarization Come From? Locating Polarization Within the U.S. Climate Change Debate
Is Polarization a Myth
Doing ‘enough’ of the ‘right’ thing
The CAD triad hypothesis
Liberals and conservatives rely on different sets of moral foundations
Moral Emotions and Moral Behavior
Political Polarization in the American Public
Finding the moral space
Accidental environmentalist or ethical elite? The moral dimensions of environmental impact
Explaining political polarization in environmental governance using narrative analysis
Theory Construction in Qualitative Research
Elite Cues and the Rapid Decline in Trust in Science Agencies on Covid-19
Anti-reflexivity
Understanding Local Environmental Concern
The Politicization of Climate Change and Polarization in the American Public's Views of Global Warming, 2001-2010
Shame and the Social Bond
Have American's Social Attitudes Become More Polarized
How Many Emotions Are There? Wedding the Social and the Autonomic Components
When Morality Opposes Justice
| Citations per year | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2024 - 2026 (3) |
| Highly cited | No |