其他摘要 | Zhuangzi said, "Co-exist with Heaven and Earth, and united with everything." Human beings live in the world and are part of nature, and the relationship between humans and nature should be harmonious. But humans, for their own development and anthropocentric perspective, have led to the increasing deterioration of the natural environment, such as climate warming. Albert Gore mentioned in his Nobel Peace Prize (1994) lecture, "The earth has a fever." Scholars have been exploring how to promote pro-environmental behaviors to solve the growing environmental problems. However, the role of nature-related factors, such as anthropomorphism, connectedness to nature and environmental guilt, on pro-environmental behavior has received less attention. Anthropomorphism of nature is imbuing the imagined or real behavior of nature with humanlike characteristics, motivations, intentions, and emotions. Currently, the mechanisms of the role of anthropomorphism on pro-environmental behavior are unclear. In addition, age is also a key influencing factor of pro-environmental behavior, but previous studies have mostly focused on youth groups. There is a gap in the age-related trend of anthropomorphism and pro-environmental behavior. To fill the above-mentioned gap, the present study integrated previous research and examined the role of connectedness to nature and environmental guilt in anthropomorphism of nature to promote pro-environmental behavior through a psychological model. In addition, we examined the age-related trends of the study variables and their relationship. In sum, this study explores the psychological mechanisms and age-related changes of anthropomorphism of nature to promote pro-environmental behavior based on the perspective of harmony between human and nature.
In Study 1,we collected data from 400 participants using the anthropomorphism of nature scale, the connectedness to nature scale, the environmental guilt scale and the pro-environmental behavior scale. The relationships among anthropomorphism of nature, connectedness to nature, environmental guilt, and pro-environmental behavior were verified through structural equation modeling. The results showed that (1) anthropomorphism of nature was significantly and positively related to connectedness to nature, environmental guilt and pro-environmental behavior; and connectedness to nature significantly and positively predicted environmental guilt; (2) anthropomorphism of nature significantly and positively influenced pro-environmental behavior through the serial mediating effect of connectedness to nature and environmental guilt.
In Study 2, in order to verify the findings of Study 1 and to further investigate the relationships and age-related changes between anthropomorphism of nature, connectedness to nature, environmental guilt and pro-environmental behavior, 1,364 valid data were collected in four age groups: mid-late adolescence (15-20 years, 334 participants), early adulthood (20-35 years, 402 participants), middle adulthood (35-55 years, 321 participants) and late adulthood (55+ years, 307 participants) using the anthropomorphism of nature scale, connectedness to nature scale, environmental guilt scale and pro-environmental behavior scale. The results showed that (1) anthropomorphism of nature was significantly and positively related to connectedness to nature, environmental guilt and pro-environmental behavior; and connectedness to nature significantly and positively predicted environmental guilt; (2) anthropomorphism of nature significantly and positively influenced pro-environmental behavior through the serial mediating effect of connectedness to nature and environmental guilt; (3) connectedness to nature decreased in mid-late adolescence and increased in early adulthood, environmental guilt weakened and pro-environmental behavior increased with increasing age, and anthropomorphism of nature first diminished and then increased with increasing age; (4) there was cross-age stability in the serial mediating role of connectedness to nature and environmental guilt between anthropomorphism of nature and pro-environmental behavior.
This study highlights the complex nature of the association between anthropomorphism of nature and pro-environmental behavior, extending existing research on humans and nature, exploring the serial mediating role of connectedness to nature and environmental guilt between the relationship of anthropomorphism of nature and pro-environmental behavior. Furthermore, we explore the trajectories of the variables and confirming the stability of the serial mediation effect across ages. This contributes to further understanding of the mechanisms underlying the effects of anthropomorphism of nature on pro-environmental behavior and provides a complement to existing studies in terms of age. In addition, these findings provide a vital reference for environmental policymakers and have both theoretical and practical implications for improving residents' pro-environmental behaviors at different age. |
修改评论