Exploring the many sides of environmental engagement and how they relate to personality and socio-political views

Abstract

Objective: This dissertation aims to gain a better understanding of the concept of Environmental Engagement and how it is influenced by Personality and Socio-Political views.Settings: The dataset used for this study was collected through a self-administered survey distributed online in April 2021.Participants: 140 participants took part in the surveyMeasures: The questionnaire contained seven different sections divided as follows: “Demographics,” “Attitudes towards science,” “Big Five personality traits,” “Socio-political orientation,” “Sustainability endorsement,” “Ecology Endorsement,” and “Sustainable and environmental behaviors.”Results: Environmental Engagement is linked to higher levels of “Agreeableness,” “Openness,” “Conscientiousness,” and “Neuroticism,” while no significant relationships were observed with “Extraversion.”Right-wing ideologies and with pronounced Authoritarianist tend to show less consideration for nature due to their support to individualist policies promoting Capitalism and economic liberal policies with little regard to the environmental consequences of such policies.Environmental engagement is generally associated with a strong belief in science. Those showcasing this characteristic are more likely to accept and be aware of the scientific arguments and thus be more willing to engage and support environmental actions.These results suggest that Socio-political views are better determinants of environmental engagement compared to personality. A confirmatory factor analysis indicates a partial mediation process through Socio-political views regarding Environmental Engagement with personality still having some direct effects on the variable of interest.Conclusion: Treating Environmental Engagement as a politically polarized issue only delays the needed collective action to deal with the issue

Date of Award	19 Oct 2021
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Sérgio Paulo Moreira (Supervisor)