Love for the globe but also the country matter for the environment: Links between nationalistic, patriotic, global identification and pro-environmentalism

Abstract

The current study examined whether and how national (patriotic versus nationalistic) and global-level identification would predict pro-environmentalism. Study 1, including a large sample of Turkish participants (N = 1121, Mage = 35.79, SDage = 15.33), demonstrated that patriotism as a constructive form of national identification, and global identification were both positively associated with pro-environmental beliefs and behaviors, whereas nationalism as the dark side of one's ingroup love was negatively associated with pro-environmental beliefs and activism, after controlling for various demographic variables, political orientation, religiosity, ideologies, and values. Study 2 involved secondary data analysis of a pool of 95.213 participants from 70 countries (World Values Survey) and largely replicated the findings, while showing some country/region-level variables to interact with individual-level identification processes. Findings were discussed in the light of social identity theories and the newly emerging right-wing populist rhetorics which may obstruct pro-environmental tendencies.