Environmentally related variables 

 

Economic growth

Source: http://money-hotnews.blogspot.com/

It was found that Environmental Attitudes are negatively related to attitudes towards economic growth and also belief about money (Axelrod, 1994; Buttel & Flinn, 1976; Dunlap & Van Liere, 1984; Kilbourne, Beckmann, & Thelen, 2002; Hodgkinson & Innes, 2000).

Environmental organization membership

 

Source: http://www.sgcares.org/public/VHO/SGCares_P_VHO_Home.aspx

Members of environmental organization are found to have more pro Environmental Attitudes (Dunlap & Van Liere, 1978; Dunlap, Van Liere, Mertig, & Jones, 2000; Maloney & Ward, 1973; Mayer & Frantz, 2004; Pahl, Harris, Todd, & Rutter, 2005; Pato, Ros, & Tamayo, 2005; Weigel & Weigel, 1978).

Inclusion with nature

Source: http://studio4llc.com/children’s-connection-with-nature/

One’s extrinsic and intrinsic connected with nature shares a positive relationship with Environmental Attitudes (Mayer & Frantz, 2004; Schultz, 2001; Schultz, Shriver, Tabanico, & Khazian, 2004).

This means that if a person experiences inclusion with nature, he or she should care about nature and be committed to protecting it. However, if an individual experiences exclusion from nature, that person will protect himself or herself over nature (Schultz, 2002).

An individual’s connection with nature is probably even beyond a person’s own conscious awareness (Schultz et al., 2004).

Inclusion with nature consists of several dimensions. A central part of inclusion with nature is the definition of the self as part of nature. Inclusion with nature also consists of the component of caring for nature and the commitment to protect it. If an individual has strong inclusion with nature, he or she will have a strong inclination to protect and care for it (Schultz, 2002).

We can then see why having a strong inclusion with nature will contribute to a positive relationship with pro Environmental Attitudes.

Knowledge of Environmental Issues

Knowledge is very important in predicting Environmental Attitudes (Diekmann & Preisendörfer, 1998; Hines, Hungerford, & Tomera, 1987; Kaiser F. G. & Fuhler, 2003; Lévy-Leboyer, Bonnes, Chase, & Ferreira-Marques, 1996; McFarlane & Hunt, 2006). The more knowledge of environmental issues an individual has, the higher that individual’s score of Environmental Attitudes.

Milfont (2007) reviewed all the environmentally related variables influencing Environmental Attitudes and found that individuals who hold attitudes toward limiting economic growth, who are worried about, and perceive threats from, environmental issues, who are members of an environmental organization, and who feel connected with nature and have knowledge about environmental problems are more likely to hold pro-Environmental Attitudes.

Now that we have gained an understanding of all the factors influencing Environmental Attitudes, let’s take a look at the Environmental Attitudes Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand have and the factors that influence these attitudes.