ERIC Number: EJ1215677
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0095-8964
EISSN: N/A
The New Environmental Paradigm Scale: Reassessing the Operationalization of Contemporary Environmentalism
Bernstein, Jennifer; Szuster, Brian W.
Journal of Environmental Education, v50 n2 p73-83 2019
Researchers have long aimed to quantify environmental attitudes, subsequently incorporating them into more comprehensive models of values, attitudes, and behaviors. However, many metrics, notably the New Environmental Paradigm scale, conflate a situated, incomplete set of environmental attitudes with pro-environmental worldviews generally. Further, the measurement of environmental worldviews is often used instrumentally to engender pro-environmental behaviors, proving problematic both theoretically and pragmatically. Three dimensions are suggested to better explain the diversity of contemporary environmentalism--view of technology, view of societal response, and view of nature. This article argues that any multi-item scale will be limited in its ability to capture a dynamic concept like environmentalism, but when used appropriately quantitative scales can engender individual and community empowerment; therefore, reassessment rather than rejection is the appropriate way forward.
Descriptors: Conservation (Environment), World Views, Public Opinion, Natural Resources, Empowerment, Attitude Measures, Environmental Education, Behavior Change, Problem Solving, Construct Validity, Technological Advancement, Social Change, Climate
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: New Environmental Paradigm
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A