Cultural differences in perceptions of environmental problems

Abstract

A comparative survey study of environmental perceptions and beliefs was conducted in Japan and in two New York State countries in 1974. While the samples and the instruments were not strictly comparable, there was sufficient comparability to compare perceptions about the seriousness of the environmental problem, perceptions of the quality of various environmental elements, the definition of the environmental problem, the causes of the environmental problem, attitudes toward governmental action to solve environmental problems, and citizen activity with respect to the environmental problem. Some general findings are that the definition of the environmental problem is culture bound. That we cannot expect people to support strong environmentally protective actions by governments until they perceive a clear and present danger. That if people perceive environmental damage to be caused by the social, economic, and political system, they will look to the system for the solution and will take little personal action to alleviate the problem. We had held a hope that mankind might take a more thoughtful and planned approach to a new environmentally protective social order; this hope received little encouragement from what we have learned in this study.