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Integrating multi-level values and pro-environmental behavior in a U.S. protected area

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  • Theoretical traditions in social values for sustainability
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Abstract

Human behavior is influenced by an array of psychological processes such as environmental values. Despite the importance of understanding the reasons why people engage in activities that minimize environmental degradation, empirical research rarely integrates different types of values simultaneously to provide more complete and multi-faceted insights on how values contribute to environmental sustainability. Drawing from on-site survey data collected in Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska (n = 641), we used two-step structural equation modeling to test how variation in behavioral patterns was explained by the cultural, individual, and social values of visitors to a national park. We fused various disciplinary perspectives on the value concept to demonstrate how individual- and group-level dynamics were integral for predicting behavior and better understanding aggregated preferences for environmental conditions in the context of a U.S. protected area.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, USA

    Carena van Riper, Lorraine Foelske, Max Eriksson, Elizabeth Golebie & Dana Johnson

  2. University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany

    Sophia Winkler-Schor

  3. National Park Service, Alaska Region, USA

    Rose Keller

  4. University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria

    Michael Braito

  5. University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

    Christopher Raymond

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  1. Carena van Riper
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  2. Sophia Winkler-Schor
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  3. Lorraine Foelske
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  4. Rose Keller
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  6. Christopher Raymond
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  7. Max Eriksson
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  8. Elizabeth Golebie
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  9. Dana Johnson
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Correspondence to Carena van Riper.

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Handled by: Andrea Rawluk, andrea.rawluk@unimelb.edu.au, University of Melbourne School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences.

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van Riper, C., Winkler-Schor, S., Foelske, L. et al. Integrating multi-level values and pro-environmental behavior in a U.S. protected area. Sustain Sci 14, 1395–1408 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-019-00677-w

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