Premium
Linking Society and Environment: A Multilevel Model of Shifting Wildlife Value Orientations in the Western United States *
Author(s) -
Manfredo Michael J.,
Teel Tara L.,
Henry Kimberly L.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
social science quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.482
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1540-6237
pISSN - 0038-4941
DOI - 10.1111/j.1540-6237.2009.00624.x
Subject(s) - wildlife , ideology , urbanization , value (mathematics) , european social survey , population , survey data collection , world values survey , social value orientations , sociology , political science , social psychology , ecology , psychology , economic growth , economics , demography , politics , statistics , mathematics , machine learning , computer science , law , biology , microeconomics
Objective. Studies of attitudes and values can make important contributions to emerging multi‐level, interdisciplinary approaches to environmental problems. We test a multi‐level model using data from a 19‐state study on public thoughts toward wildlife in the western United States. Methods. Data were collected via mail survey administered to residents in each state. Results. Data support (1) a micro model that proposes values are oriented by two contrasting ideologies—domination versus mutualism—and that these different value orientations lead to different attitudes and behaviors toward wildlife; and (2) a macro model that links forces of modernization (income, education, urbanization) to a population‐level shift from domination to mutualism value orientations. Conclusions. Such a shift would stimulate behavioral, ecological, and institutional effects that are critical in shaping society‐environment interactions. Findings suggest that examining human thought processes in relation to broader social and environmental factors holds great promise in extending the application of the social sciences.