Contextual Effects on Environmental Attitudes and Behavior

Abstract

Using data from a random sample survey of the population of British Columbia, this article addresses an anomaly in the literature on environmental concern and environmental action: the limited impact of self-interest, in the sense of behavior based on a personal threat from environmental problems, on the likelihood of environmental action. The issue is examined using a regression model that includes contextual effects and measures of political attitudes and environmental knowledge as determinants of individual action in support of environmental causes and collective action directed at halting or reversing environmental degradation. The analysis demonstrates that spatial variation in the nature of environmental problems has a significant effect on perceptions and behavior. Whereas protest behavior is more likely in areas dominated by resource extraction, willingness to incur economic costs in the interest of environmental protection is lower.