The Prosocial Driver of Ecological Behavior: The Need for an Integrated Approach to Prosocial and Environmental Education

Although both altruistic and ecological behaviors can be considered prosocially driven be-haviors, our psychological understanding of what motivates action in either the human or ecological domains is still in its infancy. We aimed to assess connection to nature and connection to humans as mediators of the relationship between prosocial propensity and prosocial behaviors in both the ecological and human domains. This study used empathy as an indicator of an individual’s prosocial propensity. The data for the study was collected through surveys in Russian (841 participants) and Spanish (418 participants). The study demonstrated that an individual’s prosocial propensity can be actioned into ecological (nature-related) behavior through connection to nature. Similarly, an individual’s prosocial propensity can be actioned into altruistic (human-related) behavior through connection to humans. However, the present study also demonstrates that an individual’s prosocial propensity can be directed to humans through a connection to nature. Thus, altruistic and ecological behaviors are two related classes of behavior, driven by the same prosocial propensity of the individual. This study is an important step towards generating scientific support for the claim that traditionally separate teaching of prosocial and environmental subjects should be combined into a single educational approach. An integrated approach will contribute to a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary effort to create a society that is both ecologically and socially sustainable. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Авторы
Neaman A. 1, 2 , Pensini P.3 , Zabel S.4, 5 , Otto S.4, 5 , Ermakov D.S. 6 , Dovletyarova E.A. 7 , Burnham E.8 , Castro M.8 , Navarro-Villarroel C.9
Издательство
MDPI AG
Номер выпуска
7
Язык
Английский
Статус
Опубликовано
Номер
4202
Том
14
Год
2022
Организации
  • 1 Laboratory of Bioresource Potential of Coastal Area, Institute for Advanced Studies, Sevastopol State University, Sevastopol, 299053, Russian Federation
  • 2 Centro Transdisciplinario de Estudios Ambientales y Desarrollo Humano Sostenible (CEAM), Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, 5090000, Chile
  • 3 School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3800, Australia
  • 4 Institute of Education, Work and Society, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, 70599, Germany
  • 5 Institute of Psychology, Otto-von-Guericke University, Magdeburg, 39106, Germany
  • 6 Department of Psychology and Pedagogy, Peoples Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University), 6 Miklukho-Maklaya St, Moscow, 117198, Russian Federation
  • 7 Department of Landscape Design and Sustainable Ecosystems, Peoples Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University), 6 Miklukho-Maklaya St, Moscow, 117198, Russian Federation
  • 8 Escuela de Agronomía, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Quillota, 2260000, Chile
  • 9 Área de Educación, Instituto de Estadística, Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, 2340000, Chile
Ключевые слова
altruism; connectedness to humanity; connectedness to nature; pro-environmental behavior; prosocial behavior; sustainable behavior
Дата создания
06.07.2022
Дата изменения
06.07.2022
Постоянная ссылка
https://repository.rudn.ru/ru/records/article/record/83710/
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