Citizens' Attitudes Toward Environmental Issues

Abstract

Environmental issues have emerged recently as a new dimension on the political agenda of advanced industrial democracies. The most prominent explanations for this issue concern have been psychological models of postindustrial value change. These models, however, neglect to link environmental concerns to the true state of ecological affairs. This research examines the degree to which psychological dimensions and the perceived ecological problems contribute to the rise of environmentalism in Western Europe. For this purpose, we employ Inglehart's model of postmaterial values, a self-interest model, and a sociotropic model. The self-interest model holds that citizens favor strict environmental regulations if their local environment is polluted. In the sociotropic model, citizens evaluate ecological problems as national issues. We approach the research questions cross-nationally using a Eurobarometer on ecological issues. We find that psychological factors and the perceived degree of national pollution problems contribute to the rise of environmentalism. Self-interest motives have only an indirect impact on citizen attitudes toward environmental protection.